NDIS funding focus and rushed rollout could be undermining outcomes by Stephen Easton | 0 comments Is the NDIS fully funded, and what does that even mean? Will the scheme will be delivered on time and on budget? There are growing concerns that these questions obscure another matter of fundamental importance: the quality of outcomes.
Budget to distinguish good and bad debt by Michelle Grattan | 0 comments The federal budget will distinguish between “good” debt, incurred to boost growth, and “bad” debt, used to finance welfare and other recurrent spending, writes Michelle Grattan.
Tom Burton: no more dead cats, please! by Tom Burton | 1 comment If governments are serious about transforming the public sector, parliaments are going to have to stop throwing dead cats, like Scott Morrison’s new overseas GST bill, over the wall. They create a spaghetti of bespoke business rules that need more bureaucrats, not less, to maintain.
Tom Burton: truth to power a victim of political turmoil by Tom Burton | 1 comment If governments want frank advice to avoid the mistakes of projects like the NBN and the pink batts scheme, then ministers need to promote, not denigrate, public servants who speak their mind.
Partner Content How the federal budget tested the policy sales pitch by Dr Neil James | 1 comment The election won't just present clear policy options, but test the language for selling policy itself. So how did Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten open the account with their budget pitches?
Business will pay, Medcraft stays in $127m boost to ASIC capability by Jason Whittaker | 0 comments Business will pay for boosting the enforcement capabilities of ASIC. It will get an exemption from public service provisions on hiring and Greg Medcraft's term as chairman will be extended.
Private or public resource? Have your say in how big data is used by Stephen Easton | 0 comments Government agencies are being asked to contribute to a Productivity Commission inquiry that is looking at how to maximise the economic value of big data, both public and private, through increased sharing.
Brave new tax world: devolution back on the COAG agenda by Stephen Easton | 0 comments A proposal to give income tax power back to the states has emerged from a flurry of confused announcements and commentary, ahead of tomorrow's COAG summit. PM wants states to face tax accountability.
Public service mutuals off the agenda by Stephen Easton | 0 comments The idea of public service mutuals looked to be ascendant in Canberra for a while there, but now appears to have fallen completely off the agenda.
Competition reform work won’t die if Harper has his way by The Mandarin | 0 comments The federal government has apparently taken the Competition Policy Review down from the shelf. Its author, Ian Harper, and Productivity Commission chair Peter Harris are still aggressively driving the urgent need for reform.
New inter-agency team targets ‘welfare traps’ for tax white paper by Stephen Easton | 0 comments A new inter-agency team led jointly by Treasury and Social Services staff is looking at how income tax could be tweaked to get more people off welfare. Treasurer Scott Morrison has put bureaucrats from his previous portfolio and Treasury staff at the helm of an inter-departmental working group to look at the link between income [...]
Reform stalled: tax paper reset, PC chair blasts deadlock by Harley Dennett | 0 comments Major reports by public servants are languishing and reform is stalled, declares the Productivity Commission chair in an address on what went wrong at COAG on competition policy reform. Treasurer Scott Morrison says that's not going to happen to taxation reform, even as the white paper is reset.
