1 June 2017

Natural justice is under threat in the class war against white collar crime, writes Andrew Bushnell and Darcy Allen. ‘White collar crime’ didn’t exist until 1940. That was the year American sociologist Edwin Sutherland dreamt up the idea that the ‘suave and deceptive’ upper reaches of society, insulated by their class privilege, were getting away with untold criminality, and so

19 May 2017

The Senate committee examining Australian drone regulations has had just one public hearing and is months away from its December reporting date. Nevertheless, last week they wrote to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester, strongly encouraging immediate action and “strengthened regulation” for drone technology. Calls for more red tape and restrictions on drones is not only premature, but

20 April 2017

A provocative speaker at the 2016 World Architecture Festival has thrown his politically correct industry into a tailspin with calls to scrap social housing, privatise public space and stop land zoning. In the speech, Patrik Schumacher, principal at world-renowned Zaha Hadid Architects, argued that housing crises would never end without a big dose of free-market libertarianism. A free market perspective

19 April 2017

This article first appeared in the April 2017 edition of the IPA Review and is written by IPA Adjunct Fellow Darcy Allen. A provocative speaker at the 2016 World Architecture Festival has thrown his politically correct industry into a tailspin with calls to scrap social housing, privatise public space and stop land zoning. In the speech, Patrik Schumacher, principal at

1 March 2017

In the two centuries after 1500, the educated elite of Western Europe began embracing a culture of growth. Scholars and scientists came to believe that continued economic progress was achieved through the virtuous pursuit of knowledge, judging new ideas on evidence rather than ancient wisdom. This change began to manifest in the ‘upper tail human capital’ of a small segment

15 February 2017

Lines of taxi drivers crawled across the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne on Monday. Their protest wasn’t over pay, conditions or safety. It was over the size of their consumer-funded compensation handout as Victoria legalises Uber. The transition from ageing taxis to innovators like Uber is inevitable and has forced governments to reconsider their cosy relationship with the taxi industry. Victoria’s

1 February 2017

Workplace relations, taxation and the regulation of alcohol are only some of the costly and complex burdens facing Australian hospitality and related industries. This paper is an enquiry into one subset of these burdens, liquor licensing, which impacts businesses from supermarkets to small bars. Liquor licensing refers to state-based regulatory restrictions on the sale of alcohol on premises (e.g. bars),

25 January 2017

These are the five things you need to know about drone regulation in Australia. Read the full report from Darcy Allen here: https://ipa.org.au/publications-ipa/research-papers/case-for-cutting-red-tape-drones

20 January 2017

Regulators must continue efforts to cut unnecessary red tape on drone technology – including removing restrictions on flying beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) for commercial operators – according to a new research paper by free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. In The Case For Cutting Red Tape On Drones, IPA Research Fellow Darcy Allen reviews the opportunities and

18 January 2017

Today’s Sensis Small Business Index shows that small and medium businesses are more confident about the future than they have been since early 2010. However, the report also shows that small and medium sized enterprises want the Federal Government to reduce red tape and bureaucracy. “While small businesses are more confident than they have been in a long time, the