Australian budget

Cross-posted with permission from Professor Ross Garnaut: The government’s retreat from tax cuts for big business provides an opportunity to take a fresh look at corporate tax reform.

By Leith van Onselen Over recent years, we’ve witnessed a veritable conga-line of Australian politicians going into well-paid private sector jobs after politics – often in the very industries that they used to regulate.

By Leith van Onselen The new South Australian (SA) Liberal Government clearly has plans to turn SA into a ponzi state.

By Leith van Onselen Back in April, Four Corners aired a joint investigation with Fairfax on the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO) alleged bullying of small businesses.

By Leith van Onselen When the National Broadband Network (NBN) arrived in my area in late 2016, residents were greeted with a barrage of junk mail advertisements from all manner of internet service providers offering competitively priced internet at fast speeds.

By Leith van Onselen Late last year, the Turnbull Government implemented university funding reforms to make it harder for students to access the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) for courses that have poor employment prospects, thereby effectively ending the demand-driven university system established by the Gillard Labor Government.

By Leith van Onselen The Grattan Institute has rubbished the Victorian Government’s announced plans for a $50 billion gigantic rail tunnel loop, claiming the project has been announced without Infrastructure Victoria’s expert advice and without conducting a business case.

By Leith van Onselen MB has devoted a lot of time explaining the ‘dis-economies of scale’ attacked to major infrastructure projects in Australia’s large cities, which drives up average costs for existing residents.

By Leith van Onselen Rail transport should be in my DNA.

By Leith van Onselen Yesterday I penned an article debunking Adam Creighton’s suggestion that Australia should double the $180,000 threshold for the top personal income tax rate.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian’s Adam Creighton has called for the $180,000 threshold for the top personal income tax rate to be doubled: If tax cuts ever made sense, debatable given mounting spending commitments, it was wiser to direct them to workers.