Richard Tomlinson University of Melbourne The Conversation has published many articles by Australia’s foremost academics on policies that affect housing. In the lead-up to expected announcements in the federal budget in May, we review the arguments in the articles since January 2016 – 81 were identified, of which 58 concerned housing policy. This article focuses […]
Peter Whiting. In putting forward the proposal to revamp the Australian citizenship test, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated that most people would be pleased that “…we are standing up for Australian values”. At first flush, this seems an appealing proposition. But a closer observation opens up a host of issues. In an Australia where there […]
Jenny Begent. Now that we have happened upon more fortunate times, let us recognise that we are our brother’s keepers, and set to work, regardless of party distinctions and religious differences, to make this world of ours a little bit more like home for those whom we call our brethren. William Booth (1890). Over a […]
John Buchanan University of Sydney Employer organisations, such as the Australian Retailers Association, supported by the federal government, have recently argued that wages for Australia’s lowest-paid workers should be increased by less than inflation. This would mean a cut in real wages. But none of their assertions are sustained by evidence or research. Three arguments […]
John Menadue. Reprinted from John Menadue’s splendid blog. Ideologues, the self-interested bankers, and accountants and lawyers persist with their fixation on privatisation, despite the fact that it is failing in one area after another, and that the electorate shows very clearly that it does not want it. The latest political example was in the WA election, […]
Bruce Duncan. World leaders are still struggling with the implications of the Trump Administration. They are watching closely to see how firmly the new US President sticks to his campaign pledges, and how much he is prepared to listen to experienced advisors. Trump caused confusion with his recent disjointed remarks to the Israeli Prime Minister, […]
Gary Harkin. Inequality has grown to unimagined extremes in our world. A recent report by Oxfam dramatically protests about “Eighty billionaires controlling as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion people on the planet”. Meanwhile, in Australia, the independent Fair Work Commission made a decision on 23 February to reduce Sunday penalty rates. The ACTU […]
Book review. Many books and articles catalogue the often turbulent history of housing activism across Australian cities. The Victorian cases are usually focused on the inner north of Melbourne. A recent example, Trendyville: the battle for Australian cities, documents the slum reclamation battles, the involvement of the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Oswald Barnett, and […]
Gary Harkin. ‘Gen Rent’, the unfortunate demographic The data on Australian residential property is scary. In the overheated Sydney market, the aspiring homeowner will receive no change from $300,000, after a 20 per cent deposit, legal costs, and stamp duty. Even given oft-cited parental support, it is members of a rare group indeed which can […]
Tim Harcourt. Posted on John Menadue’s blog, Pearls & Irritations, 24 November 2016. For open markets to work well, they need well-developed market institutions and social safety nets. Whether you love or loathe the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump can achieve media attention for an economic policy issue, as well as for himself. Take […]
