Cis Podcast

Senate Economics References Committee Sydney 24/04/2018. Comments by CIS economic researchers Simon Cowan and Mathew O'Donnell. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/ Join the CIS as a member at - https://www.cis.org.au/join-cis/ Follow CIS on Socials Twitter - https://twitter.com/CISOZ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CentreIndependentStudies/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-independent-studies/?viewAsMember=true

Member of Parliament Ken Wyatt visited the CIS to give a speech on Indigenous Health and explain his view that simply “more funding” is not the solution. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/ Join the CIS as a member at - https://www.cis.org.au/join-cis/ Follow CIS on Socials Twitter - https://twitter.com/CISOZ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CentreIndependentStudies/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-independent-studies/?viewAsMember=true

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has recently called for slashing immigration to deal with Australia’s housing and infrastructure challenges. As a result, he has sparked a debate that goes beyond ideology. Meanwhile, opinion polls indicate growing opposition to high levels of migration that have helped shape public policy in recent decades. Has Australia’s long economic expansion been dependent on immigration? Take out population growth, would our miracle economy have gone into recession? Is a Big Australia feasible these days? ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/s

March 13 marked the 25th anniversary of the 1993 federal election contest between the incumbent Paul Keating and John Hewson. In the lead up to the recession ‘we had to have’, John Hewson emerged as the leader of the opposition Liberal party. He set out early and launched his Fightback policy in late 1991 representing the Coalition’s new future policy direction. Join our panelists for a discussion that delved into the past and asked: How consequential was the race? Did Keating’s demolition of the Coalition’s free-market manifesto herald the demise of the reform agenda in Australia? And, did the “unlosable election” spell the end of political transparency? ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to

The CIS had the pleasure to welcome Sadanand Dhume, a resident fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute and distinguished commentator on Indian politics. Narendra Modi is India’s most powerful prime minister in the past three decades. He is also the most dominant leader in the combined 67-year-old history of his right-of-centre Bharatiya Janata Party and its predecessor party. Has he met the high expectations that so many people raised in 2014 when he won a landslide election? Is he truly a transformative figure? Will he challenge the shopworn ideas in economics and foreign policy that have shaped India since independence in 1947? ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosp

After nine years of centre-right governments under Prime Ministers John Key and Bill English, New Zealand has new leadership. Led by Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and supported by New Zealand First and the left-wing Greens, the new coalition has pledged to take the country in a different direction. Changes to industrial relations, housing and even monetary policy are on the cards. So, how interventionist is this new New Zealand Government? To what extent does it mark a radical departure from its predecessor’s policies? ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subs

Leigh Sales at the CIS discussed the growth of social media and its implications on the public policy landscape. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/ Join the CIS as a member at - https://www.cis.org.au/join-cis/ Follow CIS on Socials Twitter - https://twitter.com/CISOZ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CentreIndependentStudies/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-independent-studies/?viewAsMember=true

Britain’s ruling Conservative Party is falling deeper into disarray. With Brexit negotiations faltering, and against the backdrop of last year’s election disaster, there is a real danger that Prime Minister Theresa May’s days are numbered. Meanwhile, Britain’s Labour Opposition – which may be the next governing party at Westminster – is extending its march to the left. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/ Join the CIS as a member at - https://www.cis.org.au/join-cis/ Follow CIS

The Australian economy is in its 27th year of continuous economic growth. Unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. The global economic outlook is bullish yet real wages remain flat. What is Labor's economic agenda? Shadow Treasurer, The Hon Chris Bowen MP, outlines the economic reforms the Labor Party intends to implement should they win the next election. Elected to the House of Reps in 2004, Chris Bowen has been a familiar face in politics for some time. He has served as Treasurer and Immigration Minister in the Rudd and Gillard Governments and as acting Federal Labor leader in the aftermath of the 2013 federal election. He is author of Money Men: Australia's Twelve Most Notable Treasurers (MUP). ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously consid

Join our full lineup of panellists Jacinta Price, Peter Fitzsimons, Anthony Dillon, Geoffrey Winters, Norma Ingram & Jeremy Sammut for a debate on Australia Day. Calls are growing to move Australia Day away from January 26. But is having the national day on the anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival in 1788 really insensitive to Indigenous people? How would changing the date help the plight of Aboriginal Australians? And if we change Australia Day, what date should we choose? ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible donati

Urgent action is needed to address the epidemic of violence in Indigenous communities. Aboriginal women are between 37 and 80 times more likely to experience family violence than non-Indigenous women. For too long, the voices of the victims of domestic violence have been oppressed and silenced. As part of the ongoing advocacy to address this issue, The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) Indigenous Research Program was pleased to present the voices of three outspoken and fearless Aboriginal women, Professor Marcia Langton AM, Councillor Jacinta Price and Lawyer and businesswomen, Josephine Cashman who spoke about their personal experiences with family violence, and the policy and community levers that could rapidly decelerate high rates of violence. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim

