POLICY HUB
We enhance public policy analysis by offering a variety of different solutions to important and pressing issues. Our approach does not involve attacking political parties or individual politicians; rather, we take the time to thoughtfully question existing ideas and beliefs. Our primary focus is on presenting facts and thoroughly examining the reasons why innovative policies are currently lacking. Most importantly, we strive to simplify basic policies and complex concepts, making them more accessible and understandable for everyday Australians.
Our Approach
We highlight important public policy issues and explain them clearly. Then, we look at other possible solutions that many people consider but that politicians often ignore.
Our People
We work with top experts in the field of public policy. We engage policy experts, specialists and academics who share our vision for a more vibrant and positive policy future. We give them a template for consistency, set a word limit, and conduct peer reviews on all articles.
Economic Policy
A case for a flat tax
Australia has two fundamental problems - we don’t spend or save enough. With the GST considered a regressive tax - the more you spend the more tax you pay - a flat tax (12-16%) ensures people have more disposable income to spend and save more. But would it work?
Government inefficiency
State and Federal Government bureaucracies are bloated with some like in Victoria growing by 60% over the past 15 years. Why has this occurred and is it sustainable? Can such growth be attributed simply to an ever complex policy environment and are taxpayers achieving value for money?
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Manufacturing & innovation
Australia has always been innovative but many believe the level of home grown manufacturing has dropped off to alarmign levels. Is this the case? What is Australia’s track record and what does manufacturing in Australia look like today?
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Abolition of payroll tax
When the GST was introduced State and Territory Governments agreed to abolish payroll tax in return for GST revenue. But it never happen. Payroll tax is a disincentive to hire staff on the basis that once you go over the threshold, you pay payroll tax on all employees. So should it be abolished?
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Stamp duty
Many argue the inefficiency of State bureaucracies is evidenced by stamp duty. With housing affordability at an all time low and with younger Australian’s increasingly unlikely to be able to buy a home, why is stamp duty still being charged on family homes and what’s the outcome if abolished?
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How does the GST work?
The GST was introduced to remover a raft of taxes. The GST revenue is captured by the Commonwealth and distributed national via a mechanism called Vertical Fiscal Equalisation. Allow us to make sense of it and dispel some common myths.
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Agricultural Policy
Quad Bike Ban
In 2023 every major quad bike manufacturer in the world walked away from Australia due to legislation passed by the Federal Coalition Government that made Operator Protection Devices (OPDs) mandatory on all new quad bikes sold in Australia.
Rice in Australia
Many question why we would want to flood irrigate rice in Australian when we live on one of the driest continents on earth. But, we’ve been doing it since 1850’s and very successfully. Why is rice so successful and yet so divisive for many?
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Murray Darling Basin
The Murray Darling Basing is perhaps the most complex policy issue across all of agriculture in Australia. Extracting water for food production is one thing but balancing this with environmental flows is challenging. We ‘attempt’ to explain the issues in a way you’ll easily understand.
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Ag Representation
With a vast array of governing bodies from the National Farmers Federation to State bodies like AgForce what does the representative model look like for agriculture in Australia and is there room for reform?
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Dairy
There has been decades of debate surrounding dairy deregualtion, the price of milk and the sheer viability of Australian dairy farmers. Allow us to simplify the issue and propose and analyse what other countries do to maintain a viable dairy industry.
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Live sheep exports
The export of live sheep was recently stopped by the Labor Federal Government. A large compensation packages was put together but argued to be insufficient. Why was the decision made and who was mostly affected?
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Environmental Policy
National parks & state forests
Governments for decades have declared large areas of land as either National Parks (Federal) or State Forests (State). These terrestrial based paradigms are premised on conservation and so only allow specific activities to occur in them. We explain the landscape and the main policy drivers.
Hydrogen
Some very rich people like Andrew Forrest have invested heavily in hydrogen and then moth balled the solution. But why? We explain hydrogen in a way almost anyone can understand it. We then look at who has done what and attempt to look into the future via a neutral lense.
