Blogotariat

The Great Housing Hijack is the latest book by Dr Cameron Murray. Here at Prosper Australia we have been following Cameron’s work for quite some time. Some of our supporters will remember his entertaining Henry George Commemorative Address in 2018. The Great Housing Hijack is a compelling read and explains the history of land prices […]

The Defence Minister, Richard Marles, has announced an upgrade and expansion of the Australian Navy to give it an “enhanced lethality surface combatant fleet”. Flanked by the Pat Conroy, the Minister for Defence Industry, Marles announced an additional $11 billion over the next decade. The money will be used to expand the Navy’s fleet of warships to 26 vessels, an increase of 15 craft. Commitments to the construction of naval vessels in South Australia and Western Australia were reiterated, with ship workers being promised work for deacdes. The government also confirmed it would scrap an extension of the ANZAC-class fleet.

Just a decade ago, Australian labour was easy to find and infrastructure projects were often no-brainers.

The Chinese Australian writer Yang Hengjun has been sentenced to death by a court in China.

Greg Combet, a former minister in the Rudd-Gillard governments, has been appointed Chairman of the Future Fund. Greg Combet, new Chairman of the Future Fund The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, made the announcement at a press conference today. Combet replaces Peter Costello, the Future Fund’s founder and current Chairman. Combet was the Labor member for the NSW electorate of Charlton from 2007 until 2013. Amongst other portfolios, he was Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency between 2010 and 2013. The Future Fund was established in 2006 by the Howard government, when Peter Costello was Treasurer.

Australia Day 1973 passed almost unnoticed, according to one radio news report, but Gough Whitlam used his 53rd day as prime minister to announce a search for a new national anthem. Listen to a news report from radio 3DB in Melbourne on January 26, 1973, including a clip from Whitlam’s speech (1m) Whitlam’s announcement of a replacement for God Save the Queen came in his Australia Day address. He said: “We feel it is essential that Australians have an Anthem that fittingly embodies our national aspirations and reflects our status as an independent nation.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has defended the changes the government has made to the Stage 3 tax cuts. In an address to the National Press Club, Albanese confirmed that the tax system will remain progressive with the reintroduction of the 37% tax scale. Whereas the Stage 3 cuts excluded people on lower incomes, all taxpayers will now receive a tax cut from July 1, but those on higher incomes have had their cut reduced. Approximately one million people will receive a lower tax cut than originally legislated. The $200,000 threshold has been lowered to $190,000.

The libertarian economist and newly-elected President of Argentina, Javier Milei, has delivered a strident defence of capitalism at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Reflecting a growing view being expressed by emerging right-wing leaders around the world, Milei said: “Unfortunately, in recent decades, the main leaders of the Western world have abandoned the model of freedom for different versions of what we call collectivism.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a “country report” on the Australian economy, warning that growth is weakening and inflation remains persistently high. The IMF says: “Australia’s post-pandemic recovery remained strong. However, growth is weakening on the heels of tighter macroeconomic policies and financial conditions. While inflation has peaked, it remains persistently high. Labor market shows signs of easing, and the positive output gap is narrowing. Increased cost of living started to weigh on household consumption. The economy remains resilient in the near term but confronts a secular productivity slowdown.

On the eve of the third anniversary of the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection, President Joe Biden has made a swingeing attack on his putative Republican opponent in this year’s election, former President Donald Trump. Speaking in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Biden told his audience: “Democracy is on the ballot. Freedom is on the ballot.” Watch Biden’s speech (33m): In 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, Valley Forge functioned as an encampment for the Continential Army’s main body, under the command of General George Washington, following the British capture of Philadelphia.

It is time to review the year in digital technology. Oh, what fun! As with prior reviews, we will arrange this review like an award ceremony.

There are three criteria for an award:

Presentation to the Planning Institute of Australia’s Victorian Conference, October 13, 2023 Today I want to take you on a rapid intellectual journey, a therapeutic crash-course, to convince you all to stop worrying about housing affordability – and instead, to learn to love high land values. Land takes the gains… Riddle me this: When planners […]