Category Commentary

Port of Portland: sunk

Portland (pop. 10,000) remains seriously underdeveloped. While the rest of the state has grown by leaps and bounds, Portland sleeps. Its laggard status should be a matter of considerable concern to all Victorians.

Can a tax be beautiful?

The Senate Select Committee on New Taxes is pondering the implications of the Mineral Resource Rent Tax, holding a hearing yesterday in Perth. Here is a new tax measure that, even diluted for the election, will still raise over $10…

Melbourne’s secret plan

photo credit: Lucia. . . A secret map of Melbourne’s transport plans for the next 30 years was published in The Age yesterday. Doubts were raised about its authenticity (weakly, unconvincingly) by the Victorian government. Average householders may shrug, but…

Bailing out property owners

photo credit: 2careless This is the text of a letter by Dr Gavin Putland published in the Australian Financial Review on Tuesday 5 October 2010: BAILING OUT PROPERTY OWNERS While I share Lucio Conte’s concern about bailing out banks (Letters,…

Guardian, Labor on UK LVT Push

photo credit: Apogee Photography In today’s Guardian via Mark Braund, author of The Possibilities of Progress (available in our bookshop), summarises the rising impetus of LVT in UK politics. As a long-time supporter of land value taxation (LVT), it’s encouraging…