The Commission of Audit’s report, released yesterday, sets out a radical blueprint for the role of government, the scope of its activities and how it goes about getting things done. For the most part there…
The Commission of Audit made much of the affordability of Australia’s core areas of social spending without any consideration of our social responsibilities.
AAP/Tom Compagnoni
The recommendations in the Commission of Audit’s report, which was released yesterday, would, if implemented, erode the fundamental building blocks of Australia’s social contract. The social contract…
In this edition of The Week in Politics, University of Canberra Vice Chancellor Stephen Parker is in discussion with Michelle Grattan about the radical blueprint for Australia that has been put forward…
Commission chair Tony Shepherd has missed an opportunity to spark a genuine budget reform conversation.
Lukas Coch/AAP
There are some good ideas in the Commission of Audit report. Unfortunately they’re buried in so much else that it’s hard to find them. For a report focused on the costs and benefits of government, it shows…
Over the past 20 years the size of government spending has grown, both absolutely and as a percentage of GDP. Public sector debt has also increased substantially. The cautionary tale of Greece indicates…
The Abbott government is like the farmer supposed to be burning a paddock of stubble who ends up with the whole property in flames. Maybe it will be able to pull things together in the May 13 budget but…
For general patients, the minimum co-payment would be A$15.
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The Commission of Audit’s proposals about GP co-payments are just that, proposals. They are not government policy, nor should they be. Some aspects of the Commission’s recommendations are good. But the…
University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor Caroline McMillen says the government should look at the evidence before implementing the Commission of Audit’s recommendation to deregulate university fees.
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The National Commission of Audit released yesterday has made a recommendation to government in line with proposals from some Group of Eight vice-chancellors that university fees should be deregulated…
The chair of the Commission of Audit, Tony Shepherd, on the release of the report today.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The message from the federal government’s Commission of Audit is loud and clear: science, research and education are expenses to be trimmed rather than investments to be nurtured. Yes, there are few big…
The Commission report recommends private health insurers take on a greater role in Australia’s health system.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The National Commission of Audit has made 86 recommendations with a focus on the federal government’s 15 biggest and fastest-growing areas of spending. Health is near the top of the list, with the Commission…
The Commission of Audit has recommended a major recalibration of Australia’s federal system. Why?
AAP/Alan Porritt
The Commission of Audit has not flinched from making a tranche of bold recommendations to the Abbott government, but nothing in its report trumps the call for the Commonwealth to withdraw from areas that…
People are justified in spending more time out of the workforce.
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The National Commission of Audit recommends a number of changes to the age pension that boil down to smaller increases over time, older eligibility and tighter means-testing. It’s all based on the claim…
The recommendation made by the Commission of Audit to merge Screen Australia and the Australia Council is yet another example of this government’s policy incoherence. Locked into belligerent opposition…
The Commission of Audit report has recommended sweeping spending cuts for the government to consider for its May 13 budget.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The National Commission of Audit has made 86 recommendations with a focus on the federal government’s 15 biggest and fastest-growing areas of spending. The result is proposals for sweeping spending cuts…
The government will consider newly released recommendations from the Commission of Audit, which has suggested stringent cuts across the board.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Heavy on warnings that “business as usual” will leave future generations of Australians saddled with excessive debt, the National Commission of Audit has delivered the government a comprehensive platform…
Confidence will be shaken if it becomes acceptable for governments to jack up taxes because they don’t approve of previous policies.
AAP/Alan Porritt
In the lead-up to the federal budget on May 13 there have been the usual test balloons floated by the government. Raise the aged-pension eligibility age? A $6 co-pay for GP visits? Cuts to the ABC? And…
Commission of Audit: Advice or theatre?
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By Thursday evening the rabbit will be out of the hat. The highly anticipated report of the National Commission of Audit will have been released. The Audit was set in motion soon after the Abbott government…
Even as Australia is preparing for deep budget cuts, a new book questions the basic theory of economic growth.
The Coalition government is currently rehearsing a well-honed rhetoric on “everyone having to do the heavy lifting” to justify Treasurer Joe Hockey’s slash and burn budget on social services and pension…
What’s the ideal tax system and where do tax expenditures fit in?
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In recent days it’s been suggested the Commission of Audit should look at so-called tax expenditures as well as government spending as traditionally defined. Writing in the Australian Financial Review…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne