By Morris Dalton
On Monday August 20 at 6pm at the University of Melbourne members were addressed by a panel of three distinguished speakers, Ross Gittins, Max Corden and John Daley at a forum examining the policy implications of the high Australian dollar.
Ross Gittins started by reminding us very persuasively that economists should not forget the insights which their training provdes into this issue and that logical dispassionate analysis is the key to shedding light on this issue. Max Corden then went on to list and discuss the various policy tools open to Governments.
John Daley, the final speaker urged better communication by economists to policy makers and the community regarding the costs and benefits of government intervention and that greater emphasis need to be placed on supporting community resilience through training and upskilling of displaced workers.
This addresses were followed by a vigorous Q&A session in which attendees were able to directly quiz panellists on their views on this issue.
The High dollar forum brought attendees a greater appreciation of the issue and devalued some of the misleading premises that circulate in broader community discussion!
http://www.economist.com/node/21560914
The above link which is to an article in the economist is a thought provoking further comment on this issue