John Roskam
Senior Fellow
John Roskam is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Australian Way of Life at the Institute of Public Affairs. He served as Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs from 2005 to 2022. Before joining the IPA he taught political theory at the University of Melbourne. He was previously the Executive Director of The Menzies Research Centre in Canberra, has been a senior adviser and chief of staff to federal and state education ministers, and was the manager of government and corporate affairs for a global mining company.
His publications include Australia's Education Choices (with Professor Brian Caldwell), 'Terrorism and Poverty' in Blaming Ourselves, 'Liberalism and Social Welfare' in Liberalism and the Australian Federation, and 'The Liberal Party and the Great Split' in The Split Fifty Years Later.
His fortnightly column appears in The Australian Financial Review. He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Australian Journal of Public Administration, and Connor Court Publishing, and the Advisory Board of The Centre for Advanced Journalism at the University of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration, Australia in Victoria, and is an Honorary Fellow of Campion College.
1 June 2023
PwC Doesn’t Do What It Tells Its Clients To Do
For a firm that makes such a fuss about its expertise in ESG, it should have noticed that the “governance” part of those three letters is slowly being taken seriously. PwC is discovering the truth of “it’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up”. Which is not to say or even suggest any crimes have been committed. We don’t know yet
30 May 2023
John Roskam Discussing IPA Housing Crisis And Migration Research On Sky News Australia – 30 May 2023
On May 30 The Institute of Public Affairs’ John Roskam discusses research on Credlin Sky News Australia that shows 60% of Australians want a temporary pause on the intake of new immigrants until more economic and social infrastructure, such as schools, roads, hospitals, and houses, are built. An unsustainable jump in migration will put further pressure on critical economic and social infrastructure,
21 May 2023
The Liberals Need A Truth-telling Game Plan
The challenge for Peter Dutton is to be honest with Australians about the condition of the nation and still get elected, rather than blamed. Recently, a federal Coalition MP was contemplating the condition of the opposition one year on from the federal election. As a keen follower of sport from an AFL state, the politician described the situation in football
4 May 2023
PwC And The Consulting Industrial Complex
The ability of the government to consult experts and stakeholders on draft legislation, sometimes on a confidential basis, is important to the practice of good governance. What PwC did wrecked this process. The Greens are not always wrong. On what should happen to PwC, they’re absolutely right. Following revelations a PwC tax partner breached confidentiality agreements and shared information on the government’s
21 April 2023
Liberals Must Fight With Themselves Before They Battle Labor
Sweeping disagreements under the rug will not get the party back into power. It’s argument that drives policy creativity. When you believe you’re the party of government and you’re not in power anywhere on the Australian mainland, inevitably it’s going to be difficult for the Liberal Party. You try to console yourself saying “we’ve been here before and the tide
23 March 2023
NSW Election is Another Contest About Nothing
Saturday’s contest in NSW is further proof the traditional left/right political divide is now irrelevant as politicians form part of a managerial elite whose task it is to eliminate political difference not accentuate it These pages over several weeks have documented how the Liberal and Labor policies for Saturday’s NSW state election are virtually indistinguishable. It’s hard to disagree with Graham Young’s assessment a
10 March 2023
The Truth Is Out There: COVID-19 Was About Politics, Not Science
When The New York Times allows its star columnist to write an oped revealing that mask mandates did nothing to stop the spread, it’s obvious something is changing the narrative about the pandemic. The truth, as the saying goes, is a time-release pill. Three years on from the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, we’re getting closer to identifying the origin
3 March 2023
Their Fiery Cross Of Union
Their Fiery Cross of Union’ is a brilliant book and one of the most important works of Australian history to appear in recent years. It is deeply insightful, beautifully written, and succeeds in making forgettable and forgotten politicians interesting. It’s both scholarly and entertaining. In 1890s Australia, federation was what climate change is today. It sounded worthy, it was vague,
3 March 2023
Plagued: Australian’s Two Years Of Hell – The Inside Story
In April 2022, a month before the federal election Gideon Rozner, the Director of Policy at the Institute of Public Affairs, was a guest on the ABC’s Q+A program. When asked about the legacy of Scott Morrison as Prime Minister, Rozner stated: My concern is what Scott Morrison has done to the Liberal Party and to liberalism, to the values
23 February 2023
The Voice Referendum Is Not 1967
A loss or narrow victory will set back reconciliation – that’s a truth advocates of both the Yes and No side must surely be able to see. The Yes vote in the 1967 referendum was 90.77 per cent and won a massive majority in every state. The legislation establishing the referendum was passed unanimously by both houses of parliament and
