The full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a pending trade deal between 12 nations including Australia – was released for the first time this week. The ABC is asking for help in analysing this document. It is specifically asking people to comment on parts that interest them to help prepare articles on the agreement. (The link includes the ABC form shown at the bottom of this post.)
Category Archives: Politics & Government
Innovation and economic complexity
Goran Roos, Adjunct professor at University of Technology Sydney, explains why advanced manufacturing is an essential feature of ‘economic complexity’ and that “a nation’s potential to create prosperity is a direct function of its economic complexity.”
Australia’s economic complexity has declined over the last 25 years, to the point where it ranked 53 among all countries in 2012. The top three were Japan, Switzerland and Sweden. Losing the car industry is likely to lower Australia’s economic complexity by a further 5-15%. The share of manufacturing in Australia’s economy is likely to be below 5%, compared to Switzerland’s 20%. Continue reading Innovation and economic complexity
Should Bill Shorten give up?
Newspoll has the LNP on a comfortable lead of 52-48 on TPP terms. Last week Fairfax-Ipsos came in at 53-47, which is landslide territory.
If you go to Fairfax Polls and click on “Poll of polls” and go to last week, you’ll find that Labor averaged 46.7 across the polls. Roy Morgan has been the most negative for Labor. Continue reading Should Bill Shorten give up?
Saturday salon 24/10
1. The ‘sharing economy’
The ‘sharing economy‘ has crept up on policy makers. Perhaps best known are Uber and Airbnb.
Uber, which competes with the taxi business, has chalked up 2.5 million rides in Brisbane in just 18 months. Andrew Leigh told the ABC that one in 200 homes in Australia are listed on Airbnb to be available for accommodation. Continue reading Saturday salon 24/10
Saturday salon 17/10: late edition
1. Turnbull’s ascension
Abbott’s fall and Turnbull’s ascension was the first news we got from home, via a text from our son.
I must admit I didn’t see it coming. I’d written Turnbull off as unacceptable to the Liberal Party. Now suddenly he’s there and Shorten looks like a dead man walking.
Mark has a piece in the Guardian. Continue reading Saturday salon 17/10: late edition
Senate Voting Reform
In the the New Turnbull Cabinet post comments Jumpy asked the following question about proposals to change the Senate voting system:
“What do you make of the proposed voting changes, fairer and more representative or the established parties trying to cull competition ?”
Malcolm the LNP Leader
It is nice to have an LNP leader who doesn’t think “we stopped the boats” is all that he needs to say about economic policy. However, the Tea Party faction is still strong in the LNP and Nats so my guess is that the left side of politics is going to be disappointed. So what effect do you think this will have on the next election?
Saturday salon 5/9
1. The real deal on the FTA and Chinese workers
Craig Emerson in the AFR lifts the lid on what is really going on with the Chinese free trade agreement and the right to bring in their own workers on projects worth more than $150 million. Continue reading Saturday salon 5/9
Will the bubble burst?
Seven years ago we were in Amsterdam airport departure lounge when the news came through that Lehman Bros would indeed go bust, which finally triggered the GFC (Global Financial Crisis).
James Headway, Chief Economist for the New Economics Foundation takes a look at what’s happening in China, and it’s scary.
China escaped by letting lending rip. Since then they have produced half the world’s growth. But in doing so they have created a giant property bubble, followed by a share market bubble. It looks like coming unstuck. Continue reading Will the bubble burst?
Poll stuff 26/8
Newspoll has Abbott sinking further into the mire. Essential gives him some hope, but finds Justice Heydon should go. Continue reading Poll stuff 26/8
Liberals bicker, Bill gets a lift
On Monday night Abbott presided over a cabinet meeting. I heard on Radio National:
- The Guardian reports that there was not a single formal Cabinet submission to consider and that has some MPs concerned that the Government’s policy agenda is looking thin.
The state of politics: weekend political commentary
Three articles from the weekend news media go a long way to sum up the parlous state of politics in Australia.
Guy Rundle has a piece in the Saturday Paper The political caste playing student politics in Canberra which goes a long way to explaining how this state of affairs has come to pass. Continue reading The state of politics: weekend political commentary