Public Debt



In some ways, the Budget to be brought down on March 29 will look as if the Covid pandemic never happened. The Stage 3 tax… Read More ›

[Budget Forum 2022] A Free Lunch From Government Debt? It Certainly Looks That Way

As the Covid-19 pandemic rages, governments have spent heavily to support their economies. The world economy’s fiscal position is projected to deteriorate to -7.9% in… Read More ›

Harnessing Wealth Inequality to Achieve Debt Sustainability Without Austerity

The 2021-22 Federal Budget marks the final main instalment in the Federal Government’s fiscal policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic, barring any mishap in which… Read More ›

[Budget Forum 2021] Fiscal Policy in the COVID-19 Era

You simply can’t buy business and consumer confidence, no matter how much you spend. To be fair, quite uncharacteristically for a Coalition government, it has… Read More ›

[Budget Forum 2020] Heroic Assumptions in Budget Omit One Major Threat: A Global Debt Crunch

The 2020-21 Federal Budget assumes the next 12 months will be a dream journey of economic healing and recovery. A number of dramatic measures and… Read More ›

[Budget Forum 2020] Dream Budget or Not?

The 1987 federal election campaign was defined by the TV ad featuring “whingeing Wendy”, a suburban housewife questioning John Howard from her kitchen, with devastating… Read More ›

Snap Back to What? We Need a Steady March to Reform – and a Broader Tax Base

The fundamental role of government is to secure the welfare and safety of its people. The COVID-19 crisis coming so soon after the summer’s extraordinary… Read More ›

The Government’s Fiscal Tool Kit for COVID-19

The term austerity indicates a policy of sizeable reduction of government deficits and stabilisation of government debt, achieved by means of spending cuts or tax… Read More ›

Spending Cuts Versus Tax Increases: The Differential Effect of Austerity Plans on the Economy

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