There's no clearer sign that the Turnbull government is in deep political trouble than the never-ending saga of the Centrelink robo-debt stuff-up.
A well-functioning government would have closed down the controversy more than a month ago. If the relevant senior or junior minister hadn't had the wit to do it himself, the Prime Minister would have told him to.
Instead, the controversy's been allowed to roll on, while the junior...
Monday, March 13, 2017
Saturday, March 11, 2017
The low down on our concerns about investment
Governments and economists have been worried for ages about investment. First we had too much, then we didn't have enough. But what is "investment"? What's so special about it and why are we likely to be living with less of it in future?
The first trap is that the word "investment" is used to mean two quite separate – though related - things.
People say they've invested in some shares in a bank or invested in some government...
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Politicians have worked hard to make house prices so high
It has cost the budget a lot of money to make the prices of homes as hard to afford as they now are.
If this shocks or puzzles you, it's intended to. It shows the economics of house prices is more complicated than most people realise. And than can be deduced from the things politicians on both sides say and do in the name of improving home affordability.
The surprising truth is that most of the things pollies – state as well...
Monday, March 6, 2017
Reserve Bank spells out company tax choices to politicians
The pollies can't help themselves. When the Reserve Bank heavies make their regular appearance before the House of Reps economics committee, the main game is to get the governor to say something that favours your side of politics and gives the finger to the other side.
So, when Dr Philip Lowe and friends appeared before the committee a fortnight ago, the Liberal chair of the committee, David Coleman, saw his chance to get Lowe...
Saturday, March 4, 2017
The news is good, but not for the reason we've been told
Fabulous news on the economy this week. The recession that never was, didn't happen. Phew. That's a relief.
After going backwards by 0.5 per cent in the September quarter of last year, we learnt from the Bureau of Statistics' national accounts that the economy rebounded by 1.1 per cent in the December quarter - meaning, according to the overexcited children of economic reporting, that we've escaped "technical" recession.
Actually,...
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
How we can get better school results
Have you noticed how our politicians, asked to explain or defend their policy on X will, within a sentence or two, switch to expounding on what's wrong with their opponents' supposed policy?
The sad truth is they much prefer scoring cheap political points and blame-shifting to getting on with developing policies to deal with the various problems the nation faces.
Coming up is policy on schools. We'll be hearing a lot on federal...
Monday, February 27, 2017
Cut in penalty rates another win for 'bizonomics'
When we look at all the crazy behaviour in the United States, we comfort ourselves that it couldn't happen here. Well, last week we took another step in that direction.
Why do blue-collar workers get so alienated and fed up they vote for someone as mad as Donald Trump? It couldn't be because, while America has waxed fat over the past 30 years, their pay has been stagnant in real terms.
How have the top few per cent of US households...
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Why we've never had 'Gonski funding'
It turns out Christopher Pyne was right: Julia Gillard's version of the Gonski school funding reform was indeed "Conski".
The con was that the funding changes Gillard put into law in 2013 – which Labor and the teacher unions christened "Gonski" and have virtuously defended from Coalition attack ever since – bore only a vague resemblance to what leading company director David Gonski's panel recommended in its report to the government...
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
HOW WE CAN DO BETTER ON EDUCATION
Jean Blackburn Oration for the Australian College of Educators, Melbourne, February 22, 2017I’m honoured to be invited to deliver the Jean Blackburn oration, especially to follow the inaugural oration by someone whose name will long be synonymous with education policy, David Gonski. David’s name will return in what I have to say, but let’s focus on Jean Blackburn, whose contribution we are here to acknowledge. I never had the...
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