People & associates
Julie Novak
Nudge nudge, wink wink, nanny soaks the poor to fatten the budget
As the "beer up, cigs up" headlines of yesteryear illustrate, governments have long imposed taxes on consumer products as a quick fix to plug...
Queensland election result and fiscal policy
The postmortem of the state election result has begun in earnest, with many issues already bandied about as factors explaining Queensland Labor's...
Finding a focus for disability policy reform efforts
Over the past 12 months the Gillard government has attempted to improve its opinion poll ratings, in part by advocating policies to appeal to core...
Who'll drag us free of our heavy debt burden?
While most Australians were tanning themselves at the beach during their summer breaks, the federal opposition and the Gillard government traded...
Feminism: a shadow of its former self
Putting aside her tendency to namedrop personalities and organisations that the Australian left loathe the most, such as Sarah Palin and the...
Struggling welfare state in EU is a stark warning
The question as to how European nations arrived at their present state of economic dysfunction is perhaps as important as what they should do to...
Corporate welfare looms as major hurdle
The idea the Australian automotive industry can remain competitive on the global stage, while being propped up by trade barriers and subsidies,...
'Profit' is not a dirty word - it keeps the system going
It seems that one obligatory item can be found at any protest rally these days, regardless of its cause. Be it an ''occupy'' mob protesting against...
Cutting the slack and saving the budget
With uncertainty surrounding the growth prospects of European and US economies, and a languid non-mining economic performance in Australia,...
Pre-commitment policy will punish all gamblers
One of the criticisms of proposals to restrict the use of poker machines is that it will hurt non-problem gamblers in the cause of helping problem...