Archived publication for 2008
Recent publications
Evidence-based policy and public sector innovation
A key driver of Victoria's ability to compete against other Australian states and international competitors will be the degree to which the Victorian government is itself innovative. The creation of the right environment for innovation by the...
Liberal and Labor governments can't seem to restrain their spending
The new government has been laying out excellent criteria for public policy, writes Mitch Fifield. But its own policies are failing these stringent tests. On a Brisbane stage in mid-November last year, Kevin Rudd positioned the final nail above...
Shooting down the enemies of progress
Tony Gilland reviews An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming by Nigel Lawson (Overlook, 2008, 144 pages) & The Enemies of Progress: The Dangers of Sustainabilityby Austin Williams (Imprint, 2008, 156 pages) An Appeal to Reason:...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Building the Australian Nanny State
Free bibs Victorian Deputy Premier Rob Hulls has announced an additional $35,000 of funding for Auskick programs to provide bibs and waist bags to identify volunteers who had met working with children checks. V-chip for Australia The Senate...
The intellectual gap goes to university
Following a campaign by the Australian Liberal Students Federation, a Senate committee is investigating the level of intellectual diversity at Australian universities. It is well-known that academia-and more often than not those who are university...