Now that the mining tax has been sorted, and already forgotten, we can move on to refugees. Just what was sorted with the mining tax already slips into oblivion, but the miners are happy.  Somewhere along the road to compromise the public good had to yield, all too predictably. The refugee ‘solution’ is likely to [...]

With her rebadged Resource Super Profits Tax Julia Gillard confirms she has no vision for Australia and that big business cannot and should not be relied upon to look after the common interest. It is a pea and thimble trick that appears to have fooled the mining companies, but should fool no-one else. The original [...]

Time to focus on the key issues, as an election may be sooner now than later. Only open, evidence based policy should be allowed. The spun has begun: we now have a minister for ’sustainable’ population, with heaps of blather from Tony Burke to reassure anyone who chooses to feel reassured. Don’t think the new [...]

A writer of exceptional  insight and clarity, Naomi Klein also expresses the compassion and sorrow many of us feel about this ongoing catastrophe. Below is a link to her Guardian article ‘A hole in the world’, and the accompanying video. Her observations about the political context and the natural world are equally powerful.
My questions: why [...]

As escaped public servants, partner and I were shaking our heads last December about the Henry Tax Review. We were familiar with the release of reports to a generous consultation period, followed by a draft government response and further argy-bargy with the affected groups.
But only the Government got to see the Henry report, and it [...]

Robert Gordon Menzies was the last Australian Prime Minister not to make it to his first election as PM after winning the preceding one. Will Kevin Rudd follow in his steps?

What we normally call "rent", and what economists mean by "rent" when they talk about rental taxes, are two different things, but there are lessons for resource rental taxes that can be drawn from the everyday experience of renting.

Coming back to a cold Canberra, chilled as much by lack of imagination as frost, it is time to reflect on my recent travels.
The radio tells me the ACT Greens have expressed concern again, this time over the Stanhopeless government’s lack of attention to planning in the work on the road around City Hill. This will need [...]