When Ford announced it would close its Melbourne plant at a cost of about 1200 jobs, the nation went into shock. But where is that shock now as Tony Abbott promises to shed at least 12,000 more public-sector jobs than Labor? What’s worse is that he’s making this pledge in the middle of an election

If tax is the price we pay to live in a civilised society it seems that neither of the major parties have high hopes for the communities they say they want to build in northern Australia. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is suggesting that companies based in the Northern Territory should face a reduced company tax

The word productivity will be used countless times in this election campaign but the issue of our investment in science will be lucky to get its 24-hour news cycle in the sun. And while business groups are often critical of governments for being focused on the short term, they are not calling for increased funding

With polls showing we may be on track for another minority government, suddenly we seem surrounded by cries of “not another hung parliament”. And segments of the media and business are again raising exaggerated fears about the “risk and uncertainty” or “instability and short-termism” that will accompany such an outcome. But the fact is that

When politicians lie, make things up or simply get important things wrong, we take for granted that it is the role of their political opponents to highlight such errors. Our politicians are so focused on each other’s words that a mere slip of the tongue can become a news story for days. This isn’t so for

Australian universities have been reaping the benefits from taking international students for years. But is that the way it will always be? What if the countries those students come from turn the tables on the cash strapped western universities and ask them to bid for the work?

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s announcement that the carbon price is now a quarter of what was forecast is good news; the question is, for whom? Rather than crippling, the impact of the carbon price is barely even irritating for most polluters. Compared with the impact of the high exchange rate since 2007, the carbon price

Australia used to have very high protection rates for its manufacturing industries. Historically tariff quotas on motor vehicles meant that Australian car prices were double the prices for equivalents overseas. Many other manufactured goods were sold at multiples of the prices in overseas markets. Australia like many other countries imposed very high tariffs on most

Is economics a science? When we teach economics students, we usually tell them that they are learning about “the science of the efficient allocation of scarce resources”. But when we listen to public debate, often economists don’t sound very scientific. While it is often said that science can’t proceed without failure, it’s rare to hear an

In debates about climate change and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, there is a widely-held belief that market mechanisms, like the Labor government’s carbon pricing scheme, will reduce emissions in the cheapest possible way. As a matter of pure theory, this is correct but, in practice, it depends on what is included and excluded

We all agree that gas prices are going to rise. The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) would have you believe that the restrictions on coal seam gas (CSG) in NSW are the cause of the coming price hikes. Ironically, it’s not the lack of CSG that is driving up the price but the

When it comes to future generations it seems that we can never be too generous. But is this generosity coming at the expense of current generations? In Canberra, when it comes to job losses, it seems the answer is ”yes”. Consider the Australian National University’s approach to its finances. The ANU is owned by taxpayers

The mining industry is in the middle of an expensive new campaign to convince Australians that the growth of mining will not come at the expense of farming. In late 2011 Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott talked about respecting the rights of farmers and about protecting arable land from mining, but rejected calls to stop

Last week, the newly installed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd challenged Tony Abbott to a debate about public sector debts and deficits. If it goes ahead, it would likely be a rare respite from the slogans that have haunted Australian public debate for the past few years. But the debate that we should be watching is

Confusion and contradiction have become the norm in our topsy-turvy political landscape, but the recent decisions by the ACT and NSW governments about how to fund infrastructure must take the cake. Here in the ACT, the Labor-Greens government is set to embrace a ”public-private partnership” to build its promised light rail project. The Liberals in

Imagine if health and community sector workers wore high-vis vests; our streets, our shopping centres and even our airports would be full of them. We might even begin to think of them as the engine of job creation. But they don’t wear such things and we don’t think such things and the result is a

Last month, PWCS management halted development of its controversial T4 coal terminal after downgrading its demand projections, citing falling commodity prices and the shifting global energy market. Considering the opportunistic nature of the proposal, this was always likely to be the case. The company’s environmental assessment used historically high estimates for steaming and coking coal

Do Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey know how badly conservative governments are managing their economies in Europe? While Australia ”struggles” along with gross domestic product growth of just below three per cent and unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent, economic activity in the eurozone declined by 0.2 per cent in the first three months of

A lot of the debate in Australia reflects concern about our future and how budgetary pressures are likely to evolve. The backdrop of the discussion is a profile of the predicted population in 40 years, what that means for expenditure and how we should be preparing for that outcome. The intergenerational reports have provided a

Politicians often claim that mining supports local communities such as Gloucester through job creation and attracting investment. However, Gloucester’s experience has been one of sluggish growth, environmental degradation and job losses in agriculture – the town’s biggest industry. Mining companies, including Yancoal and AGL, may tell communities that their business is the key to success,

Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal claims its Galilee Coal Project, which will create four underground mines, two open-cut mines, and 468 kilometres of railway line in central Queensland, will bring economic prosperity to the region. In its recently-released supplementary environmental impact statement, however, the company refused calls to release its modelling. Without it, the public is

Last week, under the guise of a forestry “peace deal”, the Gillard government committed $350 million of new industry assistance and other handouts in exchange for the Tasmanian government passing legislation that imposes an unprecedented restriction on free speech. There is nothing new about Australian taxpayers subsidising native-forest logging, but there is something unique about the

Are freedom of speech, freedom of association and the freedom to protest left-wing or right-wing issues? While Senator George Brandis was thundering away this week about the importance of a free press, I’m not sure his liberalism stretches to supporting Julian Assange and the desire of WikiLeaks to ”let the information free”. Similarly, while the

Fred Gale’s article, Tasmanian Forests Agreement: deeply flawed, worth backing, provides interesting insights into the views of one segment of the Tasmanian community that supports the Tasmanian Forest Agreement. However, he fails to fully grasp many of the fundamental reasons for continuing opposition to the deal and its associated legislation. Most notably, there is no

Two weeks ago, I explained the consequences of the Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society and Environment Tasmania support for the so-called ”forest peace deal” in Tasmania. The deal obliges them to cease all protests that might impede the ability of native forest loggers to sell their woodchips, take active steps to help silence other

Economists are often accused of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. Consumers, on the other hand, are assumed to have good knowledge of both. Indeed free-market economics rests more heavily on the assumption that individuals know what’s best for them than on any other assumption. While it is relatively clear that

When Federal MP for Dawson George Christensen said the Abbot Point coal port expansion was critical to the community for jobs and security, he was absolutely right. Not because the project will create long-lasting job opportunities, but because it could put hundreds of the region’s workers out of sustainable jobs and permanently damage the region’s

Last week, the former NSW Treasurer and Minister for the Hunter Michael Costa attacked current Opposition Leader John Robertson for his comments suggesting the Labor Party was planning to phase out coal mining. Mr Costa labeled the move a betrayal of the party’s traditional voters. Michael Costa’s concern for the jobs of devout Labor voters

The Chicken Littles are at it again – scaring us about the level of government debt and the deficits that bring about debt. Gina Rinehart has claimed that the present level of government debt ‘is simply unsustainable’ and that ‘Australia had to take action to avoid following Europe into economic misery’. Ms Rinehart should know

Last week, Greenpeace released a report calling for a halt to Australia’s burgeoning coal exports and pointing to the catastrophic climate impacts they would cause. In response, Mitch Hooke, chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia, took a standard industry line: “the proposal to stop Australian coal exports won’t stop global coal use –