The federal government is primarily to blame for the mess that is Australia’s energy policy. It’s time for the states to step up, to reduce both prices and emissions.
In the election bidding wars, parties commit billions to transport projects, often before all the work needed to justify these has been done. More cost-effective alternatives hardly get a look-in.
Efforts by governments to redirect population growth to regional Australia have never worked. Even if such policies could be made to work, they probably wouldn’t be worth the costs.
Ahead of two state elections, the Grattan Institute Orange Book examines the state of each state and how each can do things better. The good news is that if each copied the best in each field they would do very well indeed.
A new report from Grattan Institute argues the secrecy and inequality surrounding who has “say” and “sway” in Canberra can be remedied – if politicians can just find the will to do it.
Universities now have the incentive and flexibility to respond to student interests, and we shouldn’t distract them with policy changes that could make things worse.
Electricity retailers need to make their prices and offers more transparent and easier for customers to understand, or risk having to submit to price regulation to drive down bills.
Obesity imposes enormous costs on the community, through higher taxes to fund extra government spending on health and from foregone tax revenue because obese people are more likely to be unemployed.
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.
Industry consolidation and technological advances have completely reshaped the pathology industry over recent decades. But the way governments pay for pathology services hasn’t kept up.
Queensland’s liquid natural gas boom, built on the back of vast reserves of coal seam gas, will bring huge gains to Australia. Exports of gas are set to quadruple by 2018, creating investment, jobs and…
The past year has seen two major reports on the economics of higher education, each seeking to reform the way undergraduate study is financed. The Grattan Institute’s Graduate Winners appeared in August…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne