Holding Pattern

Federal Labor has done a good job by pointing to holes in the Coalition’s coronavirus economic package. The communique today from Anthony Albanese to ALP members stated: “Parliament has just passed a wage subsidy – something Labor has spent weeks calling for. Support is on the way for millions of Australians – and as a […]

Government debt A government that issues its own currency cannot go bankrupt.  It can choose to offset its spending by raising taxes or by borrowing (issuing government bonds). But it does not have to. It can just credit the accounts of the recipients of government spending. The only limit on the amount a government can […]

On 30 March, the Government announced the $130 billion JobKeeper Payment to help keep Australians in jobs as we deal with the significant economic impact from the Coronavirus. This brings the Government’s total support for the economy to $320 billion across the forward estimates, representing 16.4 percent of annual GDP. How can the government afford this when we […]

 The parallels between the COVID- 19 and climate change crises are as follows: Both crises are global problems requiring global action but also requiring changes to the individual lifestyles of billions of individuals; Both crises demonstrate the importance of strong leadership by governments. While individuals, or even communities, can initiate or agitate for change, only […]

Governments are still not giving clear enough messages to the community on social distancing and the virus. The message from all leaders is that if you do not need to go out then stay at home. But it is not clear enough what “need” means. It is clear enough that we need to go out […]