When the Prime Minister is forced to spend his own political capital fixing the mistakes of the former head of Origin Energy, is it any wonder the Coalition is ignoring that same man’s policy advice now that he heads up the Business Council of Australia? [This op ed was first published in the Australian Financial Review

The citizenship debacle engulfing the Nationals, and in turn the Coalition government, has as much to do with trust and integrity as it does with the constitution. Being consistent is important in business and in government. [This article was first published by the Australian Financial Review – here] After the Greens’ Scott Ludlum and Larissa

Rising inequality is, according to the lefties at the International Monetary Fund, a drag on economic growth. And low wages growth is, according to the lefties at the RBA, a drag on growth. And according to lefties like Theresa May fixing economic equality is “crucial” to the economy. [This article was first published by the

If word processors were invented today they would no doubt be seen through the left-right prism. Like a dying star, the 18th century political binary of left and right produces far more heat as the end of its life approaches. Is a wind turbine really “left wing”? Is a grid scale battery “progressive”? [The article

The RBA governor Philip Lowe recently encouraged Australian workers to stop being so scared of technological change and foreign competition and start demanding higher wages. But if the governor wants to really understand why so many Australians have been willing to settle for so little for so long perhaps he should ask the Treasurer to appoint the ACTU

It has taken ten years of cheap politics and bad policy decisions to deliver Australians high energy prices, high greenhouse gas emissions and low levels of reliability. Rather than listen to scientists, engineers or economists Australia’s energy policy has been shaped by lobbyists, political strategists and shock jocks. It’s hard to see how things went

There is a depressing honesty about Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. It stands in stark contrast to the hypocrisy of Malcolm Turnbull’s big talk on climate change, which is accompanied by a $1 billion subsidy for the enormous new Adani coal mine. At least Trump is

It’s not clear whether Adani will win its battle to build its enormous new coal mine. But what is clear is that the coal industry, and the political right, have already lost the war. The enormous subsidies required to make the Adani mine “commercial” have killed once and for all the myth that coal mining

The big banks have just discovered what Australia’s unemployed have known for some time, in modern Australia it is risky to be the underdog. For the last decade, at least, Australian politics has revolved around what you can get away with, not what the country needs, and the results have been nasty. And as the

Barnaby Joyce says the federal Coalition’s desire to subsidise Adani’s Carmichael coal mine means the government will attract “some flak” from environmentalists. No doubt there will be, but he might do well to prepare for some friendly fire as well. [This article was first published in the Australian Financial Review – here] The government should expect some flak

Two days after demanding $48 billion worth of tax cuts, BCA president Grant King warned us that “if we don’t make changes, if we don’t get on top of the budget deficit, debt is going to be rising and it will be a burden for generations to come”. [This article was first published by the Australian Financial

Are there any economic rationalists left in the Australian business community? Where are the fiscal conservatives when you need them? [This article was first published in the Australian Financial Review – here]  Hard headed budget hawks are missing in action when it comes to our governments giving a $1 billion subsidy to help build the

The Coalition Government is still paying a heavy price for Tony Abbott’s “ability” to simplify complex policy issues down into three-word slogans. His promise to “stop the debt” worked a treat for him in opposition but it made him look a failure as Prime Minister when debt grew rapidly on his watch. [This article was

In a post-truth world, the ability of an industry to generate its own “alternative facts” is likely to be an asset in the short term and a liability in the long term. Indeed, for those who crave certainty and value continuous disclosure, the willingness of some firms to move well beyond simply putting a positive spin on

Malcolm Turnbull is using Donald Trump as a celebrity endorsement for his plan to give corporate Australia a $50 billion tax cut. But, like all dealings with people who are famous for being famous, the risks can be greater than the returns. Take Trump’s views on free trade. First published by the Australian Financial Review

When politicians spend taxpayers money flying themselves to fundraising parties or flying to their own weddings, we leave it up to the politician to decide if their claim is “outside of entitlement”. First published on The Guardian – here When it comes to income tax we allow people to claim $300 worth of tax deductions without receipts because

Is it any wonder that voters who don’t believe politicians’ travel expense claims are fair dinkum won’t believe their claims about the benefits of economic reform either? Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. —First published by the Australian Financial Review here— While much has been made of “the optics” of the government

The notion of evidence-based policy in Australia is dead. While it’s been in poor health for some time, it was finally killed by the Coalition backbench last week and replaced with “gut instinct” and “the pub test”. First published by the Australian Financial Review – here When Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was recently quizzed

Just as market forces were about to push the price of housing down in Australia, the Treasurer stepped in with some new regulation. Phew. Some first home buyer’s nearly snatched a good deal, but luckily the Treasurer was there to protect the property developers from the oversupply their building bonanza created. [First pubished by the

In the modern version of “the battle of ideas” political interests trump political ideology nearly every time. Take, for example, the alleged supporters of “small government” who have been strategically silent as the Australian resource industry pushed for a $100 billion, wholly government owned, nuclear waste dump in South Australia. First published by the Australian Financial Review