ABC The Drum
317 pieces
2016
Where did it go wrong for Turnbull? The budget5 JulPerverse small-target strategies leave voters guessing28 JunRio’s financial crisis reveals the moral bankruptcy of the Olympics21 JunAustralia isn’t immune to the Brexit debate14 JunThe case for a company tax cut is rock solid – and Labor knows it7 JunWhy we’re seeing less pork barrelling this election31 MayPeople or profit: How does the Greens’ corporation plan stack up?24 MayWhy the super debate is a Liberal flashpoint17 MayThe ghosts of deficits past, present and future haunt this election10 MayRejecting A Chinese Bid For Land Is In ‘The National Interest’? Show Me How3 MayTurnbull’s Policies Aren’t Liberal, They’re Incoherent26 AprWhy Anti-Bank Populism Is A Fundamental Part Of Australia’s Political Culture20 AprAre The Panama Papers Really Such A Scandal?12 AprFederation Reform Is No Political Plaything5 AprThe Democratic Case For Splitting Queensland In Two29 MarTurnbull’s Only Real Option Was Bluff And Bravado22 MarIf You’re Worried About Privacy, You Should Worry About The 2016 Census16 MarThere’s Little To Stop Trump Wreaking Havoc As President8 MarFurniture, Rent-Seeking And The Problem With Laws1 MarNegative gearing changes aren’t bold or courageous23 FebIs The Government Chasing Growth, Or Just Revenue?9 FebIs Abetz right about the same-sex marriage plebiscite?2 FebThere Is Much To Celebrate On Australia Day26 JanDonald Trump Is Not A Conservative – Just Look At His Views On Trade18 JanPoorest Members Of Trans-Pacific Partnership To Benefit Most17 JanIn Defence Of ‘Peak Sequel’ Capitalism12 JanThe Alternative To Uber’s Surge Pricing Isn’t Fair Either5 Jan
2015
The Dries Have It: The Past And Future Of Economic Reform28 DecIs Cultural Appropriation The Bogeyman It’s Made Out To Be?22 DecHow We’re Getting The Whole GST Debate So Wrong15 DecInnovation v Regulation: How Turnbull’s Pitch Fell Short9 DecA Nudge In The Right Direction? How We Can Harness Behavioural Economics1 DecWhy Politicians Ride The Wave Of Anti-Bank Populism25 NovWhen ‘Safe Spaces’ Become An Attack On Ideas17 NovTurnbull’s Weak Media Reform Plans Aren’t Fit For The Modern Age11 NovMalcolm Turnbull Should Avoid The Seductive Trap Of An Early Election3 NovLego Can Avoid Ai Weiwei, But It Can’t Avoid Politics27 OctDon’t Blame Voters For A Lack Of Competition Reform20 OctAlcohol And The Nanny State Inquiry: This Isn’t Just About Money14 OctThe Tide Is Turning On Penalty Rates, But How Far Will Turnbull Go?6 OctTurnbull Can Learn From Gillard’s Transition29 SepOur New ‘Innovation PM’ Needs Policies To Match22 SepWithout Economic Nous, Abbott Was Doomed15 SepThe Abbott Government’s Real Problem Is That It’s Not Ideological Enough8 SepChAFTA: Union Campaign Misses The Point1 SepForcing GST On Imports Doesn’t Stack Up25 AugThere’s Nothing Conservative About Using The Constitution As A Political Trick15 AugLet’s Be Honest, Question Time Makes Everyone Look Stupid11 AugEntitlements Review: This Is A Problem Of Definitions4 AugPlease, Just Give Us A Real Growth Strategy28 JulHockey’s ‘Grand Deal On Tax’ Is Just Wishful Thinking21 JulThere’s No ‘War On Wind’, Just MPs Doing Their Job14 JulWhy Is The Agriculture White Paper Gunning For Supermarkets?7 JulConstitutional Confusion And The Movement For Indigenous Recognition30 JunThe Weight Of History Bears Down On Shorten23 JunThe TPP Isn’t The Bogey-Treaty That We Think It Is16 JunMagna Carta: Archaic Tax Document And Icon Of Liberty9 JunThings Get Messy When Popularity Trumps Policy2 JunA Welcome Mutiny Against Protectionism26 MayAn analogue budget meets the digital world12 MayIs The Looming Internet Filter Justified? Not Yet5 MayLabor Can Stop Beating The Inequality Drum29 AprA Single Drink Puts Media Over The Limit20 AprShorten Must Start Thinking About Life After Opposition14 AprThis Small Business Fetish Has Gone Too Far7 AprWhy Should We Join Another Development Bank?31 MarWhy It’s OK To Strip Foreign Fighters Of Citizenship24 MarIslamic State Is Destroying Ideas, Not Just Artefacts10 MarMeet The Man Who Could Change The Budget3 MarRetain Our Privacy, Not Our Data25 FebYou Can’t Blame Foreigners For High House Prices17 FebAbbott’s Strategy Just A Blast From The Past10 FebConservatives Turn Their Critical Eye On Abbott3 FebMinimum Wages And The Path To Poverty27 JanWhen Is Tax ‘Reform’ Actually Just A Tax Grab?20 JanThe Inability To Handle Criticism Shows Weakness13 JanThe Government Can Revive Its ‘Freedom Agenda’6 Jan
