Recent publications in IPA Review article
Ideology, not science
The notion that freedom can be usurped under the guise of public health arouses great antipathy in many; often expressed as a frustration with the Nanny State. However, many also feel compelled to accept the advice of vocal public health advocates...
No longer alone
Alan Moran reviews Mark Steyn's After America: Get Ready for Armageddon As a modern day Cassandra, in After America, Mark Steyn sees the Western world as a crumbling edifice in which the liberties and wealth that we have enjoyed face escalating...
They just don't get it
As a sovereign nation, Indonesia has the right to run its domestic policy as it sees fit. As a democratic country with a free press, we retain the right to express our opinions. But fundamentally, we do not have the right to force another country...
A history of scientific alarms
Dr Kesten Green lists the 20 most unscientific scares. There is a long and dismal history of alarming forecasts that were literally too bad to be true. But many people believed these predictions that human actions would harm the environment and...
Education and federalism: the last line of defence
One of federalism's great virtues is that it provides a means to smaller government. Demarcated power limits the spending excesses of individual governments and provides a check to overarching state authority. The politics of Australian federalism...
Let kids be kids
An absurd over-protectiveness of our children is being encouraged by our media, culture and government. Our outdoor lifestyle, rugged country and self-reliant mindset served our elders well through tough times. Those being raised to fear a skinned...
Towards true transparency
In recent years, Australian politics has been dominated by calls for greater transparency and accountability. Advances in online technology such as the rise of social networking and ‘web 2.0' allows citizens to interact with the government...
Tim Flannery: climate prophet
'I wake up in the morning thinking there are lots of times when people have woken up feeling like this, like the Old Testament prophets.' That's Tim Flannery, Julia Gillard's hand-picked Climate Change Commissioner, or preacher-in-chief, if you...
Showdown in Wisconsin
The Midwestern US state of Wisconsin, home to long winters, strange delicacies such as fish boils, and sporting teams such as the Green Bay Packers, seems a strange epicentre for one of the great public policy battles of today: how to rein in...
The Biggest Loser is the Nanny State
The recently concluded reality TV show, The Biggest Loser, contains some surprising lessons for public policy. Of all the reality television shows bombarding us, The Biggest Loser best combines entertainment with the spectacle of social...