Archived publication for 2008 in IPA Review article
Recent publications
It's been a long time since the Corn Laws
Tim Wilson reviews Trade Policy, New Century: The WTO, FTAs and Asia Rising by Razeen Sally (Institute of Economic Affairs,2008, 226 pages) Despite their common goal, there is enormous debate amongst free trade advocates about the best means to...
Building the social convenant around social diversity
Rick Brown reviews The Home We Build Together: Recreating Society by Jonathan Sacks (Continuum, 2007, 272 pages) At ‘the end of history there are no serious ideological competitors left to liberal democracy.' So said Francis Fukuyama in...
Superannuation and MacBank as the zenith of the Australian nation
Richard Allsop reviews Unfinished Business: Paul Keating's interrupted revolution by David Love (Scribe, 2008, 264 pages) According to David Love in his new book Unfinished Business: Paul Keating's interrupted revolution, Paul Keating and...
Can free markets be as interesting as regulated markets?
Sinclair Davidson reviews The Best Book on the Market: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Free Economyby Eamonn Butler (Capstone, 2008, 172 pages) Eamonn Butler has written a marvellous little book promoting the free market. The best book on...
Editorial, September 2008
Free-marketeers cannot refuse to engage and critique the emissions trading scheme just because they are not happy with the science. This edition of the IPA Review focuses on the federal government's new emissions trading scheme (ETS). It does not,...
Try to remember: when you're in opposition, it's not about you anymore
‘If you don't understand the GST, don't vote for it.' That was Paul Keating's message days out from the 1993 election. It helped turn the poll around. Like all successful political lines, it was both shorthand and subliminal. What Keating...
Class and casinos
Opposition to gambling and poker machines is a confused mixture of patronising‘compassion' and political rhetoric, writes Richard Allsop. Kevin Rudd hates them. Brendan Nelson has expressed deep concern about them. Bob Brown wants huge cuts...
The Hollowmen and the sport of satire
What does our television tell us about Australian democracy? Over time, spin becomes truth. In the ABC's new satire The Hollowmen, political advisors find that they can no longer tell the difference, even to themselves, between spin and the...
Is Facebook making our kids violent?
Moral panic is never too far away from the Australian media. The widespread claims that the internet is corrupting youth and encouraging violent behaviour completely misunderstands technology, the people who use it and the nature of crime itself....
Nanny state is a poor guide to policy design
Living in a first world country, Australians are entitled to expect their governments to support the delivery of basic services and amenities-for a price. But now Australians are being told by state and federal governments that no matter the...