Another tax policy from the jack-in-a-box

OVER the past week we have seen, yet again, the depressingly deficient way our political parties are dealing with what amounts to about half of their job – raising revenue. It was yet another jack-in-a-box policy. Out of the box suddenly and noisily popped Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen. They blurted out a line-item proposal to change to Australia’s complicated tax system. There appeared to be no consultation with even the partyroom, let alone the wider public which contains deep academic, industry and think-tank knowledge.

OVER the past week we have seen, yet again, the depressingly deficient way our political parties are dealing with what amounts to about half of their job – raising revenue. It was yet another jack-in-a-box policy. Out of the box suddenly and noisily popped Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen. They blurted out a line-item proposal to change to Australia’s complicated tax system. There appeared to be no consultation with even the partyroom, let alone the wider public which contains deep academic, industry and think-tank knowledge. Continue reading “Another tax policy from the jack-in-a-box”

Preparing for disruption by driverless and electric cars


MOST governments and regulators will admit they were taken by surprise by Uber, yet with many car companies expecting to have driverless cars in the early 2020s (two years away), a lot of questions remain unanswered. The chief executive and commissioner of the National Transport Commission, Paul Retter, acknowledged as much at the Australian Logistics Council Forum in Sydney last week. Equally, electric cars (driverless or not) present a major tax question. Smart governments would be preparing for the disruption. Continue reading “Preparing for disruption by driverless and electric cars”

Beware the green dragon, not the red one

As China’s President Xi Jinping came closer this week to becoming the next Emperor of China for Life, western leaders wrung their hands and worried about China’s military power; cyber power and soft power – meanwhile naively surrendering, without a scintilla of opposition, primacy the one field that made the British and then the American empires world dominant – energy.

As China’s President Xi Jinping came closer this week to becoming the next Emperor of China for Life, western leaders wrung their hands and worried about China’s military power; cyber power and soft power – meanwhile naively surrendering, without a scintilla of opposition, primacy the one field that made the British and then the American empires world dominant – energy. Continue reading “Beware the green dragon, not the red one”