Month: July 2010

The Australian

Scrap ‘Cash for Clunkers’ scheme, not older cars

30/07/2010
Australia should study the German “environment premium” example closely in the debate over the Prime Minister’s “cash for clunkers” proposal. It was one of the most bizarre and wasteful programs ever to be implemented by any government. Instead of scrapping hundreds of thousands of perfectly functional cars for imaginary benefits, the Prime Minister would be better advised to scrap her lunatic proposal.

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Business Spectator

Europe’s lesson too late?

29/07/2010
Through their economic good luck, Australians have been lulled into a false sense of safety. They feel invincible in the wake of a recent strong economic performance. They think they can afford the luxury of saying ‘no’ to further growth. To any European still remembering the 1980s, this has the same nostalgic quality as shoulder pads, Rubik’s cubes and those daggy Rick Astley songs. But actually, we would want to see the return of none of these.

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Ideas@TheCentre

Breaking out of the political madhouse

23/07/2010
To any ordinary human being, modern politics must be a nightmare. No longer does it seem to have the impact on a world that politicians want to change for the better. Instead, it has become an endless chore of news grabs, pseudo debates, and media posturing.

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Business Spectator

It’s time Henry had an umpire

22/07/2010
Opposition politicians are acutely aware of government’s ability to fiddle the figures to their desire. No shadow treasurer would be worth his salt if he did not complain about the dodgy nature of official forecasts. It is standard practice in Australia and elsewhere. But at least in Britain this could change now, and I am happy to say that I played a minor role in it.

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Business Spectator

Australia’s choice between growth and decline

15/07/2010
Given the choice between managing Australia’s growing population and administering the demographic decline of wide parts of Europe, there should be no doubt which of the two is the more pleasant scenario. The task of responsible politicians is not to scare the population about migrants. It should be to explain the benefits that our growing population entails.

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Ideas@TheCentre

A small population for our big island?

09/07/2010
Ideas@TheCentre – The CIS newsletter (Sydney), 9 July 2010 Prime Minister Julia Gillard is working hard to distance herself from her predecessor as she redefines Australia’s population policy. Kevin Rudd had famously declared that he made no apologies for supporting ‘a big Australia.’ Gillard seems to prefer a ‘small Australia,’ although she is yet to […]
Business Spectator

Nuclear’s new dawn

08/07/2010
In many European countries nuclear technology is experiencing an unexpected renaissance. It is likely that nuclear power will play a significant role in Europe’s energy mix for decades to come.

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Business Spectator

Europe’s not-so common market

01/07/2010
Despite repeated calls for greater unity, the European common market still does not work properly. Instead of opening their borders to the free movement of people, products, services and capital as required under various treaties, member states are still being caught in covert and sometimes open protectionism. This undermines their credibility about the future of the currency, too.

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