Is welfare spending really unsustainable?

Peter Whiteford (Australian National University) has provided an excellent analysis of social welfare payments for Inside Story. He concludes that political and media concerns about relentless growth in welfare are difficult to substantiate – particularly when the total number of welfare recipients is close to its lowest level in the past twenty years.

Harper response is good economics and smart politics

Stephen King (Monash University) writes in The Conversation that the Turnbull Government's response to the Harper competition policy review is mature and thoughtful. It reflects the recent changes in Canberra. It should be welcomed by both the opposition and the states. And, while the Hilmer reforms underpinned the last 20 years of Australia’s economic growth, this response to Harper should underpin the next 20 years.

How to lose the war on terror: panic and feed Islamic State’s narrative

Terrorism is designed to turbo-charge our emotional buttons. It is not only about violence but the threat of future violence. Daniel Baldino (University of Notre Dame) writes in The Conversation that we are only compounding problems by hyping threats, searching for extraneous scapegoats and indulging in fear-based decision-making.

Lazy tax reform - increasing GST to cut income tax - would likely be a zero sum game

Flavio Menezes (University of Queensland) writes in The Conversation that tax reform will certainly be challenging, but we should go beyond lazy reform – increasing the GST as part of a tax mix switch strategy that is likely to have limited impact on growth – and instead be innovative and bold.

As drought looms, the Murray-Darling is in much healthier shape – just don’t get complacent

James Horne (Australian National University) writes in The Conversation that Melbourne Cup Day is a significant day in the history of water policy in Australia. The first Tuesday in November 2006 saw the then Prime Minister John Howard intervene decisively in the growing drought crisis in the southern Murray-Darling Basin (MDB).

A focus on private investment means universities can’t fulfil their public role

Margaret Thornton (Australian National University) writes in The Conversation that the decline in government investment in higher education and the ever-increasing reliance on fees and other sources of income has made universities more like private for-profit corporations.

As institutions of higher learning that receive government funding, universities are obligated to fulfil a public role.

The slide of academic standards in Australia

Gigi Foster (University of NSW) writes in The Conversation that in truly world-class universities, the bureaucracy plays second fiddle to the academics who produce the service that the university sells. By contrast, in many universities in Australia, arguably the tail is wagging the dog. This reinforces a focus on bureaucracy and revenue, rather than academic standards. No intervention will provide an overnight fix, but there are some remedies to contemplate.

A national affordable housing strategy: necessary and attainable

Carolyn Whitzman (University of Melbourne) writes in The Conversation that a national housing strategy could make cities more liveable, stimulate the property and construction sector, and reduce healthcare costs.

The root of Sydney and Melbourne’s housing crisis: we’re building the wrong thing

Bob Birrell (Monash University) and David McClosky (The Australian Population Research Institute), writing in The Conversation, analyse housing demand and supply. Their research confirms that Australia is building the wrong types of housing to satisfy household formation. This mismatch is likely to make housing affordability in Sydney and Melbourne even worse than it is now, while the construction of too many smaller inner city units present price dangers for investors in that market segment, particularly in Melbourne.