Dilbert gets it:
Not only are Australia’s 5 major banks to be hit with a new $6.2bn tax, which Simon Breheny said “every single one of us is going to have to pay for“, they have been told they must sign non-disclosure agreements before the government will hand over any details. John Roskam told The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday it was “an abrogation of the rule of law” and “an embarrassment”.
It’s not hard to imagine how the UK Conservative Party have a 20-point lead in the polls, when the Labour campaign director is literally a Stalinist who in 2003 stood in solidarity with the North Korean regime. But conservatives must not get complacent – Robert Colvile wrote in an important article on CapX on Tuesday that the soul of the British Conservatives is on the line at the June election.
You have to admire their persistence – writers at left-wing website Salon are still publishing articles about the long promised “end of Trump“. It’s been a big build up – they hit this theme in January 2017, October 2016, July 2016, June 2016, and September 2015. Conrad Black nailed the unhinged mendacity of Democrats and the elite media in The New York Sun on Tuesday.
Did you think An Inconvenient Truth needed show tunes? The Hoover Institution’s Dr Henry Miller explained in The Wall Street Journal on Friday how US government funded science research led to $700,000 being spent on a climate change musical. The great Matt Ridley wrote in this week’s Spectator about the need to stop the green posturing and invest in energy sources that actually work.
To read what else Matt Ridley has to say about the facts of climate change, pre-order the IPA’s upcoming book, Climate Change: The Facts 2017.
Tune into The Young IPA Podcast tomorrow to hear an interview with Senator James Paterson to discuss his time in the Senate, the future of liberalism, and the national debt. Subscribe here.
Article of the week:
Barton Swaim dissects the war between Trump and the “expertocracy” in this excellent 2,600 word article in the upcoming edition of The Weekly Standard.
IPA Staff Pick:
Each week an IPA staff member shares what they have enjoyed recently. Today: Brett Hogan
My pick this week is this article from Melbourne Business School marketing professor Mark Ritson on Heineken’s new 4 minute “Worlds Apart” advertisement. While the ad has been described by the Huffington Post as “a beautiful blend of beer and politics“, Ritson argues it highlights how modern marketers are more interested in talking about cultural issues than they are in selling products.
Here’s what else the IPA said this week:
- John Roskam, This budget ends the liberal age – The Australian Financial Review
- Simon Breheny, No contest of ideas, just a grubby fight for votes – The Australian
- Andrew Bushnell, Changes could reduce reoffending for low-risk criminals – The Sydney Morning Herald
- Brett Hogan, Budget 2017: Energy policy’s gushing wounds won’t be fixed with a mop and bucket – The Spectator Australia
- Morgan Begg, Best way to make markets more competitive lies in legislating to cut red tape – The Australian
- James Bolt & Peter Gregory, Episode 10 – The Young IPA Podcast
