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The problems with Australia’s political duopoly

Australia appears to be stuck in a political quagmire, with neither major party offering concrete solutions to the challenges facing the nation’s future. What can be done? Andrew Wong makes the case for why you should send the two major Australian political parties a message on July 2.

The state of the state

In the lead up to the November state election, Brody Viney takes a look at how the Victorian economy is tracking.

The Coalition’s first week signals a promising economic future

After what many consider to be a drawn-out, tumultuous and exhausting election campaign, the Coalition has emerged victorious. Just over a week has passed with Tony Abbott as Australia’s Prime Minister-elect. So, what progress has the Coalition already made on delivering its promise of a stronger economy?

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Election 2013 – let’s talk tax reform!

This article forms part of an ongoing series looking at economic issues as Australia heads into the Federal Election. More coverage can be found on the Election 2013 page of ESSA’s website.

This election campaign has already seen its fair share of gaffes, negative ads and costings claims. Perhaps it’s time we debated the pressing need to reform our tax system, starting with the GST.

The Problem

As I watched ABC’s Q&A Monday episode, The National Economic Debate, I sat despairing at yet another missed opportunity to talk ambitiously about policy reforms in Australia. After an excellent question from the crowd about the merits of reforming the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to broaden its base and potentially increase the rate (whilst concurrently reducing and eliminating other inefficient and distortionary taxes), both Treasurer Chris Bowen and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey manoeuvred their way out of discussing what is a sensible reform. It was arguably the most disappointing element of what was a very entertaining and substantive debate between Bowen and Hockey that covered the breadth of economic issues facing Australia.

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