Wayne Swan

Analysis and Comment (23)

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Wayne Swan delivered his sixth budget. AAP/Alan Porritt

Federal budget 2013: The slow road to the black

By Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

What is almost certainly the Gillard government’s last budget delays the attack on the deficit and concentrates on entrenching “legacy” programs, for which Labor hopes to be remembered. Dealt a difficult…
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A myopic focus on short-term cyclical business cycles has meant successive governments have failed to carry much needed structural reform. Image sourced from www.shutterstock.com

Beyond the boom: have we frittered away our opportunities?

By Roy Green, University of Technology, Sydney

No sooner had Treasurer Wayne Swan accused the Europeans of “mindless austerity” a month ago than he embarked on a resolute but most likely counter-productive search for cost savings in the coming May…
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Prime Minister Julia Gillard has confirmed the Medicare levy will be increased to fund the NDIS. AAP/Julian Smith

Medicare levy boost to pay for disability insurance scheme

By Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a 0.5% increase in the Medicare levy to help fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – but Labor will not bring in legislation for the higher tax…
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Prime Minister Julia Gillard will today announce significantly lower than estimated tax revenue. AAP/ Shane Eecen

New hit to budget revenue

By Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

The estimate of budget tax revenue collection for 2012-13 has been further slashed, with the Treasury now saying it will be $12 billion less than forecast in October. The revision is another blow to a…
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Does Australia’s company tax rate place a significant impost on local businesses? shutterstock

Australia’s company tax ‘burden’ is just a myth

By Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies

Treasurer Swan could reduce the headline corporate tax rate from its current 30% rate to just over 15%, with virtually no consequences for government tax revenue with one simple piece of legislation: simply…
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How should we measure the size of the Australian economy? AAP

Punching above our weight: sizing up Australia’s economy

By Tom Conley, Griffith University

Treasurer Wayne Swan recently noted that Australia now has the world’s twelfth largest economy. This suggests it has moved up three places during Labor’s period of office, and regained the three places…
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Tony Abbott finds himself caught between competing interests on his foreign investment policy. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Foreign investment debate re-opens old divides within the Coalition

By Paul Williams, Griffith University

Foreign investment, like any other policy, is a complex juggling act. A balance between welcoming foreign investment – without which Australia cannot survive – and protecting Australian interests in not…
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Swan would have an easier time if he were more honest with voters about what Labor is trying to achieve. AAP/Lukas Coch

Swan struggles to help the poor in a straitjacket of his own making

By Ben Spies-Butcher

Labor’s budget continues a path set since 2007. It shows the technocratic skill of a government clever at policy detail; but also one unable, or perhaps unwilling, to challenge the economic straitjacket…
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Swan may be appealing to a voting bloc that doesn’t exist. AAP/Alan Porritt

Labor’s populist turn unlikely to succeed

By Geoffrey Robinson, Deakin University

The 2012 budget came at a particularly challenging time for Labor. The government has sought to achieve two distinct (if related) political goals: bolster Labor’s “economic management” credentials and…
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Swan’s budget targeted the Labor base, but it may not be enough. AAP/Alan Porritt

Will Wayne win over the battlers or is it too late for Labor?

By Nick Sharman, University of Melbourne

“Walk into the local pet shop and the resident galah will be talking about microeconomic reform.” So Paul Keating once famously quipped about the significance of the government’s microeconomic reform agenda…
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Swan’s “fair go” message isn’t original, but it is clever. AAP/Alan Porritt

What’s behind Wayne Swan’s ‘fair go’ message?

By James Mahoney, University of Canberra

When they each ran significant chunks of the Australian mining industry in the 1970s, the late titans Sir George Fisher and Sir Maurice Mawby were often dismayed at the attacks politicians, and others…
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Wayne Swan steered Australia through the GFC, but can he weather the tough times ahead? AAP

Golden Treasurer: is Wayne Swan really the world’s best?

By Alex Millmow

Spare a thought for Peter Costello. His successor as Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has just been named Finance Minister of the Year by Euromoney magazine. It is a bit like seeing the plodding nerd at…
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Family not forgotten: Tony Abbott is congratulated following his budget reply.

Middle class welfare: terrific politics, but terrible economics

By Mark Crosby, Melbourne Business School

“We are animated by but one desire — to do that which is best for Australia, and fair, just, and equitable to all the states, and to all classes and sections of our community." This quote comes from the…
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Does the budget lessen or deepen the male-female divide?

Tax, women and the Henry Review

By Miranda Stewart, University of Melbourne

The Budget: What does it have to do with tax reform? This year’s budget claims to “progress the government’s tax reform agenda, improving fairness and integrity in the tax system”. Does it? The short…

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