The WA Government’s proposal to privatise Western Power – the government-owned electricity utility – was one of the factors contributing to the extraordinary anti-Liberal swing in Saturday’s Western Australia election. Privatisation of electricity has also been an issue in the eastern states. While the coal lobby and climate change deniers have blamed South Australia’s blackouts and shortages in other states on renewables, more detached observers, such as John Quiggin, have pointed out the part played by privatisation in raising prices and contributing to electricity shortages. (more…)
Blog
-
PETER PHIBBS. we must call governments out on this ‘Game of Homes’.
When politicians say supply will fix the problem, ask them why it hasn’t worked yet. And also send them a copy of the graph from Chapter 1 of any first-year economics text book showing that price is the result of the interaction of supply and demand. (more…)
-
LESLEY HUGHES. Angry summers are the new normal. Our climate is on steroids.
The occurrence of the extreme summer experienced in NSW, for example, was at least 50 times more likely than would have been the case without climate change. (more…)
-
LUKE FRASER. The ‘Big Picture’ in infrastructure: even more depressing than the little picture?
As news broke recently that the Sydney Metro project would necessitate the closure of Sydney’s Bankstown rail line for a few months each year until well into next decade, the latest State Transport minister urged everyone to ‘look at the bigger picture’. (more…)
-
GEOFF MILLER. Too Nuclear to Fail?
The North Korean launch of four missiles towards the west coast of japan, reportedly accompanied by boasts about a coming ability to hit the continental United States with an ICBM, has raised the level of tension in North East Asia. (more…)
-
JOHN MENADUE. A little bit of honesty would go a long way in energy policy.
We really do need some honesty from the media on energy policy. The fact is that Coalition policies have failed for at least eight years and are largely responsible for our pending crisis. Media cover-ups for failed Coalition policies will not change that fact.
(more…) -
RICHARD BUTLER. Contemplating the Use of Nuclear weapons?
A nuclear arms race between the US and Russia has resumed. The US is increasing the power and effectiveness of its weapons threefold, President Trump has indicated that he is prepared to contemplate using nuclear weapons to achieve some of his stated objectives. (more…)
-
PAUL BARRATT. Howard’s War – a continuation of politics by other means
For the discerning reader the Palazzo Report, the classified internal report on how we got into Iraq and how we fared, prepared by Army Historian Dr Albert Palazzo and now released in redacted form, is a remarkable document. Although heavily redacted in places, it offers a rich store of information about how the Howard Government conducted itself in the lead up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Government’s intent, and the state of the Army it sent to war. (more…)
-
Victoria’s recent housing affordability initiatives
Victoria’s Labor Government has made clear its determination to do something about housing affordability, recently announcing a suite of reforms – many aimed at first home buyers. The changes are for the most part designed to boost supply of homes both for purchase and rental. However, they also attempt to lower the barriers to purchase for those on lower incomes. Although well intentioned, and attracting some support from none other than Scott Morrison, they are not without their critics. (more…)
-
IAN McAULEY. South Australia’s Electricity Problems: Jay Weatherill Should Follow The Coalition’s Example
Spare a thought for the people of South Australia. Large parts of Adelaide blacked out for up to 18 hours without notice. Trams stopped in their tracks across busy intersections. A bitter and partisan debate in state parliament about responsibility for the chaos – the electricity supplier, the federal government, other states putting their own energy needs ahead of South Australia’s? A heated argument about energy sources – coal or alternatives? Firms threatening to shift to other states because of unreliable electricity supply. Bitter complaints from consumers and businesses about electricity prices. (more…)
-
ERIC HODGENS. The Catholic Dilemma.
Clerical privilege took a heavy blow when Catholic bishops were summoned to appear at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to child sexual abuse (RC). The church answering to the state. (more…)
-
DOUGLAS NEWTON. The “Political Correctness” – of the Right
In a recent speech to CEDA, John Howard denounced an “avalanche of political correctness”. In fact, Howard has helped promote a stifling version of political correctness – on the Right of Australian politics. (more…)
-
FAZAL RIZVI. What students learn about Asia is outdated and needs to change.
While we readily recognise the new Asia to be culturally dynamic, and changing rapidly, we have yet to develop a more sophisticated understanding of Asia-Australia relations – and indeed also of the discourse of Asia literacy. (more…)
-
GEOFFREY ROBINSON. The Royal Commission.
I am convinced that there must be a full and open discussion of all aspects of the Church if we are ever to put this scandal behind us. Quite simply, we need a different church. The Royal Commission was not constrained by any Church laws or teachings and so came much closer to the heart of the problem.
(more…) -
CAVAN HOGUE. Why do we hate President Assad of Syria?