2014
Testing times make for great (and awful) leaders30 DecWelfare Plans An Assault On Our Freedom23 DecStop Putting It Off: We Need A Surplus ASAP16 DecThe Murray Inquiry Wants Regulation – But Why?9 DecQantas: The Spirit Of Australian Nationalism3 DecFixed Terms Made A Farce Of Victorian Politics2 DecThe Abbott Government’s Chance For Real Reform25 NovAbbott Deserves Only Praise For Embracing Free Trade18 NovBig Government, Big Opportunity For Rent-Seekers11 NovThe Jig Is Up On Data Retention Plans4 NovNo Wonder MPs Are Confused About Security Laws28 OctThe WHO Has Failed The Ebola Disaster21 OctNational Curriculum: Written, But Not Designed14 OctCan We Really Afford To Go To War?7 OctThe Redundancy Of New Anti-Terrorism Laws30 SepThe Unspoken Benefits Of Tax Avoidance23 SepWill We Kill Civilians In An Effort To Save Them?16 SepRomanticising Reform: We’ve Set The Bar Too High10 SepDon’t Rush To Act On Terrorism Threat2 SepThe Cold Calculations Of The GFC Stimulus26 AugMandatory Sentencing: A King Hit For Courts19 AugGoing Against The Grain On Data Retention13 AugAbbott Needs To Hit The Reset Button5 AugHockey: The Moderate Man Forced To Be Dry29 JulPolitics, Not Policy, Will Decide Who Gets Bailed Out22 JulThe Lessons Abbott Should Learn From Victoria15 JulStar Wars Cantina: Patronising Politics Strikes Back8 JulShining A Light On The Dangers Of Royal Commissions1 JulTides To Turn For Shorten On Debt, Boats And Tax26 JunTrue Economic Liberty Means More Open Borders17 JunCoalition In Murky Waters In Hunt For Online Pirates10 JunNo Vote Of Confidence In ID Laws3 JunChifley’s Time Bomb 70 Years In The Making27 MayBudget Creates A New State Of Play For Premiers20 MayBeware The Border Force Fetish13 MayWe Should Fear Slow Growth, Not Inequality29 AprElection Promises Are There For The Breaking22 AprBilateral Trade Deals Simply A Political Plaything15 AprMicro-Parties Tap Into Dissatisfaction8 AprYou Can’t Just Tax Your Way To A Surplus6 AprIt’s Power Grabs We Should Fear, Not Cybercrime1 AprPolitics Stands In The Way Of A Full 18C Repeal25 MarFoFA Fearmongering A Blow To Deregulation18 MarTime To Ditch Antiquated Media Regulations11 MarQantas Ball Now In Labor’s Court4 MarAnother G20 Deal For Everyone To Ignore25 FebThe Great Corporate Welfare Con-Versation18 FebDivining The Meaning Of Elections Is A Mug’s Game12 FebPM’s ABC Critique Masks Deeper Security Debate4 FebThe Olympics: A Tool For Autocrats Since 193628 JanNeo-Prohibition Isn’t The Answer To Violent Crime21 JanThe Farce Of An Ideologically Neutral Curriculum14 JanThere Is No Such Thing As Reform Without Risks7 Jan
2013
Australia’s March To Free Speech Has Begun31 DecA Time To Be Thankful For The Market Economy (Really)24 DecThe Coalition’s Budget Decisions Are All Its Own17 DecScrapping The Debt Ceiling Is No Victory10 DecA Reputation For Competence Must Be Earned26 NovQueensland Party Crackdown Out Of Control21 NovFreedom: The Forgotten Human Right12 NovNever Trust The ‘Diary’ Of A Political Spinner5 NovVoting Is Futile But That Doesn’t Mean Elections Are29 OctBroadband Is Just The Start Of Turnbull’s Minefield22 OctIt’s About Muckraking, Not Kingmaking15 OctAccountability Goes Missing In Iraq Bank Note Scandal8 OctMore Than Just A Financial Crisis1 OctFreedom Of Speech Means Freedom To Boycott24 SepTeaching The Public Service To Obey Its New Masters10 SepForeign Investment Is Always A Two-Faced Policy7 Sep‘On Track’ For A Surplus? Not Good Enough3 SepA Nanny State On IR Policy Is The Liberal Choice27 AugBehold The Dance Of The