Weekly roundup Saturday 16 July
Now we need the transmission lines
Weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy.
Politics
Possibilities of political funding reform – easy in principle, but could get tricky in the details. Opinion polls – the Albanese government is still travelling well.
Public policy
Australia asserts its global and national stakes in renewable energy. Reminder to the Reserve Bank: we’re not the Weimar Republic in 1922 or Australia in 1982. First home ownership – we have spent a lot of public money on first home buyers, but too much on the demand side, too little on the supply side, and without the framework of housing or settlement policies. Dreyfus’s decision to drop Bernard Collaery’s prosecution is welcome, but there’s more to be uncovered about the whole ugly incident.
Covid-19
It’s back in full force, killing Australians and overloading our health systems, but we have the burdens of the Morrison government’s “living with Covid” contempt for public health and the present government’s terror of raising taxes to fund health care adequately. Please let us have a mask mandate.
Public ideas
Reminder: we live in a society, not in an economy, and we shouldn’t get too hung up about money we owe ourselves. The seven habits of highly effective nations: how many are Australian habits?
Links to sources of webinars, podcasts and readings.
July 14
Europeans celebrate Bastille Day.
If you have comments, corrections, or links to other relevant sources, I’d like to hear from you. Please send them to Ian McAuley — ian, at the domain name ianmcauley.com
