Overview A new deal among governments and school systems can end Australia’s toxic school funding debate and transform teaching and learning in schools, without costing the Commonwealth more money. Historically low inflation rates create an unprecedented opportunity to reduce excessive school indexation payments that are locked into legislation, saving the nation billions of dollars.

Australia should introduce a tax on sugary drinks to recoup some of the costs of obesity to the community. The best option is an excise tax of 40 cents per 100 grams of sugar, on all non-alcoholic, water-based drinks that contain added sugar. Such a tax would increase the price of a two-litre bottle of...

The Commonwealth Government could save about $1 billion a year by winding back three tax breaks for older Australians that are unduly generous and have no sensible policy rationale. Seniors pay less tax and get a higher rebate on private health insurance than do younger workers on the same income. They do so through the...

People are spending more on services rather than goods, and so more people are working in services, generating high-value jobs in the centres of our big cities. Policy, especially in housing, is struggling to keep up, as Grattan CEO, John Daley, shows in this presentation to the Melbourne Economic Forum.

Treasurer Scott Morrison has outlined his vision for increasing home ownership at a speech to the Urban Development Institute of Australia. The Treasurer acknowledged it’s hard for first home buyers to get into the Australian housing market and suggested a number of barriers to increasing housing supply. The Conversation asked an expert panel to analyse...