People have lost faith in both the free market and in government. Capitalism and investing are now pejorative terms, while the government is increasingly seen as unable to balance its budget — and as wasting taxpayer money on poorly-judged strategies. However, there is increasing interest in social impact investing: a strategy that could restore faith in market strategies, prevent excessive government waste on social programs and infrastructure — and deliver results to Australia’s most disadvantaged people. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us w

Whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA hacked the internet as a key part of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence program. Since these revelations in 2013, legislation has largely served to give a secure legal backing to what was previously an undisclosed, covert and sometimes informal national surveillance program. In the private sphere, we are now on the brink of an AI revolution, where machine learning combined with big data will yield unprecedented efficiencies and capabilities. Privacy and security are both areas of major importance to civil society, so we must ask when does national security surveillance go too far and erode our civil liberties? This talk argued that the key issue with both public and private sector surveillance is not a trade-off between privacy and security or privacy and consumer satisfaction rather, the key issue is the centralisation of power that big data enables, and the effects that this has on our freedom. This talk also explored ways to make sense of this politically and

Minister for Social Services Christian Porter outlined the rationale and benefits for welfare policy changes, including the Basics Card and drug testing of welfare recipients. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/ Join the CIS as a member at - https://www.cis.org.au/join-cis/ Follow CIS on Socials Twitter - https://twitter.com/CISOZ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CentreIndependentStudies/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-independent-studies/?viewAsMe

The Australian taxpayer pays considerable support for people in need, but the problems of poverty seem intractable. So, what other issues should we be thinking through? Family breakdown, drug and alcohol abuse, indigenous disadvantage, poor educational outcomes all feed into the current culture of poverty that seems impossible to resolve. New and creative intellectual policy ideas need to be considered and the Minister outlined some of these. The primary approach to tackling child poverty over the last 30 years – higher income support payments and more community services – will not provide the solution to significantly reducing entrenched impoverishment over the next 30 years. Rather, we will have to collectively address what I call the ‘pathways to poverty’ more systemically. These include welfare and other dependencies, poor education standards and family breakdown. This is the focus of much of the government’s efforts. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choic

Poor behaviour in schools is a significant factor undermining student achievement. International data suggests behaviour in Australian schools is among the worst in the world, and reviews have found many teachers are not given practical, evidence-based classroom management strategies in initial teacher education courses. Strong, supportive school leadership is crucial. Schools with high standards of behaviour have common practices that can help all schools maintain the orderly, safe culture necessary for quality teaching to take place, optimal learning to occur — and for children to flourish. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis

Mr Abbott says that the biggest regret of his prime ministership was the government's failure to consider acquiring nuclear-powered submarines and, even now, ponders whether this is a debate we need to have. In his time as Prime Minister, the carbon tax and the mining tax were repealed; free trade agreements were finalised with China, Japan and Korea; and the people smuggling trade from Indonesia to Australia was halted. Australia became the second largest military contributor to the US-led campaign against ISIL in Iraq and hosted the G20 meeting of global leaders in Brisbane in November 2014. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.ci

Today almost everyone affirms the importance of ‘values’ but few would insist these are shared moral essentials. How is it that the most common term of our political and even private moralities became so relativistic and what, if anything, could be offered as an alternative? Law Professor, cultural observer and theorist on religion and pluralism, Professor Iain Benson, offers us some insights and guidance on steps he argues are essential for education, justice and politics in our time. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible

Before his retirement from politics, Andrew Robb was Australia’s Minister for Trade and Investment in the Abbott and Turnbull Government. In this role Mr Robb negotiated Free Trade Agreements, investment roundtables and created Strategic Partnerships in our region and abroad. As we approach the first 100 day mark of the Trump administration, it is timely to remember that the biggest impact of President Trump on Australia probably remains his first executive order scrapping the Trans Pacific Free Trade Agreement. As a small trading nation, Australia’s prosperity is threatened by the rise of neo-Protectionism both abroad and locally. Drawing on his vast experience of free trade agreements with South Korea, Japan and China, as well as the 12 country of the Trans Pacific Free Trade Agreement on Australia’s behalf, the Hon. Andrew Robb, explains why freer trade is in our national interest – and why America’s turn towards protectionism under Trump is bad news for the Australian economy. ____________________ The

England’s schools have undergone substantial changes in the last decade, including: introducing systematic phonics teaching and the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check; implementation of the Shanghai model of maths education in thousands of schools; and the expansion of free schools and academies. These reforms and others were driven by evidence of how children learn and policies that maximise opportunities for children to attend high quality schools. What does an evidence-based education look like and why is it so important? What can England and Australia learn from each other? ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe t