Grattan Institute

Event podcast: at this Policy Pitch event, Grattan Institute launched our annual Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister at the State Library Victoria. Melbourne broadcaster Sally Warhaft joined Grattan Institute CEO John Daley in Melbourne to discuss how this year's titles illuminate some of Australia’s most important debates.

A conversation with Grattan Program Director Jim Minifie, Senior Associate Cameron Chisholm and Associate Lucy Percival. The widely held belief that powerful firms control the Australian economy is a myth. But where a few firms dominate markets, such as in the supermarket and banking sectors, they earn higher profits.

Event podcast: This Forward Thinking event explored the widening economic and social divide between Australia’s cities and regions. What are the economic forces at play? What are the effects on the social fabric of the nation? And what if anything should governments do to bridge the divide?

A conversation with School Education Program Director, Pete Goss. Australia’s school education system is not fit for purpose, and we need to rethink the way we teach students, support teachers and run schools. To halt the decline, we should make the system more adaptive.

Event podcast: Energy policy in 2017 has been constantly in the media headlines, driven by the reality of the impact of high prices and security uncertainty and the ongoing, intense politicisation of energy and climate change policy. The chair of the Energy Security Board, Kerry Schott, and the chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims, came together for our last Energy Futures forum for 2017 to reflect on 2017 and what we need in 2018.

A conversation with Program Director Danielle Wood and Associate Carmela Chivers. Last week saw Australians overwhelmingly vote yes for same-sex marriage. What were the patterns of voting in this plebiscite? What trends did we see and what are the political implications? Read the op-ed published at The Conversation: https://grattan.edu.au/news/same-sex-marriage-results-crush-the-idea-that-australian-voters-crave-conservatism/

Event Podcast: This Policy Pitch event detailed Grattan analysis about the real shifts in Australia’s economy, culture and institutions, and which of them are plausibly linked to shifts in voting. It then considered what policy reforms would do most to re-engage people in the institutions that are vital to good government.

A conversation with Health Program Director, Stephen Duckett. Australia needs to reform the way we collect and use information about patient safety, to reduce the risk of more tragedies in our hospitals. The system is awash with data, but the information is poorly collated, not shared with patients, and often not given to doctors.

Event podcast: In this Forward Thinking event, an expert panel considered: if we can manage Sydney congestion by working our existing approaches harder or has the city reached a tipping point, where a new approach is needed and if Sydney adopted a different approach, what could it do to keep the city moving?

In part 2 of this two-episode podcast, with the help of Australian Perspectives Fellow Brendan Coates and Productivity Growth Director Jim Minifie we follow up on our discussion into the evidence that economic growth may be slower in the future and what might explain it with an in-depth chat about what policymakers could do in response. One of the big policy debates in Australia and around the world right now is whether economic growth will be slower in the future than in the past. Nearly a decade after the Global Financial Crisis and economic growth remains weak in many rich nations. Australia has been an exception to the malaise, but growth has slowed as the mining boom winds down. A growing number of voices are wondering whether we’ve entered a “new normal” of slower economic growth, which would have big implications for Australians’ future living standards, our public policy choices and the state of our politics. Further readings To help listeners navigate the debate, below are a few references cited in the podcast discussion. John Daley et al, Gamechangers: economic reform priorities for Australia, 2012. If Australian governments want to increase rates of economic growth they must reform the tax mix, and increase the workforce participation rates of women and older people. Together these game-changing reforms could contribute more than $70 billion to the Australian economy. Governments should concentrate their limited resources for economic reform where they can have the greatest impact on Australian prosperity https://grattan.edu.au/report/game-changers-economic-reform-priorities-for-australia/ John Daley et al, Balancing Budgets: tough choices we need, 2013. This report examines all realistic reforms that would contribute $2 billion a year or more to government budgets. It favours reforms that are big enough to make a difference, do not produce unacceptable economic and social effects, and spread the burden of reform across the community. Sharing the pain is not only fair, it makes change easier to sell to the public. https://grattan.edu.au/report/balancing-budgets-tough-choices-we-need/ John Daley et al, Orange Book 2016: Priorities for the next Commonwealth Government, 2016. This report surveys policy recommendations from seven years of Grattan Institute reports and outlines what the incoming Commonwealth Government should do to improve Australia. https://grattan.edu.au/report/orange-book-2016-priorities-for-the-next-commonwealth-government/ Jim Minifie et al, Stagnation nation, Grattan Institute, 2017. Is Australia at risk of economic stagnation as the mining investment boom fades? While the decline in business investment is no cause for panic, policymakers must do more to ensure we remain a dynamic, growing economy. https://grattan.edu.au/report/stagnation-nation/