We were chilled by the prospect of a radical weight-loss austerity budget, but it did not occur in health. While liposuction was applied to several programs – hearing services and general practice-based…
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Business + Economy – Articles, Analysis, Comment
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Last night’s federal budget is a good time to analyse the government’s take on the economy and its economic policy agenda. In this budget, the Treasurer is cautiously upbeat about Australia’s medium term…
The Gillard Government has reiterated its commitment to education in this year’s budget, and universities in particular. Universities with regional campuses were the biggest winners, receiving $110 million…
The Commonwealth and state governments share a portion of the revenue windfalls of a mining boom through income taxation and royalties. However, both the current arrangements, and proposed changes by the…
Treasurer Wayne Swan has released his budget, with $22 billion in cuts and a return to surplus by 2012 - 2013, initiatives to increase workforce participation, plans to boost infrastructure investment…
Federal Budget night has become widely held as the most crucial event in Australia’s political calendar. After all, any statement of how more than $300 billion is going to be raised and a similar amount…
Sydney in February displayed in full technicolor what is one of the big stories in Ireland - the latest phase of our history of being an emigrant race. As we walked around the city, stopped for coffee…
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says he is set to deliver a tough budget. Julia Gillard remains committed to bringing government back to surplus by 2013. Budget day is an appropriate moment to ask how the…
Tonight’s budget is expected to tighten a tax loophole for charities which run businesses unrelated to their charitable work. The government thinks it will increase revenue for Australia’s coffers. It…
Tonight’s budget will bring major policy announcements directed at improving labour market outcomes for unemployed persons and welfare recipients. In her speech at the Sydney Institute on April 13, Julia…
The International Monetary Fund recently called on Australia to bank more of the proceeds of the resources boom. The fund has warned that Australia needs to manage its resources wisely, or run the risk…
After 25 years, one of the craziest taxation rules in Australia is about to be fixed. The federal government is expected to announce a revamp of fringe benefits tax rules for company cars in Tuesday’s…
There has been a dramatic fall in the price of oil and some commodities over the last few days, with oil plunging by as much as 10% per cent in US trade overnight. The price has recovered somewhat this…
This is a big week for Julia Gillard as she and Treasurer Wayne Swan put the final touches to Tuesday’s Budget. And it’s an equally big week for Helen Westerman, our Business and Economics Editor, as she…
Australia possesses an advanced digital economy which remains shackled to a media regulation system that belongs to the past century. Our laws reflect an era when media consumption was dominated by the…
FEDERAL BUDGET 2011: In recent decades, the budget surplus has become a goal in itself and an obsession for governments. In the process, we have lost some perspective on what kind of social and economic…
If pre-budget statements by Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan are an accurate guide, this year’s Federal Budget is shaping up as marking a change in the direction of Commonwealth taxing and spending priorities…
In order to understand why the government has committed itself to a budget surplus, we must distinguish what is known as the structural budget balance from the cyclical budget balance. We also need to…
To understand the political uses of budget surpluses, we need to go back to the early 1980s when Australia and New Zealand governments self-imposed a fiscal straitjacket. They decided that running a surplus…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard returned from her visit to China last month having locked down a series of cooperation agreements between countries - including a $600 million iron ore deal - which many hope…
Without a strong legal foundation, any carbon pricing scheme we come up with will be on shaky ground. And right now, the signs aren’t promising. While we don’t yet have a firm idea of what will be incorporated…
The release of surveys such as the Gallup Global Well-Being Index produce vast column inches of what are fun but largely meaningless articles on how Australians are happier than New Zealanders (they are…
It has been a lousy few weeks for technology companies when it comes to maintaining both the privacy and confidence of their customers. In the last few days, Sony had admitted a recent security breach…
Debate about the controversial practice of mulesing is set to be reignited again with prominent animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announcing a new campaign targeting…
The drastic social and demographic changes of the past few decades have radically changed traditional gender roles within the family structure in Australia. In the process, they have also changed the way…