Hoping for the best is not a budget management strategy: but Australia can set realistic goals.
Education policy should focus on making sure that every student makes great progress, rather than accountability for test scores or teacher performance pay.
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At best, there will be no new public money, just shuffling funds between programs. At worst, higher education will help reduce the budget deficit.
By persuading some drivers to travel a different route or at a different time, congestion charges can dramatically improve the flow of traffic.
AAP/Andrew Brownbill
Bigger cities increase wages, output and innovation, but also problems of congestion and pollution. Congestion charges can minimise these problems by dramatically improving traffic flows.
Australia’s power policies still aren’t heading in quite the right direction.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Australia’s energy policy has lost its way over the past couple of decades, which is unfortunate because the challenges – to move to a low-carbon economy without high prices – have never been tougher.
Australians contribute almost a fifth of all health care spending through fees.
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Health policy was an important factor in the election outcome, but one of the most important issues in the health sector – the impact of out-of-pocket costs – was mostly ignored.
Malcolm Turnbull faces many challenges in transitioning Australia to a post-mining boom economy.
Lukas Coch/AAP
What are the key policy challenges facing the new Turnbull government in terms of economic growth and budgets, cities, transport, energy, school education, higher education and health?
Malcolm Turnbull sets about the business of his returned government with the Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Martin Parkinson.
AAP/Lukas Coch