Opinion & Commentary
Opinion and Commentary contains media articles written by CIS researchers.
Categories
Painting by numbers with poor results: Official statistics aren't to be trusted
If you are one of those people who never believes official statistics, you will love this. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) published two items last month which suggested that its last five or...... Read More
Fighting an uncivil war to save society
It starts with an unthinking act of selfishness, becomes rudeness, and before you can say 'I'm all right Jack', civilisation as we know it is threatened. ... Read More
The day the earth didn't change forever
It has been observed that those who lack the imagination of disaster are doomed to be surprised by the world. Until September 11 such a lack was very prevalent in the Western world. While it was particularly...... Read More
Third World aid: is it part of the solution or the problem?
Heads of government and ministers met at the United Nations headquarters in New York during the week to try to answer the question. Helen Hughes, a senior fellow at the Centre of Independent Studies, argues...... Read More
A tale of two refugees
Two refugees from fascism, each of whom made an outstanding contribution to the development of economics and hence to the rapid rise of living standards in the West after World War II, came to the end...... Read More
Leave off, tax breaks can redress child costs
Three fundamental issues underlie the maternity leave debate. First is the form and level of assistance governments should provide to help meet the costs of having children. ... Read More
Unfettered deregulation for varsities
Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane created headlines recently with his remarks about Australia lacking a university in the world’s top 100. The remedy, he said, ‘will almost certainly involve the...... Read More
Independent research works best: A think tank within a political party walks a tightrope
There has been a media flurry since federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson swiftly rejected a new report on education policy from the Menzies Research Centre, a Liberal Party think-tank. An editorial...... Read More
American pie losing its favour
We all know America, don't we? While we may confess to ignorance about Japan or Russia, or even France, we are confident that we know America. It is, as they say, everyone's second country. ... Read More
Turning on axis distorts aim: The US should exercise restraint and prudence in its mission against the evils of terrorism
As far as American foreign policy is concerned, there have been, and still are, two very different traditions existing alongside each other: realism and American exceptionalism. ... Read More
Foreign aid offers a poor policy: The world bank helps those who help themselves to the cash
The aid industry, led by the World Bank, met last week in Monterrey, Mexico, to drum up financial support for international aid institutions. Two years ago 189 countries promised to cut poverty in half,...... Read More
Time to care for ourselves: Instead of a welfare state, it would be cheaper and more efficient if we each made our own arrangements
The welfare state has developed over a hundred years. In this time, increasing numbers of people have become dependent upon it, not just as consumers but also as producers and managers of its services. ...... Read More
Give choice a chance: Market phobia sees universities clinging to the stable penury of government funding
Five years ago, like today, there were signs that commonwealth higher education policy might be changing. On that occasion, the review of higher education financing and policy, chaired by Roderick West,...... Read More
We are liable for ourselves: Scrap negligence law and encourage self-insurance
The headlines beggar belief: Insurance giant collapses; Doctors driven to the brink of bankruptcy; Amateur sporting clubs forced to close; Builders' insurance premiums rise by 150 per cent. The cause:...... Read More
Be a realist, not a lap dog: A cooling off period will improve ties with indonesia
Ours is an age that believes in action. Faced with a problem, virtually any problem, the demand is that someone—and these days it is invariably the state—should act immediately. Action is evidence...... Read More
Loud mobs hold democracy hostage
The build-up of demonstrations since the 1999 World Trade Organisation debacle in Seattle has a deja vu feeling for anyone who witnessed the rise of national socialism in the 1930s.... Read More
Who says we are in the doghouse? There is no such thing as world opinion
In the eyes of much of the world, the Australians of today are a relaxed, self-confident people, at ease with themselves. Which makes it very strange that many Australians — and in particular those...... Read More
How to win arguments and influence debate
Unlike its regional neighbours, and reflecting its Western origins, Australia has a political culture that revels in robust polemical exchange.... Read More
Free the teachers to help the students: Parental choice in schooling will improve education
A systematic comparison of the academic results of state and non-government schools has been a long time coming. Last week, the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) released a report confirming...... Read More
Poverty lines tangled: An influential report claiming that one in eight Australians lives in poverty is wrong
Our paper, Poor Arguments: A Response to the Smith Family Report on Poverty in Australia - questioning the claims that one in eight Australians is living in poverty today, and that poverty has risen in...... Read More
