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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?

Back in the black or still in the red?
Robert CarlingMay 13, 2011

Wayne Swan’s boast that the Commonwealth budget is ‘back in the black’ deserves a sceptical...

Spending pledges need to be backed with hard evidence
Adam CreightonMay 12, 2011Crikey

Given the salubrious set of economic circumstances the government faces, this was a shamefully loose...

Welfare reforms are worthwhile, but not an easy budget fix
May 12, 2011Online Opinion

Earlier this year, with Queensland devastated by natural disasters, I was asked about a possible...

Budget cuts can be popular
Adam CreightonMay 10, 2011The Australian Financial Review

Alexis De Tocqueville worried that democracy would only last until politicians realised they could bribe...

Playground stimulus
Oliver Marc HartwichApril 29, 2011

My wife and I spent the long weekend in the NSW Central West. The air...

Trimming to fit budget’s reduced revenue
Stephen KirchnerApril 13, 2011The Australian

The government has once again flagged the need for a tough federal budget. But the...

Why childcare is not affordable
Eugenie JosephAugust 29, 2018RR37

Childcare fees and out-of-pocket costs in Australia have been growing above inflation in recent years,...

The Future of Medicare: Health Innovation in 21st Century Australia
Jeremy Sammut, David Gadiel, Jessica Borbasi, Peta Seaton, Gerald ThomasJune 1, 2018

CLICK HERE TO BUY HARDCOPY If the status quo prevails, and we do not overcome...

Red tape and Australia’s economic malaise
Michael PotterFebruary 7, 2018OP164

Australia is in a period of economic malaise. GDP per person has been growing slowly...

From Reform to Retreat: 30 Years of Australian Fiscal Policy
Robert CarlingDecember 10, 2017OP161

Australia entered an era of economic reform in the mid-1980s as policymakers resolved to liberalise...

UBI – Universal Basic Income is an Unbelievably Bad Idea
Simon CowanNovember 5, 2017RR32

The idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI), paid by the government to its citizens...

Medi-Mess: Rational Federalism and Patient Cost-Sharing for Public Hospital Sustainability in Australia
David Gadiel, Jeremy SammutJuly 16, 2017RR30

The latest attempt to ‘end the blame game’ between the state and federal governments over...

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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