Australian Society and Politics
You can’t think (or write, or speak) about an economy without also having a sense of the broader social and economic framework in which it operates. I try very hard to avoid partisan political commentary, but I do sometimes feel moved to write or talk about social or political developments.
A podcast about “The Worst Public Policy Decision of the 21st Century Thus Far” – the corruption of the arrangements for distributing revenue from the GST among Australia’s states and territories
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Recent Media Interview | 27th June 2025Saul’s interview with ‘The Wire‘ about what I’ve called ‘The Worst Public Policy Decision of the 21st Century Thus Far” – the corruption, at the behest of Australia’s richest state (Western Australia) of the principles which have governed the distribution of financial assistance from the Australian Federal Government to the states and territories since the […]
An agenda for tax reform
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Taxation | 22nd June 2025On 22nd and 23rd June, John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations blog published (in two parts) Saul’s article about options that ideally should be on Australian Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers’ table as he considers how tax reform could contribute to two of the challenges he highlighted in his address to the National Press Club on 10th […]
Tasmania’s next government needs to have credible plans to return the budget to a cash surplus and reduce debt
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Tasmania | 17th June 2025Unfunded pork-barrelling accounts for more than three-quarters of the increase in Tasmania’s ‘general government’ net debt between 2017-18 and the forecast for 2027-28. During the campaign for the election to be held on 19th July (the third in four years, the fourth in seven) someone needs to say, echoing Kevin Rudd during the 2007 Federal […]
Inequality in the Distribution of Wealth – An Inter-Generational Perspective
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Taxation | 5th June 2025Article published by Inside Story and Pearls and Irritations in June 2025 , based on Saul’s talk to the Business Breakfast hosted by the Tasmanian Division of the Salvantion Army on 19th May 2025 for the launch of their Annual Red Shield Appeal.
Government’s proposal to increase the tax on superannuation
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, Recent Media Interview, Taxation | 22nd May 2025Saul Eslake talks to Radio 2HD Newcastle’s Brent Bultitude about the Government’s proposal to increase the tax on superannuation balances of more than $3 million, including by taxing unrealized capital gains in those funds
The funding of greyhound racing in Tasmania
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Tasmania | 22nd May 2025Saul Eslake’s report on the financing (overwhelmingly by the Tasmanian State Government) of greyhound racing in Tasmania: Note: this report was funded by private individuals associated with 12 charities and community groups campaigning for greyhound welfare. However none of those individuals sought to influence the content of this report, the responsibility for which rests entirely […]
Victoria’s profligacy is a problem for all of us
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, The Australian Economy | 20th May 2025Saul Eslake’s op-ed on the 2025-26 Victorian Budget, published in The Australian Financial Review on 20th May 2025
An inter-generational perspective on wealth inequality in Australia
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Video, Housing, Taxation | 16th May 2025In this presentation, to the Salvation Army’s annual Red Shield Appeal Business Breakfast in Hobart on 16th May 2025, Saul Eslake puts an inter-generational lens on the issue of inequality in the distribution of wealth in Australia.