Recent publications in Occasional Paper
Next Generation State Budgets
Next Generation State Budgets: Stronger Fiscal Rules for Better Budgetary Outcomes and More Prosperous States
Green groups and the government
Green groups and the government: a dangerous duopoly
Victoria looking ahead: Policy priorities for the Victorian government
The election of the new government in Victoria in November 2010 provides an opportunity to embark on a reform agenda to improve living standards and quality of life for Victorian people.
Green Excuses: Collusion to promote protectionism?
The trade of forestry products on international markets is becoming increasingly controversial. For years environmental groups have been claiming that there is mass deforestation and illegal logging occurring in the developing world to create...
Forcing Prices Up
Grocery prices will always be controversial, especially when government policy is artificially inflating their price. The ACT government commissioned John Martin to complete a review into the ACT government's supermarkets competition policy....
The Resource Super Profits Tax and the 2010-11 Budget
A report into how the Henry Review and 2010/11 Budget will harm Australia's economic interests.
Governing in ignorance: Australian governments legislating, without understanding, intellectual property
Monday, 26th of April 2010 is World Intellectual Property Day. Intellectual property is one of the most poorly understood areas of public policy, but also one of the most important to understand in a knowledge economy. Yet legislators regularly...
A growing risk: The impacts and consequences of rising state government employment
The greatest increase in total state public sector staffing has been in the area of government administration. There is also evidence of growth in ‘back office' staff in the key service delivery areas of education, health and policing.
Tax Cuts Not Stimulus Spending
Over the course of the 2008-09 financial year the Australian Government took a series of significant fiscal policy decisions which were designed to act as an economic stimulus. This paper asks the following simple hypothetical question: if those...
122 ways towards a Nanny State
The Preventative Health Taskforce released its report on 1 September 2009. With 122 recommendations, it provides a blueprint for the Nanny State in Australia. New laws 1. Food and beverages classification 2. Junk food if self-regulation fails 3....