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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?

Economics in One Lesson
Matthew O’DonnellFebruary 23, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

Just over 70 years ago, economist Henry Hazlitt wrote an economics textbook, Economics in One...

Higher minimum wage will lower economic health
Sarah RayFebruary 16, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

Bill Shorten’s proposal to permanently link the minimum wage rate to 60% of the median...

Even a magic nanny would struggle with childcare policy
Eugenie JosephFebruary 12, 2018THE SPECTATOR: FLAT WHITE

The threat by childcare union, United Voice, to strike next month over low wages reflects...

Big data and welfare
Simon CowanFebruary 9, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

The idea of big data in the welfare system has come to be associated with...

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...

Electric dreams actually a nightmare for taxpayers
Eugenie JosephFebruary 1, 2018THE SPECTATOR: FLAT WHITE

Electric cars are the upmarket smashed avo. The perfect status signaller for inner city eco-lovers...

MEDI-VATION: ‘Health Innovation Communities’ for Medicare Payment and Service Reform
Jeremy Sammut, Gerald Thomas, Peta SeatonNovember 2, 2016RR21

Health Innovation Communities (HICs) would essentially constitute an Australian ‘Silicon Valley’ for health – hubs...

Mapping the Indigenous Program and Funding Maze
Sara HudsonAugust 23, 2016Research Report 18

There is much goodwill in Australia to improve Indigenous outcomes. However, too many programs are...

The Role of Think Tanks: A Reply to the Critics
Jeremy SammutJune 13, 2016OP145

Because their aims are educational and democratic, what think tanks do and why they do...

The case against tax increases in Australia: The growing burden
Michael PotterJune 7, 2016Research Report 15

View Interactive Snapshot The tax burden imposed by the Commonwealth Government alone, and by all...

MEDI-VALUE: Health Insurance and Service Innovation in Australia – Implications for the Future of Medicare
Jeremy SammutApril 20, 2016Research Report 14

For healthcare innovation to flourish there needs to be a real market for health services...

The myths of the generational bargain
Simon CowanMarch 1, 2016Research Report 10

There has been a marked growth in pension cost and cohort. The percentage of people...

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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