For six months, the Australian economy has been growing at an annualised pace of just 1% – way, way short of its potential. Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg were elected to manage the economy, and that means doing whatever is needed to avoid a recession and the long-term damage to lives and living standards it would deliver. Read More
A re-elected Morrison government would aim to extract $1.5 billion from departmental budgets over four years, "building to $5 billion over the medium term" to more than offset new spending commitments, according to an election-eve financial statement. Read More
Elyse Sainty challenges a few myths about the role social impact bonds could play in the evolution of a system that focuses on what is important, uses evidence to shape responses, and delivers for the community. Read More
Since 2011, Regional Development Victoria has administered over $1 billion in grants to boost regional areas -- but it cannot say whether they have made any difference. Read More
Video has emerged of ex-minister Barnaby Joyce explaining why he sacked former Department of Agriculture and Water Resources secretary Paul Grimes, as the auditor-general confirms… Read More
The middle class across the developed world is shrinking as incomes fail to keep up with housing and other costs of living, says the OECD. Read More
Companies now have more options to challenge Commonwealth procurement decisions in the Federal Court following legislation that came into force over the Easter long weekend. Read More
Australia's latest social impact bond sale has collected $5 million to help fund a four-year program that aims to reduce youth unemployment, and provide investors returns as high as 12.4% per annum. Read More
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet scored $5 million in last week's budget to consider how the Commonwealth can encourage private investment in positive social outcomes, and the government has appointed two social impact investing gurus to advise them. Read More
The government has broadly kept to the restrained growth of the public sector seen in the budgets of recent years, but the Nationals leadership thinks there's still room for government jobs to decentralise. Read More
The Australian Public Service is expected to save $17.3 million every year from 2019-20 onwards through shared corporate services, according to the budget, on top of $72.3m already in the bank. Read More
A new whole-of-government workforce strategy under development by the Australian Public Service Commission and the Department of Jobs and Small Business will be finished by… Read More
“A professional and connected public sector, delivering results for all Australians.” This is Public Service Minister Mathias Cormann’s one-line narrative for the Commonwealth bureaucracy in the coming financial year, if the government is returned to office this year. Read More
Tax refinement, and not a 'living wage', would be the most direct and effective ways to fight household poverty, argues John Freebairn. Read More
Some forms of government assistance can help facilitate adjustment to drought, including support for those small-business families facing poverty, as well as helping people to make better decisions when it comes to planning and preparing. On the other hand, ad hoc handouts to farm businesses in the form of subsidies for interest, freight and transport can have undesirable effects in terms of Australia’s national productivity and equity. Read More
