Archive
2024
It's time for fiscal rules
Oh boy. Another year, another GST carve-up that led to a flurry of complaints from the states that ’lost out’. This time it was the NSW and QLD Labor governments that were the most vocal, with NSW facing a $310 million cut, while QLD lost $469 million. For context, that’s a total revenue cut of around 0.25% and 0.55% in 2024-25 for each state, respectively – closer to a Budget rounding error than a major policy decision.
Friday Fodder (10/24)
Tasmanians will go to the polls tomorrow but it’s looking like it’ll be more of the same; I ask whether you should you fly on a Boeing; why Xi Jinping’s leadership meant Evergrande was inevitable; and what’s going on across the ditch.
Rethinking the National Broadband Network
The NBN was a costly mistake that has failed to earn a commercial return, hindered competition, and its business model is being undermined by new technologies. Might it be time to rethink the experiment?
Powering our AI future
If Australia’s policymakers don’t address the rising energy demands of AI, we risk falling behind other advanced nations. Despite its many critics, nuclear is a potential solution alongside renewables, and should not be ruled out so cavalierly.