Opinions
OPINION
If the NDIS is ‘runaway spending’, what do we call $16 billion in fossil fuel subsidies?
New research shows fossil fuel subsidies will reach $16.3 billion in 2025–26, rising faster than the NDIS. Handouts to mining giants are growing faster than support for Australians with disability.
OPINION
What if we just gave people money? The economics of time and freedom
The idea that there’s only so much money to go around makes a bastard kind of sense to the poor. If impossible decisions abound in their lives, it must be true of governments, too. Certainly, that’s how federal budgets are framed. But beyond impressionism, we know the household budget is not analogous to state budgets in any meaningful way.
OPINION
Australia is walking a legal tightrope in the Iran War
While the initial Israeli and US air strikes on Iran are legally very dubious, the pace with which the war has escalated will result in those significant legal issues being set aside – for the time being at least.
OPINION
If unemployment is the cure for inflation, who pays the price?
In recent weeks, economists have argued that a certain level unemployment is a necessary condition for the economy to function. They have argued that the Reserve Bank of Australia may need to raise interest rates higher, to increase unemployment, which is currently too low, in order to bring inflation under control.
OPINION
Why Meta should shoulder the burden of stopping deep fake adverts
AI deepfakes used in online fraud are a global problem. In Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, the EU, and Southeast Asia, scammers often use deepfake images of public figures to trick people into handing over money. But Australia has been at the forefront of many of the regulation discussions.
OPINION
A gas export tax could power Australia’s manufacturing revival
Australia is sitting on a brutal contradiction. We say we want a strong economy, lower emissions, secure jobs and a future for our children. Yet we continue to export enormous volumes of gas, collect too little public value from it, and then argue about whether we can afford to rebuild our manufacturing base, modernise training, or bring down industrial power prices.
OPINION
A Fair Go for Pacific Workers: The Case for Mobility and Employer Readiness
As you enjoy the fruits of Australia’s autumn harvest, spare a thought for the hands that likely picked it. Thousands of workers from across the Pacific are currently here under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme, working hard to earn an honest living and provide a better future for their families back home.
OPINION
Australia actually has more than enough houses, they’re just owned by investors
Over the past 10 years, the number of new homes has been growing faster than the population. Read that sentence again if you need to, but doing so won’t change the facts.
OPINION
The absurd tax laws holding Australian charities back
What do preparing for climate disasters, preventing cruelty to animals, and building social connection have in common? Charities engaged in these activities are often locked out of receiving tax deductible donations and philanthropy.
OPINION
If you win most literary prizes, you pay tax. If you win The Block, you don't. How is this fair?
When Goorie and Koori poet Evelyn Araluen won last week’s $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature, along with the $25,000 Indigenous Writing prize, she called on the Australian government to change the way it taxes arts prizes.
