The Tax Office has a duty to collect what is owed, but rising complaints show the system risks becoming heavy-handed, opaque and too hard to navigate for taxpayers trying to do the right thing. (more…)
Category: Economy
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Gotcha, or getting tax right?
As the government’s hearing on its tax changes enters its second day, tax reform will be harder to defend if capital tax changes are left standing alone, and Labor should link them directly to bigger income tax cuts for wage and salary earners struggling with the cost of living.
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Australia cannot fix housing without more density
Housing costs account for much of Australia’s cost-of-living crisis, and affordability will not improve unless governments increase housing supply where people need to live, including through greater urban density.
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Australian smelting needs an urgent clean energy fix to stop the bailouts
Australia’s smelters will keep needing taxpayer bailouts unless governments create a publicly backed clean energy model that can deliver reliable, affordable power for heavy industry. (more…)
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One Nation, science and democracy – the trust deficit in Australia
The rise of anti-establishment politics reflects a deeper loss of confidence in Australia’s economic model, making investment in science, research and innovation central to rebuilding productivity, opportunity and trust. (more…)
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Australia still needs a real national housing strategy
Labor’s capital gains tax and negative gearing reforms are a major step forward, but Australia still lacks the long-term national housing strategy needed to address social housing, rental security, energy efficiency and supply failures. (more…)
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Should we bring back native forest logging? The answer is a clear no
Native forest logging is economically costly, environmentally damaging and socially divisive, and should not be revived in Victoria or Western Australia or maintained in Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. (more…)
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The pros and cons of labour regulation in South Korea
The growth of marginal part-time work in South Korea is a by-product of making existing protections work but also points to the need for better design of labour regulation. (more…)
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Bowen’s electrification gospel has a truck-shaped problem
Australia is urging the world to electrify, but its own freight system remains overwhelmingly dependent on imported diesel when electric trucks could cut emissions, strengthen fuel security and lower costs. (more…)
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Reform is hard, but Labor should hold its nerve
The attacks on the government’s budget reforms may be loud, but polling suggests voters are more open to tax change than the media backlash implies – and governments that want to deliver serious reform have to withstand the noise. (more…)
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Why are voters cranky enough to turn to Hanson? I have a theory
One Nation’s polling surge reflects deeper disillusionment with the major parties, but the real test is whether Labor has the courage to press ahead with housing tax reform despite the inevitable scare campaign.
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The myth of the balanced budget
A monetary sovereign government such as Australia’s does not need to balance its budget or borrow the currency it creates, provided total spending does not exceed the economy’s real productive capacity. (more…)
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The quiet Australians who actually empty the bins
When the political class keeps choosing to squeeze outer-suburban, mortgage-stressed, salaried workers, we shouldn’t be surprised to see these people turning to One Nation. (more…)
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Falling house prices should be welcomed, not feared
Falling house prices should ease cost-of-living pressures and help first home-buyers, yet Australia’s political debate still treats rising housing values as a national good rather than a barrier to affordability. (more…)
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Is Indonesia trading up or trading away?
Indonesia’s agreement on reciprocal trade with the United States puts the country’s sovereignty at risk. (more…)
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A carbon tax is a good idea
A carbon tax would help substantially in tackling two of the major problems facing Australia today: climate change and paying for the government services that we want. (more…)
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The poll numbers tell a deeper story than One Nation’s rise
A poll on attitudes to public policy confirms that the economy remains people’s dominant concern, but there is resistance to reforms that would make for a fairer distribution of income and wealth. (more…)
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Hybrid wind and solar power plants are the next step for Australia
A wind and battery hybrid could replace a coal plant – and outperform it at almost every level. Then next step for Australia is to create fully integrated renewable generation systems. (more…)
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Stop native forest logging
Research across the world shows that logging substantially increases fire risks in Australian native forests. (more…)
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The grandeur of humanity: Pope Leo on AI
Pope Leo’s first encyclical offers a vision in which human dignity and relationships guide technological development rather than people becoming slaves to technology. (more…)
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Governing on empty: the Hormuz crisis across Asia and the Pacific — part 3
This is the final in a series of three articles examining how the Hormuz closure is reshaping energy, governance and inequality across Asia and the Pacific. (more…)
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Why the criticisms of Labor’s tax changes are mostly wrong
Labor’s tax policies will improve intergenerational equity and ensure more equal tax treatment of income from labour and capital. (more…)
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Some further thoughts on the Federal Budget
The income tax reforms in the 2026 budget do deliver greater equity, despite the protests from those who think they will lose out. (more…)
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Death to News Ltd’s propaganda
Let’s not mince words, the “death tax” campaign begun by The Australian and the rest of News Ltd stable is a pack of lies and manipulative misinformation. It is best met with facts and reassurance. (more…)
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Albo stumbles with the hard sell
Of all the things which most frustrate about the Albanese government is the tendency of ministers to fall into a form of paralysis the moment it meets any sort of organised opposition, particularly from lobbies of the rich and powerful. (more…)
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Australia abandoned harm minimisation on smoking – and fuelled a black market
Australia’s steep cigarette excise increases and restrictive vaping policies have fuelled a massive illegal tobacco market while undermining the country’s long-standing harm-minimisation approach to public health.
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The importance of plantations in the Australian forest industry
Timber plantations now provide the overwhelming majority of Australia’s sawn wood products and will become even more important as native forest logging declines and climate pressures intensify. (more…)
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Where’s the Australian Silicon Valley?
Australia generates world-class research in clean energy but we are still not good at commercialising that knowledge. (more…)
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Will T20 cricket kill the Test game?
Cricket is now managed by business interests, making the lucrative T20 game a more attractive investment than the traditional centrepiece of the game, the Test. (more…)
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Government CGT changes structurally sound
Paul Keating says the Howard-Costello capital gains tax discount distorted the tax system, inflated housing prices and entrenched inequality between wage earners and wealth holders.