Opinion & Commentary
Opinion and Commentary contains media articles written by CIS researchers.
Categories
Fast rail go-slow
Long-distance passenger trains are running slower than they were in the steam engine era on some lines in New South Wales and on one line in Victoria, and interstate rail freight is steadily losing market...... Read More
A Ponzi by any other name
Georgios Chatzimarkakis, a German-Greek member of the European Parliament, just had a splendid idea. In an interview with tabloid newspaper Bild, he suggested a new name for Greece. From now on the country...... Read More
Give austerity a chance
Fiscal policy should focus on micro-economic issues such as promoting incentives to save, work and invest, as well as ensuring the long-term sustainability of public finances.... Read More
Education crucial to Aboriginal jobs
The problem is not a shortage of jobs in the mining sector. More local Aboriginal people would be employed in mines if they had the skills for employment.... Read More
An EU fix stuck at German denial
The summit-less time is over and the professional euro rescuers are back at work. After the first crisis meeting of EU leaders this year, the future of Europe’s common currency is as uncertain as before....... Read More
It's time to bust open the pharmacists' closed shop
Pharmacists are vital healthcare professionals. But as Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott look to keep the nation's health budget sustainable, it's also clear that very substantive savings can be made from...... Read More
Hallmarks of an EU power play
The tragedy of the European crisis is not that it was caused by striving for too much economic efficiency. The real tragedy is that it could have been predicted by public choice theory.... Read More
An Indigenous program that’s boxing clever
At risk Aboriginal youth are given an outlet to build self esteem through a boxing program with Redfern police.... Read More
Paying for Europe's wishful thinking
It is one of the most used phrases in the eurozone crisis: Buying time. The measures taken by European politicians over the past two years have obviously not solved the problems. Instead, they provided...... Read More
It's all a bit on the nose
Teaching and understanding the rules of civil society extends beyond new immigrants. Most Australians need a lesson too.... Read More
Why Merkozy is destined to fail
The eurozone crisis may soon return with more bad news from bond markets. Pity Europe’s leaders are too busy to deal with it.... Read More
Testing the RBA's DNA
As a practical first step towards more RBA independence, perhaps politicians of all parties could refrain from both applauding and criticising RBA decisions. It is none of their business.... Read More
Why reform worked in 1985
Unlike Gillard and Swan, Hawke and Keating knew what they wanted to do... Read More
Capitalist ghetto is a pathway to tolerance
In the market for 500 knock-off Tag Heuer watches? A container-load of inexpensive African style clothes? A leather-bound Koran or a Bangladeshi curry? Head to Chungking Mansions, just up the road from...... Read More
The Fightback! lesson: how politics can stymie good public policy
Twenty years ago, the Liberal-National Party coalition released Fightback!, the most comprehensive and market-oriented policy platform ever taken to an election.... Read More
It wouldn't be Christmas without Christianity
Without religion what is the meaning of Christmas?... Read More
A wild forecast for Euro pain
You may think that all of this sounds utterly ludicrous, and perhaps you are right. But ask yourself whether only two years ago you could have imagined elected prime ministers being replaced by technocrats,...... Read More
Let the online bargain hunt begin, properly
Australians are being ripped off due to Government regulations, especially when buying cars, bananas, and dvds.... Read More
Kiwis put ETS on the shelf
New Zealand’s realistic policy approach, combined with its almost defunct carbon market, should be a real wake-up call for Australia to reconsider its ill-fated Carbon Tax Scheme.... Read More
A British pawn in Europe's game
Perhaps it is dawning on Cameron that he had been moved like a pawn on a chessboard by his continental friends. His insistence to act in Britain’s national interest mainly served to promote the interests...... Read More
