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• Government Spending

Governments spend taxpayers’ money on a wide range of programmes from education to defence and from welfare to infrastructure. Yet there can be too much of a good thing, and some government spending is just wasteful. How can we ensure that taxpayers are getting value for money?

Beyond the Current Pessimism
Ray BallAugust 5, 1987OP18

Professor Ray Ball gives a personal interpretation of the historical roots of Australia’s economic malaise....

The Economics of Bureacracy and Statutory Authorities
Gordon TullockJanuary 1, 1983PF1
Lessons from the Ord
B.R. DavidsonJanuary 1, 1982PM2

Readers will draw their own various conclusions from these two modest but compelling essays. It...

The Rhetoric and Reality of Income Redistribution
Gordon TullockSeptember 25, 1981OP5

Income distribution is an overwhelming part of the program of all governments. Too often, however,...

Australia’s Welfare Habit and How to Kick It
Peter SaundersOctober 1, 2004SP07

Forty years ago only 3% of working age Australians depended on welfare payments as their...

Only 18%? Why ACOSS is Wrong to be Complacent about Welfare Dependency
Peter SaundersSeptember 2, 2004IA51

A new report from the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) recognises that welfare dependency...

Sweet and Sour Pork Barrelling: The Case of Queensland Sugar
Alex RobsonMarch 25, 2004IA45

The Queensland sugar industry is once again pleading for government assistance. Cane farmers claim they...

A Self-Reliant Australia. Welfare Policy for the 21st century
Peter SaundersMarch 16, 2003OP86

In this paper Peter Saunders suggests that the time has come to turn back the...

The Unchained University
Andrew NortonNovember 19, 2002PM56

Australia’s universities are not preparing students adequately for their futures. Report author and higher education...

What Governments Can’t Know: The Knowledge Economy and the Market
Lauchlan ChipmanFebruary 4, 2002OP77

Are governments well placed to foster the infusion of different types of complex knowledge to...

The problem is whether the legitimate economic concerns of the public can - or should - manifest in monetary policy.
The RBA has to dole out pain. Not everyone can be a winner here
Simon CowanJune 1, 2024CANBERRA TIMES

This week’s news that inflation had risen for April was no doubt an unwelcome, and...

CPI
‘Too clever by half’ Treasurer tries to hack the CPI
Gene TunnyMay 18, 2024CANBERRA TIMES

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has delivered a budget shaped by the upcoming election and his leadership...

Jim Chalmers
Holes appear as Treasurer tries to convince with verbal flourishes
Simon CowanMay 4, 2024CANBERRA TIMES

The more detail we get on the government’s Future Made in Australia plans, the more...

Back to the future: Labor revives failed policies of the past
Simon CowanApril 22, 2024CANBERRA TIMES

The federal government’s planned Future Made in Australia Act is just the latest example of...

Australian money
Labor’s $250m paid parental leave plan is not so super
Simon CowanMarch 9, 2024CANBERRA TIMES

The government has committed more than $250 million to expanding paid parental level. This is...

Jim Chalmers. treasurer, economics, tax, stage three tax cuts
Chalmers is doing a fantastic job … at ignoring the dire outlook
Tom SwitzerFebruary 13, 2024SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

Chalmers is doing a fantastic job … at ignoring the dire outlook. We are only...

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Submission to the Independent Review of the Australian Public Service
Simon Cowan, Eugenie JosephAugust 1, 2018
Submission to the National Commission of Audit
Alexander Philipatos, Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Jeremy Sammut, Robert Carling, Simon Cowan, Stephen Kirchner, Trisha JhaApril 1, 2014T30.08

The federal government’s Commission of Audit (CoA) was established in 2013 to review the performance...

Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012
Andrew BakerJanuary 25, 2013

Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill...

Submission to the COAG Select Council on Disability Reform on NDIS ‘eligibility and reasonable and necessary support’ criteria
Andrew BakerSeptember 10, 2012

Submission to the COAG Select Council on Disability Reform on NDIS ‘eligibility and reasonable and...

Submission to Native Title Leading Practice Agreements Discussion Paper 2010
Helen Hughes, Mark Hughes, Sara HudsonNovember 30, 2010

The Native Title process is only one of the processes returning land to traditional owners....

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