132nd Henry George Address by Professor Ross Garnaut Australia: Made for Free Trade and a Tax on Rent (Transcript of speech recorded at the Kelvin Club, Melbourne, 7 September 2023. Lightly edited for clarity and brevity.) Thanks, Tim, and very good to be here with...
The Western Australian election 11 March will be a furious battle, but don’t bother with the popcorn – the ALP led by Mark McGowan is set to win easily and the fireworks of One Nation will prove a damp squib. Facing certain defeat, the Liberal–National Coalition are...
Australia has a problem: we can’t build roads, rail and schools as fast as population is growing with current government financing methods. Failing to keep up with our current needs – let alone investing for an uncertain future - puts the living standards of everyone...
The worst tax we pay is a state charge – conveyancing Stamp Duty, which makes it hard, sometimes impossible, to move across town to a better job or around the corner to a bigger or smaller home. Anyone living with modern teenagers and the elderly in a house of many...
by Philip Soos When the infamous duo of Abbott and Hockey came to power in 2013, they embarked upon a polarising rhetoric of "lifters" versus "leaners" separating Australians into one of two camps. The split was a simple one: those who earn and engage in productive...
The Andrews government is flying a kite today in The Age to gauge public opinion on removing conveyancing Stamp Duty and using State Land Tax instead. This initiative deserves thunderous applause. With many young Victorians now excluded from home ownership and renting...
Flinty Deloittes economist Chris Richardson and all-heart ACOSS chief Cassandra Goldie are on the same page today in the Australian Financial Review. Literally – page 47. Their tax policy prescriptions, now Malcolm Turnbull has ruled out increasing the GST, are...
The economic impact of stamp duty, a study by Deloitte Access Economics for the Property Council of Australia released yesterday, finds Australia’s GDP would increase by $3.3 billion and real consumption by $9.7 billion if conveyancing stamp duty was replaced by an...
Professors John Freebairn and Miranda Stewart have penned an opinion piece today in The Age with a welcome call for state tax reform that could save taxpayers tens of billions every year. Most taxes carry deadweight losses - value destroyed as behaviour is distorted...
The Australian people are being distracted from the main game by a mad side-show over foreign nationals buying our land. The sheer scale of this buying is further inflating our sorely overheated property market, imposing great costs on first-time buyers, giving a free...