In these pieces CPD thinkers provide rapid-fire responses to the debates of the day, with an eye to the bigger picture and the decades to come. Subscribe to get Thinking Points by email or grab our rss feed. Thinking Points is released under a Creative Commons license: all Thinking Point articles may be reproduced without permission as long as both the author and CPD are attributed, with a link to the original article on the CPD website. You are also welcome to syndicate our rss feed on your own website. If you republish a Thinking Point article in print we would appreciate receiving a copy at PO Box K3, Haymarket, NSW 1240.

John Menadue | Fraser and Whitlam’s fruitful rivalry

Fred Daly, the irrepressible ALP Member for Grayndler whose first campaign slogan was ‘Give us this day our Daly Fred’, once said that today’s political enemies may turn out to be friends tomorrow. Who would have thought in 1975 that that could be true of Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser in 2011. Whitlam has said he hasn’t had a significant disagreement with Fraser for 30 years. There are outward signs that the bad blood of … more

Miriam Lyons | Big Ideas and the Battle of the Think Tanks

Progressives and conservatives don’t agree on much, so what happens when you put four leading figures from each side of the ideological scale in a room and ask them to fight? A Battle of the think tanks. And strangely enough, a productive, intelligent discussion, though admittedly not without it’s heated moments. CPD Executive Director Miriam Lyons joined forces with Per Capita’s David Hetherington to defend and highlight the merits of a progressive agenda against conservative … more

James Whelan | Public Service Race to the Bottom

This article was first published on ABC’s The Drum here. The Gillard Government’s announcement last week to cut public sector spending by $1.5 billion is unwise fiscal policy, out of step with community attitudes and a significant broken promise. Increasing the efficiency dividend from 1.5 per cent to 4 per cent will tighten the vice on Australian Public Service agencies that are already stretched after two decades of belt-tightening. The direct consequences will include contracted … more

 

Ben Eltham | The Golden Road to Surplus

The latest Treasury figures show why Australia’s economy remains the envy of the rich world. It’s another early Christmas bonus for the Gillard Government, writes Ben Eltham. As first published in New Matilda Step back from all the sound and fury about budget surpluses and the European debt crisis for a moment, and have an unbiased look at the latest Treasury figures on the health of Australia’s economy. Unemployment is expected to peak at 5.5 … more

Why Australia DOESN’T need Public Service Cuts | James Whelan

James Whelan – “Most Australians support government exercising an active role in society and the economy…” With the Federal Government expected to announce major spending cuts as part of its mid-year economic forecast, debate on the size and role of the public sector has reignited. CPD’s James Whelan argues that the community does not support drastic cuts to public services. Below is his response to Institute for Public Affairs Director Julie Novak’s call for savage … more

Ben Eltham | You Wouldn’t Read About It

The Gillard Government’s media inquiry has provided the big players with an opportunity to deny there’s anything amiss in the industry. That’s rank hypocrisy, argues Ben Eltham First published in New Matilda here. Here are three riddles. If a large industry with significant public profile and a demonstrated recent history of legal malpractice tried to pretend that there is essentially nothing wrong with the way it does business, how would the media report that? If a … more

 

James Whelan responds to Julie Novak | Evidence please, not more bashing of our public sector

This Monday. Julie Novak from the IPA once again targeted public service cuts as a necessary step toward a surplus budget. In her most recent article published on Online Opinion, she took aim at our report on the public service. Among her targets are the “policy advisory, administrative and regulatory roles” of the public service that are an “unnecessary burden” to the Australian economy. James Whelan, CPD’s Public Service Research Director, today responded to Novak … more

Ben Eltham | This Week the News Went Global

Obama’s visit and the APEC forum have put international relations in the spotlight this week. It’s about time, even if the fanfare around a presidential visit drowned out the big issues, writes Ben Eltham First published in New Matilda here It’s not very often that foreign policy breaks through the carapace of insularity in Australian media. For most of the year, the journalists who cover Australian politics stay focused on the intrigues of parliamentary politics. … more