Weekly roundup Saturday 8 August


All is calm above Canberra’s winter of discontent


Weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy.

Politics

The many forms of opposition to climate change action: those who seek to thwart action on climate change have no end of shonky arguments.

Falling out of love with the USA: hardening public attitudes to the USA are understandable and justified, but there are serious implications for democracy.

Economics

Our workforce is becoming more stable: is this a constraint on productivity improvement?

Electric vehicle shock: rapid uptake of EVs leaves governments scrambling to replace fuel excise with poorly-considered road user charging.

Stop complaining: Australia’s in good economic shape and is well-managed.

Closing the Gap

The indicators: great progress on early childhood education, but no progress on some indicators on crime and justice.

Governance: Noel Pearson puts forward ideas on indigenous policy.

Public ideas

Why should anyone care about the Liberal Party? If a party has no purpose other than “winning”, is it worth saving?

Histories of female representation and female franchise: they’re different but male reactions persist.

Something different from the Arabian Gulf


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