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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?

Big spending, poor results
Stephen KirchnerDecember 16, 2009The Australian

Treasury Secretary Ken Henry observed in a recent speech to the Whitlam Institute that the...

Like the Curate’s Egg: A Market-based Response and Alternative to the Bennett Report
Jeremy SammutNovember 26, 2009PM104

The final report of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission (NHHRC or the Commission),...

Capital gains tax won’t make housing more affordable
Stephen KirchnerNovember 23, 2009Online Opinion

When The Weekend Australian reported that the Rudd Government was looking at extending the capital...

First steps towards 21st century rail
Oliver Marc HartwichOctober 30, 2009

According to a Chinese proverb, every long journey begins with a first step. This holds...

On the Right Track: Why NSW Needs Business Class Rail
Oliver Marc HartwichOctober 29, 2009IA119

Every day, thousands of people travel between Sydney and the neighbouring urban centres of Wollongong,...

The US deficit canary has rattled the cage in warning of dire eventualities
Robert CarlingOctober 27, 2009The Age

Imagine our Government’s finances being in such bad shape that the Treasury sounded a public...

Keeping Budgets on the Rails: Rules for Fiscal Responsibility
Robert CarlingNovember 13, 2025AP94

Executive Summary Fiscal rules are numerical limits to one or more of government spending, revenue,...

An economic walk on the supply side
Michael StutchburyOctober 16, 2025OP208

This is an edited version of Michael Stutchbury’s keynote address to the 2025 Freedom to...

Addressing Australia’s Productivity Problem. CORE Blueprint to Unshackle Productivity
Jim CoxAugust 14, 2025AP86

Introduction There is no one action that will lift Australia’s dwindling productivity growth; it is...

The Productivity Problem. Australia’s Growth Slump Is Undermining Prosperity
Jim CoxAugust 7, 2025AP85

Executive summary Concern over Australia’s slow rate of productivity growth is justified as it is...

Leviathan on the Rampage: Government spending growth a threat to Australia’s economic future
Robert CarlingJuly 23, 2025AP84

Executive summary The rising trend of government expenditure in Australia has long been present but...

hurdles
Economic challenges ahead for the government
Robert Carling, Gene Tunny, Peter TulipJune 19, 2025IA153

The re-elected federal government faces a long list of economic challenges, some of them created...

The political winners and losers of 2023
Simon CowanDecember 30, 2023CANBERRA TIMES

The political winners and losers of 2023 Once again it is the time of year...

Voice to parliament
National cabinet’s zero-sum game is hurting Australia
Robert Carling, Simon CowanDecember 16, 2023CANBERRA TIMES

While the name has changed over the decades from Premiers Conference to COAG to National...

How Chalmers’ fiscal goals lost all ambition
Robert CarlingDecember 13, 2023AFR

How Chalmers’ fiscal goals lost all ambition. Jim Chalmers’ mid-year economic and fiscal update (MYEFO)...

Loudest ‘voice’ in all interest groups is for more government spending
Simon CowanOctober 16, 2023CANBERRA TIMES

Regardless of whether you think the Voice has any merit, there is surely some merit...

NSW budget
First big policy test for NSW Labor is budget repair
Robert CarlingSeptember 17, 2023AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

The NSW budget on September 19 will be the first big policy test of the...

IGR
Opportunity abounds in IGR. Can Chalmers and political class grasp it?
Simon Cowan, Matthew TaylorAugust 26, 2023CANBERRA TIMES

In a political world obsessed with the ultra-short term, the 2023 Intergenerational Report (IGR) launched...

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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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