Here's a link to the slides I used in my presentation to The Auatralia Institute's "Revenue Summit" at Parliament House today:
www.sauleslake.info/revenue-rais...
29.10.2025 05:52
👍 1
🔁 1
💬 0
📌 0
Here's a link to the slides I used in my presentation to The Auatralia Institute's "Revenue Summit" at Parliament House today:
www.sauleslake.info/revenue-rais...
My op-ed in the Australian Financial Review about the outcome of this weekend's Tasmanian state election (the 4th in seven years).
www.afr.com//politics/an...
A podcast of my interview with The Wire's Thomas Koutis about The Worst [Australian] Public Policy Decision of the 21st Century Thus Far:
www.thewire.org.au/story/hopes-...
An article about tax reform options that should be "on the table" if the Government is serious about budget repair, productivity and equity:
www.sauleslake.info/an-agenda-fo...
I know the SA Government is opposed to the bid, and that will carry some weight with the Federal Government
Elaine, foreign investment policy is now largely run by the spooks, who are instinctively anti-China in particular, and anti most other foreign investment unless it's from the US, the UK or other closely aligned nations. I'm not sure where the UAE (the major participant in this bid) fits in there
Stansfield's policy has always been "Never do anything that might cost a single vote". Which is perhaps the biggest single reason that Tasmania's finances are in the mess that they now are.
Here's a link to my report, released on Thursday, on the funding (by the Tasmanian Government) of greyhound racing in Tasmania:
www.sauleslake.info/the-funding-...
A podcast of my conversation with Rania Yallop & Elfy Scott, hosts of SBS's "Party Times", about issues in the current election campaign:
www.sauleslake.info/2025-electio...
Here's a podcast of a conversation with my (half-) sister Amanda Archibald, recorded last Sunday morning my time and Saturday afternoon hers, about #tariffs and all that - youtu.be/lvBciKVr3cs
I'm going to be taking with my half-sister Amanda Archibald (host of The Genomic Kitchen), who lives in Colorado, about #tariffs at 4pm Saturday afternoon her (MDT) time, that's 6pm EDT and 10am Sunday morning my (Eastern Australian) time.
Register at tinyurl.com/2bp67u6m to join the conversation
Some people - including, apparently, some serious Wall St types - believe that there is actually "method in the madness" behind the way the Trump regime is announcing and implementing its tariff policies.
This piece from The Atlantic is a good antidote to that.
www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...
Here's my interview with ABC-TV's national business & finance Reporter Alicia Barry about how President Donald Trump is trashing the economy he inherited from his predecessor:
www.sauleslake.info/erratic-us-t...
The ABC's Jacob Greber is absolutely right - Australia needs to think very carefully about the growing risks stemming from its increasing reliance on an erratic and untrustworthy United States as a strategic ally and source of defence equipment.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03...
A terrific piece by The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
This, from The Atlantic's Tom Nichol, is also well worth reading. And remember that, although The Atlantic is what Americans would call a "liberal"-leaning magazine, Tom Nichol is (I think) a conservative:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
What a truly vile excuse for a human being the 45th & 47th President of the United States is. And his putative successor "JD" Vance is arguably even worse
m.youtube.com/watch?v=9td4...
What Trump and Putin are doing with regard to Ukraine evokes the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of August 1939, by which Hitler and Stalin agreed to carve up Poland (and which they started doing a few weeks later).
Putin is almost certainly aware of the analogy. I'd be astonished if Trump was.
I can scarcely believe I am saying this: but on this at least, former Australian PM Tony Abbott is absolutely right!
www.theaustralian.com.au/world/tony-a...
Some thoughts on the meaning of last year's US elections, and subsequent developments, for other nations (including Australia): johnmenadue.com/europeans-an...
Elaine, it is indeed very concerning for the entire world - but especially for those countries who have hitherto looked up to the US as a "beacon of democracy" and/or as a guarantor of their security. Increasingly, the US is neither of those things.
That would be, frankly, outrageous - a completely unjustified interference in Australia's sovereign right to impose taxes on goods & services purchased by Australian residents and citizens as it sees fit. And I would hope those politicians who trumpet the importance of 'sovereignty' would say so.
But it is being reported today that the US may designate our GST (which applies to most imports, from anywhere, as well as to most Australian-produced goods & services) as a 'tariff' - and use that as an excuse to levy 'reciprocal tariffs' on imports into the US from Australia.
Australia has a free trade agreement with the US, pursuant to which we don't impose tariffs on most goods imported from the US (although the US still imposes quotas on some imports from Australia).
The only exception I would readily contemplate would be tariffs on goods that are made by a foreign country using child, prison or slave labour.
Elaine, as a general principle I don't think tariffs are ever 'fair' or 'reasonable', because they force people to pay higher prices for things than they would otherwise have to, to prop up businesses or industries that would otherwise be unviable (as we did for decades with clothing & cars).
The Financial Review has published an article from me about the implications of Saturday's pair of state by-elections in Victoria:
www.afr.com//politics/liberal-party-is-yet-to-heed-the-message-sent-in-werribee-20250208-p5lajv?btis
Could work to our advantage - makes Australia's product more competitive vs the US. But that also applies to, eg, Indonesia (coal), Qatar (LNG) & other competitors.
Also worth noting that US beef, wine & other producers were very willing to 'cut our lunch' when China was targeting us.
