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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?

Raise taxes
Why we can’t just raise taxes, as Stage 3 tax cut debate rages
Simon CowanOctober 22, 2022CANBERRA TIMES

We should take proposals to raise taxes seriously — not least because the Labor party...

Queensland: renewable one day, not feasible the next
The Hon Dr Gary JohnsOctober 13, 2022SPECTATOR AUSTRALIA

There are numerous intelligent ways to respond to the risk of climate change. Setting costly...

The New Federal Liberal Party Economic Agenda
Angus Taylor, Tom SwitzerOctober 6, 2022
We welcomed Federal Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor to discuss the new economic agenda for the...
LIZ-TRUSS-UK-TAX-RELIEF-16x9
UK tax relief shows Thatcher’s spirit is alive, but can it survive?
Robert CarlingSeptember 29, 2022THE AUSTRALIAN

True believers in lower taxes and smaller government have had little to celebrate in a...

Jim Chalmers
Labor and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have a long way to go to address inflation
Simon CowanJuly 30, 2022CANBERRA TIMES

This week’s economic statement from Treasurer Jim Chalmers has answered some pressing economic questions. First...

Wellbeing budget
‘Wellbeing’ budgets are a ruse that fail to deliver progress
Simon CowanJuly 16, 2022CANBERRA TIMES

So Australia will follow New Zealand’s ‘lead’ in introducing a wellbeing-focused budget. Labor has been...

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...

Alarm bells ringing on more interest rate pain
Michael StutchburyMarch 18, 2026DAILY TELEGRAPH
Australians were losing faith that the combination of Labor’s economic policies and the RBA monetary...
Blame diagnostic inflation for the NDIS’ $10b Autism bill
Steven SchwartzMarch 5, 2026AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

As recently reported in The Australian Financial Review, autism costs the National Disability Insurance Scheme...

The RBA had no choice but to tighten the screws
Robert Carling, Michael StutchburyFebruary 6, 2026THE CANBERRA TIMES
The government has been rightly blamed for fuelling the inflation flames with too rapid growth...
The only things going up now are the prices
Robert CarlingFebruary 3, 2026DAILY TELEGRAPH
The decisions that made higher rates unavoidable were taken in Canberra. If inflation is the...
Economic exceptionalism is dead – and rate cuts died with it
Michael StutchburyJanuary 31, 2026AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Jim Chalmers doesn’t have a central bank governor to blame for his forward misguidance or...
Tip from a friend: Australia’s economy is in a slow race to ruin
Michael StutchburyNovember 29, 2025THE AUSTRALIAN
Sometimes it takes outsiders to say the obvious but unwelcome things: high spending, low growth...
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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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