Ideas@TheCentre

As you can tell from their statements, the political class is not amused about the result of the federal election. Forming a government is all too difficult, they complain. There was no clear mandate, and getting bills through both houses of Parliament could become a bit of a nuisance.

Maybe we should not be too critical of economists writing open letters. At least they have kept a few journalists busy writing newspaper columns about economists writing letters.

Many of Europe’s problems were the result of complacent or, shall we say lazy, policymaking. Looking at the Australian election campaign, you get the impression that our politicians are hell-bent on repeating many of Europe’s mistakes.

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.

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 […]

The social result of migration could be counter-intuitive: it may very well strengthen Australian patriotism, not undermine it. It may reinforce social cohesion, not destroy it.

Once upon a time, a European traveller’s wallet used to be as colourful as the Eurovision Song Contest. Europe can only hope for the return of that splendid monetary diversity. And who would want to listen to the same daggy tune 27 times in a row anyway?

The Red Tape Trading Scheme would make it possible to reduce administrative burdens without a top-down strategy. Instead, it would give incentives to bureaucrats to spot opportunities to still achieve the same goals of regulations but with less bureaucracy.