Travelling Salesmen20 AugScare Campaigns Aside, GST On Food Is A No-Brainer13 AugNot The Time To Convince Us Of Economic Prowess6 AugPoliticians Are Powerless Over Australia’s Economy30 JulSecrets And Fears Of A Paranoid Government25 JulOn The Positive Side, Thousands More May Find Refuge18 JulDumping The Carbon Tax Without Dumping Anything11 JulAbbott Should Welcome A Debate On The Economy9 JulThe GFC Debate We Never Had2 JulIn Defence Of Polling18 JunLabor’s End: Out With The Old, In With The Renewed11 JunAt Risk Of An Asylum Seeker Underclass4 JunInsane Obsession: Australia’s Auto Industry Waste28 MayWhen Does Mission Creep Become Censorship?21 MayLavish Parental Leave Has Nothing To Do With Need14 MayAeroplane Mobile Switch-Off Ruled By Fear Of The Unknown7 MayA Hollow Victory For The Anti-Austerity Crowd30 AprPower Is Not Meant For Bureaucratic Hands23 AprIraq Stands As A Warning Against Foreign Intervention16 AprConservatives Have Got Gay Marriage All Wrong9 AprEveryone Promises Less Red Tape, But Very Few Succeed2 AprAnything You Don’t Say May Be Used Against You26 MarMedia Reform And A Missed Opportunity19 MarTea Party Paul’s Stand For Civil Liberties12 MarImmigration Election: We’ve Been Here Before5 MarCensorship Standards Come From A Personal Place26 FebProtectionism, Symbolism And Gillard’s Jobs Plan19 FebForget Drugs – There’s Nothing Natural About Modern Athletes12 FebIf It Looks And Smells Like A Campaign, Then It’s A Campaign5 FebThe Orwell Cult Is Way Out Of Hand29 JanAnti-Discrimination Laws: An Act Of Confusion22 JanTax exiles vote with their feet15 JanLes Mis: A Revolution For Our Times8 JanPolicy Without Politics Is Pointless2 Jan
2012
Videogame Blame Distracts From The Real Gun Debate27 Dec2012: The Year In Political Outrage20 DecLosing Interest In Our Rate Obsession11 DecIt’s About More Than Just Phone Hacking … Unfortunately4 DecLiberals’ Legacy Of Mass Migration Is At Stake27 NovThe Politics Of Consensus Has A Dark Side20 NovThe Art Of Telling The Truth13 NovGrandstanding about mobiles won’t reduce the road toll6 NovDon’t believe the Asian century hype31 OctThe puritanical public health movement23 OctWhy Cling On To An Outdated Refugee Convention?20 OctWhat’s The Crisis In The Cuban Missile Crisis?16 OctThe Capitalist Heroes We Forget11 OctWe Do Not Need An Internet Overlord9 OctDon’t Just Tinker With Government – Reduce It2 OctA Crackdown On Illegal Immigrants. Interested? Anyone?25 SepIs navel-gazing our fastest growing industry?11 SepAustralia’s Unfounded Foreign Investment Fear4 SepWorkChoices Demon Used To Fire Up The Labor Base28 AugThe Legacy And Abuse Of Ayn Rand21 AugSent To Prison For Making An Ebook14 AugCritics’ Silence Adds To Walsh’s Cabinet Of Curiosities7 AugMedia Diversity Fears Are Absurd And Obsolete1 AugThe Terrifyingly Inscrutable Minds Behind Mass Murders24 JulBe Sceptical Of Vague New ‘National Security’ Powers17 JulFreedom Of Association Lost In The Moral Panic11 JulAbbott Should Focus On His Second Day As PM3 JulAnother year, another failed climate summit26 JunThe Farce That Is The Leveson Inquiry20 JunHappy Birthday To Free Market Liberalism13 JunRemittances Dominate Aid Yet Remain Unspoken5 JunGillard Plays The Unedifying ‘Small Australia’ Card29 MayLocking People Away Forever Because ASIO Reckons22 MayThe Unhappy Compromise Of European ‘Austerity’15 MayWe Can’t Stop Climate Change – It’s Time To Adapt8 MayConvergence Review Is Clever, Subtle … And Worrying1 MayReward Welfare A Recipe For Entitlement Culture24 AprSport As Propaganda: Bahrain’s Vile Grand Prix18 AprThe Real Reason for the Tragedy of the Titanic12 AprOffence Against Free Speech3 AprTasers: The Non-Lethal Force That Kills28 MarNewspapers Tangled In Politics… That’s Yesterday’s News21 MarForeign Investment And The Whims Of Politicians13 MarRegulating From A Distance: Finkelstein, Politics, Power7 MarThe Decriminalisation (Or Even Legalisation) Of Drugs29 FebO’Farrell’s Campaign Finance Reforms Are Abominable22 FebBehavioural Economics: An Excuse To Tax And Regulate15 FebFarmers Feeling The Squeeze Of Marketplace Realities8 FebThe True Origins Of Anti-Paternalism31 JanThe Dramatic Collapse Of Trust In Government25 JanCar Makers Cling To Subsidies Of Old17 JanWhat’s Wrong With ‘No’?10 JanAnd You, Sir, Are No Libertarian3 Jan