The US opposes Assad because he is not their son of a bitch and so supports a motley bag of groups with little in common who are probably no better than Assad. The elimination of ISIS is certainly desirable but it will not solve the mess that is the Middle East. Australia trots along behind the US because of the insurance policy argument. (more…)
-
FRANK STILWELL and CHRISTOPHER SHEIL. The IMF is showing some hypocrisy on inequality
The IMF should practice what it preaches when it comes to inequality. (more…)
-
MACK WILLIAMS. Joint patrols with Indonesia in the South China Sea?
Has Foreign Minister Bishop finally been able to kill off the proposed joint Australia: Indonesia patrols in the South China Sea ? (more…)
-
OLIVER FRANKEL. Making housing affordable – Drawing inspiration from India and Singapore
Not many of those following the housing affordability debate in Australia would think of looking to India and Singapore for inspiration, yet the experiences of each of these countries are inspiring in their scale and ambition (and in Singapore’s case, already proven success), and could provide useful lessons for us as we attempt to deal with the housing crisis afflicting many parts of Australia. (more…)
-
MUNGO MacCALLUM. Scratching to find an alternative to Malcolm Turnbull.
A corner has been turned, a bridge has been crossed, a line has been drawn. Australian politics has changed: the idea that Malcolm Turnbull could be replaced as Liberal leader is no longer unthinkable. (more…)
-
JOHN MENADUE. Failed Leadership in Church and State!
From my experience and observation good leadership is about creating disequilibrium and a process to galvanise the group to change. Without disequilibrium there will be no worthwhile change. (more…)
-
JOHN QUIGGIN. The case for renationalising Australia’s electricity grid.
The public debate over the problems of electricity supply displays a curious disconnect. On the one hand, there is virtually universal agreement that the system is in crisis. After 25 years, the promised outcomes of reform – cheaper and more reliable electricity, competitive markets and rational investment decisions – are further away than ever. (more…)
-
ANDREW FARRAN. The Tactical Strike Force fighter to stalk terrorists – really!
Why does the Prime Minister extoll our expensive F-35s as instruments for killing terrorists in irrelevant conflicts when their purpose is to protect the nation against threats of strategic dimensions were they to arise, not now but in the decades to come? (more…)
-
The Barnett Government Has Slashed Funding for Public Schools
The claims by the Western Australian Government that it has massively increased school funding in recent years are highly misleading. The fact is that the Barnett Government has taken to the axe to funding of public schools while boosting its funding of private schools. It has abandoned disadvantaged students, the vast majority of whom attend public schools. (more…)
-
JOHN DWYER. The parlous state of strategies to protect consumers from health care fraud. Part 3 of 3.
Credible scientific evidence of clinical effectiveness should underpin the delivery of health care. Satisfactory health outcomes and cost effectiveness require this approach. In Australia however pseudoscience flourishes as regulatory bodies fail to protect consumers from health care fraud. (more…)
-
RICHARD BUTLER. It Now Begins, in Earnest.
Governing in earnest now begins in the US under the new Administration. The Congress, still deeply divided, will need to make sense of Trump’s sketchy proposals. They are unlikely to agree or succeed. The need for Australia to review and redefine the conduct of its relationship with the US has become even more urgent. (more…)
-
Australian foreign policy and Israel: an enduring disgrace
The recent visit to Australia by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the forthcoming foreign policy White Paper should provide an opportunity for Australia to re-examine its support for the State of Israel. There is however, every indication that the current and past levels of support will endure. The most puzzling question is: why is this the case? (more…)
-
JOHN AUSTEN. The Sydney metro – the doubt and mess continues.
A little more real information about Sydney rail development is coming to light. It is not dispelling the doubts about metro. A decision on Badgerys Creek rail, which would have been straightforward without the metro, is now ‘years off’. The extent of metro disruption is becoming evident – spreading to even non-metro lines. (more…)
-
GARRY EASTMAN. Response to Jack Waterford: We need a Catholic Yom Kippur, and a serious sacrifice.
There are now no survivors or parents of survivors on the Commission nor are there any on the Australian Towards Healing or Melbourne Response agencies for handling complaints by victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The same criticism applies to the Truth, the Justice and Healing Council and the newly created company, Catholic Professional Standards Ltd. (more…)
-
RAMESH THAKUR. The Trump effect and Japan
Japan has an exceptional opportunity, while maneuvering to remain close to Washington, to reduce its unhealthy security and economic dependency on the United States, and to educate the U.S. administration on the merits and benefits of the key planks of a rules-based global order and international cooperation. (more…)
-
ANDREW FARRAN. Some good news on trade at last.
The WTO’s long awaited multilateral Trade Facilitation Agreement has at last received the required number of ratifications and entered into force on 22nd February. It will expedite the movement and clearance of goods at the border and at airports, and significantly reduce time and costs for traders. (more…)