Good debt projects will require political backbone
The Treasurer's good and bad debt separation is good in theory but will require iron discipline from cabinet ministers not to approve dodgy projects.
Alan Mitchell, Economics Editor
Alan Mtichell writes on News specialising in Economy, Policy, Infrastructure. Based in our Sydney newsroom, Alan has been economics editor of the Financial Review since 2005 and has also held positions with the ABC and The Sydney Morning Herald.
MOST RECENT ARTICLES
Protectionism: easy but fatal
Trump cannot stop the industrial revolution sweeping through the developing world.
Turnbull turning into Fraser on protectionism
Malcolm Turnbull is turning into Malcolm Fraser: extolling free trade abroad, but practising protectionist policies at home
A convenient cover for protectionism
The government is being carried along with a protectionist tide, making the Ausgrid security advice a welcome excuse.
Turnbull, the ratings agencies and the quest for growth
The ratings agencies are threatening a downgrade, while economists are urging more borrowing for infrastructure.
Malcolm Turnbull and the new politics
The Mediscare was a small example of the political forces now working in democracies around the world.
Why the RBA is still expected to cut interest rates
No one expected the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates this month but the markets are pricing in further rate reduction.
Turnbull needs to do more than form a government to survive
Australia will need more, not less, reform than was included in the May budget.
Populist policies a recipe for slow growth
How does post-election Australia navigate a Brexit and Trumpian world?
Brexit gives Turnbull a second chance
Malcolm Turnbull's chances of winning the election are said to have been strengthened by the Brexit vote. But it may offer him a good deal m...
Merkel shows best way to deal with Brexit
Angela Merkel's stand against an accelerated exit deal for Britain holds out the possibility of a better settlement.
Now for Brexit, the live experiment
First we had the Treasury's scary modelling and simulations. Now we have the live experiment.
The truth about privatising Medicare
Guess what: Medicare already has been heavily privatised, and Labor governments have been happy enough to accept the fiscal benefits.
NSW more fiscally challenged than it seems
NSW's fiscal future is likely to be more challenged than its Treasurer, Gladys Berejiklian, likes to admit.
Brexit and the risks for yield-hungry investors
When risks are spiking in Europe, all risky assets are less safe - even if the risk that's spiking is of an orderly British exit from the EU...
Australia and the disruption of the digital revolution
Digital disruption is just beginning, and those who try to hold back the tide will be washed away.
NBN and the untouchable Medicare
Voters would be less impressed with promises of a more expensive NBN if they knew about the budget black hole.
Turnbull, Shorten and creative destruction
The OECD says we need more creative destruction - to divert resources from unproductive businesses to future industries.
Shorten takes a tiny beachhead of fiscal responsibility
Bill Shorten likes to see his fiscal savings as the heroic height of fiscal responsibility, but it depends very much on your perspective.
Patent reform will boost innovation
A new Productivity Commission report fears that conventional wisdom on IP is stifling new products.
More
