Liberal ideals of liberty have sometimes been confused with other less liberal ideas

Gregory Melleuish (University of Wollongong) explains that liberal ideals of liberty are sometimes confused with other less liberal ideas.

The evidence is against ‘bigger is better’ for local government

Brian Dollery (University of New England) explains that the financial performance of local authorities does not improve as advocates of amalgamation contend. On the contrary, amalgamated municipalities often perform worse than their unmerged counterparts.

Where reform is repressed on ostensibly pragmatic grounds, the result may be to inflame populist reaction

Most experts say globalisation spreads wealth, bringing people out of poverty and nations closer together. But right now some politicians and their supporters are arguing it simply increases inequality. Wesley Widmaier (Griffith University) explains why populist movements in the US have been fanned by the perceived lack of banking reform following the global financial crisis.

Offshore detention: Australians have a right to know what is done in their name

Johan Lidberg (Monash University) explains that the consequence of the Government's fortress of secrecy about offshore detention is that Australians don’t know what is being done in their name on Nauru and Manus Island. It also means the refugees are dehumanised—suffering children and families become numbers instead of human beings.

A comparison of monetary and fiscal expansion

Phil Lewis (University of Canberra) compares the options available to stimulate a sluggish economy.

Water in northern Australia: a history of Aboriginal exclusion

Liz Macpherson, Erin O'Donnell, Lee Godden, Lily O'Neill (University of Melbourne) explain that, to give Aboriginal people fair representation in northern water development, they must be accorded a fair share of the water. And experience recovering environmental water in the Murray-Darling Basin has taught us that it is much easier to set aside a share of water while resources are still plentiful than embark on a process of buyback.

China will be the winner if US backs out of the TPP

Nicholas Ross Smith (University of Auckland) writes that, if Hilary Clinton or Donald Trump make good on their pledge to torpedo the Trans-Pacific Partnership if elected, the United States will not only miss an opportunity to consolidate its position in Asia-Pacific, it will also allow China to emerge as the uncontested trade power there.