When Julia Gillard announced that her government was introducing a new mining tax on July 2, 2010, she described it as a “breakthrough agreement” with three of Australia’s largest mining companies that would “underpin major economic reforms that will strengthen our economy so we can move forward together with confidence”. The mining tax, officially described…
In this article, I want to discuss briefly the recent US election, the Chinese leadership transition and what it will mean for us, and to look forward to the 2013 federal election in Australia, which now looks as if it could be a lot closer than many expected even two or three months ago. US…
Since the global financial crisis hit in 2007, Australians have been far more risk-averse than many economists and business leaders would like, by repaying mortgages, foregoing increased debt and limiting purchases of expensive consumer goods. Despite the willingness of banks to extend credit, most people have clearly decided to ignore the official economic outlook…
In Doha, the Australian government has signed up to a UN-sponsored cash grab for Australia and some other developed countries to bankroll environmental programs in the Third World, and also to an extension of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which failed to cut greenhouse gas emissions — at a time when the United States, China, India…