Why we need regulation
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
The G20 Summit in Washington is an important step forward in the long process of international reform of financial services regulation.
While it is still too early to be definitive about the causes of the global financial crisis, a number of conclusions about the inadequacies of existing regulation can be drawn.
more- by Ed at 9:49 AM
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Obama turns page on Reagan era
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
The election of Barack Obama signals many things. History will probably record it as the end of the Reagan era, with the Bush administration bringing that era to an end as much as the Johnson administration provided the last phase of the Roosevelt era.
moreHooked on carbon
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
When I was in my 20s I was a moderately heavy smoker. I started smoking when I was very young. I managed to give up for a couple of extended periods, but unfortunately I kept coming back.
You know what it's like. My father smoked three packets a day. Almost all of my friends smoked. It was just a normal part of life.
Sure, I knew science said I was exposing myself to the risk of getting lung cancer when I got older. But when I was 22, the future was next week. Who cared about what happened when I was 52?
- by Ed at 10:47 AM
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Defending Australia's economy
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
At the beginning of last week, the Government announced two major decisions. The first was a guarantee of all bank deposits for three years, and a guarantee of wholesale borrowings by Australian financial institutions.
The global financial crisis has completely destabilised the normal processes of the financial sector. If it doesn't return to normal, the consequences for the wider global economy will be severe.
more- by Ed at 7:57 AM
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Better buying power
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
This year the government will buy about $30 billion worth of goods and services across Australia.
moreFour Pillars the best policy
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
For roughly two decades, Australian governments of both political persuasions have maintained the "Four Pillars'' policy. This policy prohibits any mergers or acquisitions involving two of Australia's four major banks.
From time to time, major figures in the business community have argued the policy is outmoded. They have suggested that two giant Australian banks could be large enough to become major world players.
- by Ed at 9:41 AM
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Greed leads to disaster
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
The turmoil on US financial markets has provoked an understandable storm of criticism of the culture of greed and irresponsibility that has pervaded financial markets in recent years. Outrageous salaries and bonuses have rightly been criticised.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd identified moving beyond this culture of greed as one of his five key principles for reforming the global financial system in his address to the United National General Assembly. Importantly though, he placed a lot of emphasis on reforming regulation.
moreTourism a key industry sector
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
Even after representing the seat of Melbourne in Federal Parliament for fifteen years, there are still some things I don't know about my electorate.
Last week, I discovered that it has the fifth highest tourism employment levels of all Australia's 150 electorates. In fact around 13,000 people living in my electorate work in tourism-related jobs.
Given I've got the MCG, Flemington racecourse, Lygon Street, Brunswick Street and the city in my electorate, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
more- by Ed at 8:14 AM
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It's all about long-term growth
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
Over the past few weeks, a number of commentators have accused the Rudd Government of lacking a narrative. I think this criticism is misconceived.
No government has a static narrative or theme which prevails over all other things indefinitely. Most governments have multiple narratives, with a dominant theme emerging over time. All governments are at the mercy of events, which can play havoc with the best-crafted and lovingly nurtured narrative.
more- by Ed at 9:47 AM
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Budget obstinacy beggars belief
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
The last few months in Parliament have been dominated by the Government's efforts to get its Budget legislation approved. After a good deal of thrashing around and flip-flopping, the Opposition has resolved to oppose a number of key Budget bills.
The first to hit the Senate floor for resolution is the increase in the luxury car tax from 25% to 33%. The Liberals managed to engineer the Bill's defeat this week. The Government intends to re-introduce the Bill in the near future.
moreThe Government gets blogging
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
The recent Fairfax announcement of significant job cuts at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald is another indication of the steady shift in the centre of gravity in the media world.
Traditional media are gradually giving way to online media. I used to do a newspaper column. I now do this blog.
more- by Ed at 7:57 AM
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Liberals put possible rate cut at risk
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
Federal Parliament resumes today, after a pretty long break. One thing hasn't changed since we finished sitting in late June. The Liberal Party is still planning to block Budget legislation in the Senate and seriously undermine the Government's Budget Strategy.
Since the Budget was handed down on May 13, the Liberal Party has taken a variety of positions in response. It's been difficult to work out which measures they intend to vote against, as their rhetoric changes on a regular basis.
- by Ed at 8:06 AM
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Lindsay Tanner: Our unsung Olympic heroes
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
Over the past week, most Australian eyes have been on Beijing. Mine have too, but they've also been focused on another part of China. I've been keeping a close eye on the performance of our equestrian team in Hong King.
Australia has a proud history in Olympic equestrian events. We've won numerous gold medals and we've usually been there or thereabouts. Yet our equestrian competitors haven't got the recognition they deserve.
more- by Ed at 9:08 AM
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Recession? What recession?
A week or two ago, retail sales figures for the June quarter were released. They showed a very small reduction, which followed from a similar fall in the March quarter.
The media response was inevitable. "Retail recession'' was the theme of the week. Suddenly the Government and Reserve Bank were being accused of being too tough. Australia was said to be on the verge of a recession.
more- by Ed at 12:48 PM
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African-Australians confronted by challenges
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
A great deal has been said and written about Australian values in recent years. Globalisation brings our similarities and differences into sharp focus. But defining what makes us different is an inherently subjective endeavour. My sense of Australian values may be different from yours.
There are some things, however, that I think are deeply embedded in our collective spirit.
more- by Ed at 6:58 AM
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Reforms for home savers
Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay
A few years ago I signed up for some new house and home and contents insurance policies. They each cost several hundred dollars and they're pretty important, particularly the ones which insure me against my home burning down.
Both policies had several pages of fine print attached. Did I read it? Of course not. Does anyone? I guess so, but they must either be very diligent or very bored.
- by Ed at 8:25 AM
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Robust effort to tackle climate change
Finance Minister Linsday Tanner blogs exclusively for BusinessDay.
The release of the Government's Green Paper on a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme has been met with saturation coverage and commentary.
That's hardly surprising. The issues involved are crucial to our future, and they're very complex.
- by Ed at 9:37 AM
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Future Fund not bailing out banks
Yesterday's The Age led with the rather confronting headline ``Future Fund billions help bank ride credit storm''. The article beneath the headline outlined recent investments by the Future Fund in Australia's banks. It pointed out that in April the Future Fund held $35 billion in bank deposits and other forms of cash. Similar stories appeared in the Financial Review recently.
While the article doesn't say as much, it does seem to imply that the Future Fund is engaged in bailing out Australia's banks. This is not the case.
more- by Ed at 8:40 AM
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Look to the British for clues
If you want to understand the impact of the mining boom in Australia, have a look at Britain. I'm here to meet British Ministers about deregulation, and they're grappling with the same economic challenges we are. With one big exception - they have no equivalent of our mining boom delivering a wave of extra income.
moreCutting costs for home buyers
These days it seems like you can do almost anything online. You can lodge your tax return. Pay your bills. Buy all kinds of products. Even get ripped off by scam merchants even more creative than those in the real world.
One thing you can't do online is transfer ownership of a house. For all of our high-tech sophistication, we still persist with a cumbersome, antiquated process for sealing a property deal.
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Lindsay Tanner is the federal MP for Melbourne in Victoria and is Minister for Finance and Deregulation in the Rudd Government.
