It’s refreshing to learn that treasurer Jim Chalmers is willing to entertain more substantial tax reforms than the ones Labor took to this year’s election (principally, the proposed increases in taxation of superannuation balances worth more than $3 million) in order to “ensure that the budget is put on a
Young voters are back! Or maybe they never left. Articles and talk programs pondering whether the youth vote “might decide the outcome this time” have been staple pre-election fillers for decades. Along with other demographic ruminations, they usually disappear on election night as their meaninglessness becomes evident: once again, the
What strikes me most about the Aboriginal people I know is their generosity. Australian colonial history has given them endless reasons not to be generous, but still my Aboriginal friends and colleagues invite me to talk, share a cuppa, walk Country together. I know that some, and possibly all, feel
The most striking observation in Dean Spears and Michael Geruso’s new book, After the Spike, is summed up by the cover illustration, which shows a world population rising rapidly to its current eight billion before declining to pre-modern levels and eventually to zero. As the authors observe, this is the inevitable implication
Of all the economic problems proclaimed in the run-up to next week’s economic summit, the most alarming is that business investment is very weak. “Business investment has fallen notably over the past decade,” declares the Productivity Commission, and the fall is contributing to Australia’s “lacklustre” productivity performance. Citing the commission,
Housing minister Clare O’Neil says it’s “just too hard” to build houses in this country because “builders face a ridiculous thicket of red tape.” That must change, she says, if we’re to tackle the “fundamental problem” and “build more homes, more quickly.” This is the dominant view of Australia’s housing
It’s a niche category, I know: but who’s your favourite American visitor to Australia? My vote goes to Mark Twain, who wrote during his wildly successful 1895 speaking tour that the Australian story “does not read like history, but like the most beautiful of lies.” Another possible answer to this
It is easy to agree with Alexander Vindman about the shortcomings of the international relations theory that calls itself “realism.” As a way of explaining the origins of Russia’s war against Ukraine it tends to mislead rather than enlighten. But Vindman goes further, arguing it is partially responsible for Russia’s
Donald Trump has already claimed that his promotion of ceasefires in Africa and Asia makes him fully deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize, but if he really wants to be recognised as a top peacemaker, then he needs to do something about the Middle East. This is the big test
An evolving monument of Australian foreign policy has reached its thirteenth volume. Now covering the seven decades from 1950 to 2020, Australia in World Affairs is sustained and shepherded by the Australian Institute of International Affairs. With Cambridge University Press also republishing its twelve predecessors, no longer do you need
Less than a year ago a little band of educators travelled to Canada to investigate why that country always seems to be ahead of Australia in the school achievement and equity stakes. The travellers agreed that it is time for open and different “where to from now?” conversations about Australia’s
One recent summer’s afternoon my wife and I were finishing a picnic with friends overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, with the prairie stretching out to the horizon in all directions. Our host brought out a watermelon, inspected it and gasped: “Wait! This is from the US, not Mexico! Do we
It’s refreshing to learn that treasurer Jim Chalmers is willing to entertain more substantial tax reforms than the ones Labor took to this year’s election (principally, the proposed increases in taxation of superannuation balances worth more than $3 million) in order to “ensure that the budget is put on a
Young voters are back! Or maybe they never left. Articles and talk programs pondering whether the youth vote “might decide the outcome this time” have been staple pre-election fillers for decades. Along with other demographic ruminations, they usually disappear on election night as their meaninglessness becomes evident: once again, the
What strikes me most about the Aboriginal people I know is their generosity. Australian colonial history has given them endless reasons not to be generous, but still my Aboriginal friends and colleagues invite me to talk, share a cuppa, walk Country together. I know that some, and possibly all, feel
The most striking observation in Dean Spears and Michael Geruso’s new book, After the Spike, is summed up by the cover illustration, which shows a world population rising rapidly to its current eight billion before declining to pre-modern levels and eventually to zero. As the authors observe, this is the inevitable implication
Of all the economic problems proclaimed in the run-up to next week’s economic summit, the most alarming is that business investment is very weak. “Business investment has fallen notably over the past decade,” declares the Productivity Commission, and the fall is contributing to Australia’s “lacklustre” productivity performance. Citing the commission,
Housing minister Clare O’Neil says it’s “just too hard” to build houses in this country because “builders face a ridiculous thicket of red tape.” That must change, she says, if we’re to tackle the “fundamental problem” and “build more homes, more quickly.” This is the dominant view of Australia’s housing
It’s a niche category, I know: but who’s your favourite American visitor to Australia? My vote goes to Mark Twain, who wrote during his wildly successful 1895 speaking tour that the Australian story “does not read like history, but like the most beautiful of lies.” Another possible answer to this
It is easy to agree with Alexander Vindman about the shortcomings of the international relations theory that calls itself “realism.” As a way of explaining the origins of Russia’s war against Ukraine it tends to mislead rather than enlighten. But Vindman goes further, arguing it is partially responsible for Russia’s
Donald Trump has already claimed that his promotion of ceasefires in Africa and Asia makes him fully deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize, but if he really wants to be recognised as a top peacemaker, then he needs to do something about the Middle East. This is the big test
An evolving monument of Australian foreign policy has reached its thirteenth volume. Now covering the seven decades from 1950 to 2020, Australia in World Affairs is sustained and shepherded by the Australian Institute of International Affairs. With Cambridge University Press also republishing its twelve predecessors, no longer do you need
Less than a year ago a little band of educators travelled to Canada to investigate why that country always seems to be ahead of Australia in the school achievement and equity stakes. The travellers agreed that it is time for open and different “where to from now?” conversations about Australia’s
One recent summer’s afternoon my wife and I were finishing a picnic with friends overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, with the prairie stretching out to the horizon in all directions. Our host brought out a watermelon, inspected it and gasped: “Wait! This is from the US, not Mexico! Do we