2011
The Socialist Calculation Debate28 DecConvergence Review: Complete, Spectacular Failure21 DecNew Technology And The Call For Censorship14 DecThe ‘Right’ Morally Culpable For Breivik’s Actions, Really?7 DecThe World Will Be No Safer Under Basel III1 DecYes We Can… With Exceptions, Qualifications And Requirements23 NovCommonwealth Games Bad News For The Gold Coast17 NovMedia Inquiry Motives: Accountability Or Revenge?9 NovThe Battle Between Political And Economic Freedom2 NovWhy Doubt Free Trade With China?27 OctWhy Care About Freedom Of Speech?4 OctFat chance of cutting calories28 SepHave The Media Watchers Undermined Press Freedom?21 SepPrime Ministerial Musical Chairs14 SepNational Curriculum: Labor’s Big Failure7 SepCommunications Regulation Is A Dog’s Breakfast6 SepEurope’s Doomed Euro24 AugFree Speech: Hicks Should Keep His Memoir Profits10 Aug‘Carbon Cops’ Destined To Join Mega-Regulators Club3 AugNews Of World: Sideshows And Political Opportunism27 JulToo many economists in the carbon kitchen20 JulBrown’s Global Parliament: Scary Proposition14 JulGiving Up On National Classification7 JulConservatives Court The Same-Sex Marriage Lobby30 JunNew Republicans Swap Their Neo-Cons For Doves23 JunPopulation And Misanthropy15 Jun‘Red Toryism’ Holds Little But Giggles For Local Liberals8 JunAbbott Chases Working Votes Even Menzies Forgot1 JunBackwoods Policy Making26 MayMiddle Class Welfare: Not Happy Julia18 MayIgnoring The Deficit: Disappointingly Predictable11 MayThe Nanny State Is Coming…For Your Democratic Soul4 MayMorality And Humanity In The Gambling Debate27 AprWhy Bad Policy Can Be Good Politics19 AprLearning From Public Policy Mistakes Of The GFC12 AprMulticulturalism Is A Useless Word5 AprMedia Watch: Everyone Loves It Until They Advocate Censorship28 MarWest’s History Not Complete Without Reference To Christianity22 MarNatural Disasters Give Economic Growth A Moral Dimension16 MarIn A Truly Globalised World, Immigration Must Be Free9 MarArtificial Markets: Miles Behind The Real Deal1 MarAnti-Dumping Laws: In Whose Interest?22 FebStriving For Political And Economic Freedom15 FebBeyond The Chaos, Federalism Lives On8 FebThe Truth About Energy Subsidies2 FebMicromanagement In The Regulatory State25 Jan
2010
Gillard’s Government Balancing Act28 DecCan’t Compare: Emissions Trading And Reforms From The Past14 DecWikiLeaks and the virtue of transparency30 NovStaring Through The Greens’ Populist Prism17 NovHealthy Living… In A Nanny State3 NovGreens have an irrational fear of foreign money31 OctEconomic Populism: A Minefield For The Liberals26 OctIt’s An IKEA World19 OctIndividual Liberty In The Eyes Of A Novelist12 OctThe Expansion Of Presidential Power6 OctCarbon Price Makes No Policy Sense29 SepBankrolling Oprah: The New Tourist Strategy21 SepThe state we’re in: redrawing Australia31 AugInformal ballots: blame compulsory voting25 AugMoving forward mantra Gillard’s biggest mistake20 AugNBN: Crippling government regulation to blame17 AugTelling it like it is10 AugA speech for Tony Abbott6 AugThe dichotomy of Wikileaks3 AugGreens’ population policy no better than the others26 JulSpending cuts in the obvious places22 JulClimate change: healthy debate not a health debate13 JulThe Great Disappointment6 JulChasing the xenophobic vote29 JunThe pursuit of economic growth22 JunCapping trade8 JunSeeking a political crisis1 JunDefence’s Spending Debacle25 MayShould terror suspects be protected by politics?11 MayGreen Policies: Too Much Of Not Enough27 AprTaxation’s violent history27 AprImmigration and growth: 200 years of success20 AprGreen Tea Party13 AprWho Should Run The Biggest Business In The Country?7 AprLiberal Leadership Aftershocks30 MarThe Ghost Of Liberals Past16 Mar