The Chinese character for China, denotes China as the middle kingdom and understandably so: It borders 14 sovereign states. To the north- Russia, Mongolia and Korea (since there is no formal separation of North and South Korea). To the west – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan To the south west – Pakistan, Afghanistan To the south – Continue reading »
Economy
Somewhere, somehow, China became the number one enemy of the world, or at least to the world that is run by the USA. For many the ‘reason’ has been the challenge that China poses to US economic hegemony, but might not America’s fear of China be based on ideological causes; a battle of ideas? Why Continue reading »
“It is a trope of twentieth and twenty-first century-life that governments faced with financial shortfalls look first to the services they provide their citizens when making cuts. Instances like these …
The post Politicians’ fine-sounding pledges offer little more than a deceitful illusion when sound finances dictate the strategy appeared first on The Gower Initiative for Modern Money Studies.
As a long-ago holder of an orange lobbyist Parliament House pass (referred to as a ‘gold diggers’ pass, in contrast to the ‘true blue’ pass of staffers or the ‘yellow press’ pass for the press gallery), I read the latest kerfuffle about lobbying, political donations, influence peddling and political insider trading with an element of Continue reading »
It’s astonishing now that the analytical dust has settled on the budget that out of 57 leading Australian economists, most have given it top marks. What planet we may ask do they – and the Labour Government – live on? Not one critically endangered by climate change and a catastrophic decline in biodiversity which collectively Continue reading »
The inadequate if not negligent response of governments around Australia to the critical issue of Aboriginal housing—perhaps the country’s biggest policy failure—puts into sharp focus why a Voice to Parliament may help elevate the case for urgent action. Governments have moved away from specific programs to address the acute housing needs of First Peoples, even Continue reading »
It has been obvious for many years that our health system needs a radical, evidence based, redesign if it is ever to meet the oft spoken goals of equality and cost-effectiveness, with a focus on prevention and timely availability of care based on need, not financial wellbeing. Ours is a country where, despite politicians’ pre-election Continue reading »
The aged care payment system currently requires providers wishing to make a profit to do so by skimping on care and services. A new payment structure is needed to reverse the incentives, and link higher profits to better care. In several recent articles in The Guardian Henry Belot has highlighted the alleged practice of the Continue reading »
It was a shock but no real surprise to read that the multi-national company Inspired Education, which owns Reddam House school in the Sydney’s eastern suburbs, now plans to set up more fully for-profit schools in other areas (Sydney Morning Herald, 27/5). Who thought it would come to this? Where the inexorable march of the Continue reading »
There is growing support for a government-owned “people’s bank”, like the original Commonwealth Bank, operating through post offices, which could provide full banking services to every community and force the Big Four private banks to truly compete. At dramatic hearings of the Senate inquiry into bank closures in regional Australia in Queensland last week, more Continue reading »