The first years of the millennium were kind to government finances. A benign economic environment, and a once-in-a-century commodity boom fuelled by Chinese growth, helped the Federal budget to a cumulative…
After Labor proposed a royal commission into the banking industry, Treasurer Scott Morrison said the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has all the powers of a royal commission and more. Is that right?
Malcolm Turnbull is the venture capitalist of politics who, with his bid to force the states to raise a slice of income tax, has invested heavily in a risky enterprise.
By proposing a dramatic shake-up of income taxing powers Turnbull has thrown himself into a contest that will test his policy and persuasive skills to the hilt.
Malcolm Turnbull’s move to have the governor-general recall parliament, using an often-forgotten constitutional power, caught many political players off guard.
Malcolm Turnbull admits he did not make a call on Sunday night to tell Scott Morrison he was bringing the budget forward, but that draws attention to the obvious point – Morrison had abundant warning…
The default position for politicians is to sound concerned about housing affordability, but do nothing. This can be explained by the idea of ‘policy capture’, in this case by industry interests.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has flagged the prospect of ministers campaigning on both sides in the same-sex marriage plebiscite – as happened in the republic referendum.
It has been a week of political contests, both within party lines and across them. Stephen Parker and Michelle Grattan take a look at the bitter rivalry between Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.
Politics has its own purgatory, as Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott might have reflected when they sat on the same table at the Howard government’s 20th anniversary dinner on Wednesday.
Treasurer Scott Morrison, already under fire for not having tax policy out, has got into a stoush with former prime minister Tony Abbott over how much work was done before the leadership change.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has “rescaled” the tax debate to hold out the prospect of “modest” tax relief that may prevent average wage earners moving into the second highest tax bracket.
Many of us are happy for governments to increase spending on public services, but we don’t like the idea of higher taxes. There are some good reasons for this.
Scott Morrison has become a true believer in the cause of raising the GST, determined to drive a major switch in the tax mix. The big question is whether Malcolm Turnbull will end up in the same place…
Last year Joe Hockey was quite clear: he issued a discussion about the Australian tax system, and promised a green paper on options and a white paper on government policy.
Senior Lecturer in Political Science: Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute; Research Associate for Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland, James Cook University