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Native logging
No where is logging more contentious and mixed with a chequered history than in Tasmania. Allow us to simplify the debate and characterise the actors to explore what really went on when old growth logging was front page of every paper in the country.
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The carbon argument
Since Kyoto there have been a plethora of global meetings with countries committing to net zero emissions by certain dates. Its complex and you need to be a Professor studying it full-time to completely understand it all. We’ll make it easy and explain the why and the when.
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Mining
Australia has some of the largest iron ore deposits. We dig it up but then others make steel out of it and sell it back to us for 20 times the value. How long will the ‘mining boom’ last and what are the consequences long-term for coal? We’ll try and make sense of it all.
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Nuclear energy
With the phase out of fossil fuels as the primary driver for base load power generation, something will need to fill the gap. Will sustainable solutions be ready, will there be enough to deliver base load power and when you take the politics out of the debate, is nuclear energy a solution for Australia?
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Marine parks
Marine Parks
Governments have consistently over the past 15 years taken what we call ‘terrestrial’ based paradigms - national parks - and overlaid them to the marine environment in the name of conservation. We explore the policy environment and provide some rather unique insights.
Electric vehicles
Electric Vehicles (EVs) have a interesting history and date back, funnily enough, decades. But with resale values plummeting, new Chinese EV’s soaking the market, the USA banning key manufacturers and Europe taking a rather weird approach, what does the market look like for EV now and into the future?
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Sustainable energy
Many argue the sheer Co2 needed to make, construct and run a wind turbine will never be made up in the life of the turbine. Others point to the problem we have marrying new technology with old infrastructure - especially with electricity distribution. We’ll tackle the issue in a way you can understand.
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Social Policy
Indigenous affaris
The policy environment for Indigenous Affairs is as vexed as any in the country. Billions of dollars are spent each and every year and yet change still seems so far away. What does the landscape look like and why are so many Australians confused?
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Aged care
Aged care in Australia is divided into two main categories - residential and community aged care. Within these two sectors variations exist. What does this legislative and policy framework look like and who are the main actors?
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Youth justice
A plethora of solutions have been tried to address youth justice issues. Restorative justice models in the US have had limited success and there remains a challenge in Australia of keeping young offenders away from prison.
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Homelessness
The statistics speak for themselves - a majority of homeless people actually choose to be homeless. So how bad is the issues, what are the definitions we need to be aware of and can we adopt a vastly different approach?
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Domestic violence
In terms of policy the domestic violence environment receives record funding. Who are the institutions, agencies, NGOs and departments designed to deliver outcomes and what do these frameworks and linkages look like?
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Disability
With recent enquiries coming to a close policy change across the disability sector is inevitable. With both State and Federal Governments heavily involved its often hard to understand who does what. We’ll peel back the layers and hopefully provide clarity.
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Government housing
It often seems that almost every solution to the provision of government housing has failed. But has it? What has Australia done well and what can we learn from other countries who seem to have cracked the solution.
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Modern slavery
A lot is said about modern slavery particularly in the mining and garment sectors. How bad is it and what is being done? Can we as consumers be better educated on where modern slavery occurs and are there alternative solutions to addressing the issue?
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Health Policy
Questioning the system
Very few if any politicians take on the powerful health industry. But in a policy sense is the sector ‘clean’? Why is so much money wasted? Why is it so hard to find a GP? And why are health bureaucracies so large?
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Ambulance ramping
We hear and we see on the news almost monthly ambulances ramped and blocked up at hospitals waiting to be triaged. Why is it occurring and are there policy solutions that can alleviate these concerns for ambos and patients?
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Cancer research
Over the past 20 years hundreds of cancer research organisations have popped up. Billions is being spent but are we making in-roads? Moreover, what happens with your money when so many organisations duplicate administrative back houses?
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Surgeons and professional closure
Socioloigists refer to the phrase ‘professional closure’ to illustrate how powerful professions exclude others and elevate jsut a few to bolster both prestige and income. But does this really occur and is there an alternative solution to training more surgeons.
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