Recent publications in IPA Review article
Time to dump costly parental leave scheme
In 1975, Malcolm Fraser's Liberal government had the largest parliamentary majority in Australian history. The story is now well known: Gough Whitlam oversaw a massive expansion of the public sector, increasing government spending by more than 40...
The war on democracy
In 1953 a bitter Bertolt Brecht wrote, 'Would it not be easier / In that case for the government / To dissolve the people / And elect another?' With these lines, Brecht brilliantly captured the dripping contempt that some purportedly 'democratic'...
A 'nudge' in the wrong direction
Like many sinister concepts, the idea of governments ‘nudging' people may seem on first glance somewhat innocuous. Rather than relying on coercion such as using bans, fines and regulation to achieve social change, nudge employs a supposedly...
The economics of food
Have you ever not ordered something at a restaurant because it had strange ingredients, and ordered the roast chicken instead? Ever tried a restaurant because the social vibe of the place made you think it would be a great night out? They're safe...
The big government merry-go-round
Unintentional self-parody has long being a forte of governments around the world. Yet a movement in recent years to create multi-layered government and quasi-governmental agencies, each existing simply to lobby each other to in turn lobby other...
The life and times of the modest member
The publication of this new biography of legendary anti-tariff campaigner, Bert Kelly, is particularly timely. For it was fifty years ago, in late 1962, that the Australian policy of ‘protection all round', sometimes dubbed McEwenism,...
The ghost written article the government wanted us to publish
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says this article, secretly written by his department and offered to the IPA Review, is ‘a huge improvement on the rubbish they normally print'. We thought we'd print this...
Why the press gallery failed us, and why they will again
One of the most revealing stories in modern Australian politics comes from James Button-a speechwriter for Kevin Rudd for a short time in 2009. Button's recent and fascinating book, Speechless: A year in my father's business, details the now...
Should government force companies to be responsible?
Since at least the 1960s, advocates have called for firms to be socially responsible. Governments have responded. But what does it mean for firms to be socially responsible? And do government subsidies and regulations help? Calls for firms to be...
Civil liberties under fire
Attacks on individual freedom in Australia over the past few years have occurred in some unexpected places. Take, for instance, the unprecedented assault on civil liberties we have seen in Australia in recent years. Both the left and right of...