The Garnaut Review draft report has just come out. The site is clogged, but I’ve managed to get a copy of the report and press release (I’ve attached the latter here. Read more »
The Garnaut Review draft report has just come out. The site is clogged, but I’ve managed to get a copy of the report and press release (I’ve attached the latter here. Read more »
Readers familiar with the Macquarie Group are likely to have several reactions to the news that Macquarie is considering entering the US municipal bond insurance market. First, if Macquarie is interested, there is almost certainly money to be made. Second, much of the gain is likely to be at the expense of the governments concerned, and will involve some combination of regulatory arbitrage and financial engineering. Read more »
That’s the headline for my article in today’s Fin. It’s a nice pun (sub-editors love this kind of thing) but I should clarify that in fact, I am in favour of upstream irrigators selling water to flow down the river to restore natural flows and provide drinking water for Adelaide.
You can read the full article here on the RSMG blog.
That’s the headline for my article in today’s Fin, which follows:
After a messy and unedifying process, the Iemma government has finally reached an agreement with the Opposition to proceed with the privatisation of the New South Wales electricity industry. The price of the deal has been acceptance of the Opposition demand for an inquiry by the Auditor-General, Peter Achterstraat. Read more »
Today’s Fin (paywalled unfortunately) includes the neat neologism “Peak Car” from transport consultant John Cox, making the point that car travel in developed countries is unlikely to increase further. I’ve tended to disagree with Cox in the past: for example, with this 2006 piece, which stated that public transport is in terminal decline. Read more »
First up, I have to say that it was good to watch a budget without having to put up with Peter Costello. Unlike Howard, I never regarded Costello as having any real substance. Even after 11 years on the job, his mastery of his portfolio was a clever barrister’s mastery of his brief, not a serious understanding of economics. Despite his nervous start in the job, and a delivery of the Budget that wasn’t notable for rhetorical flair, Swan impresses me more as knowing what he is talking about. Read more »
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