High growth in health spending is the area of public expenditure that will unsustainably increase the size of government in coming decades. This report, part of the Centre for Independent Studies' TARGET30 campaign, outlines some practical policies that can help cut Medicare down to size. It also proposes ‘big bang’ health reform involving the use...

When enacting the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission Act 2012 last year, the Gillard government declared that its reforms of the Australian not-for-profit (NFP) sector were motivated by the need to restore public confidence and trust in charities. Informed by the 2010 Productivity Commission report Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector, the legislation introduced a regulatory...

In 2010–11, Australia’s welfare state, which includes health, education and income support payments, accounted for approximately $316 billion in government expenditure and 65% of total government expenditure. By way of comparison, Australia’s three levels of government received $358 billion in tax revenue in 2010–11, of which $138 billion was received through income tax payments. •...

In February 2012, a report by the Senate Community Affairs References Committee recommended that the federal parliament issue a formal statement of apology for the role the Commonwealth played in the routine adoption of the babies of unwed (mostly teenage) mothers by childless married couples between the 1950s and mid-1970s. The Gillard government subsequently announced...

This report introduces a campaign for reducing government spending to 30% of GDP. Key points: The size of government in Australia (federal, state and local) has been steadily expanding over the last 40 years, reaching into areas far beyond the core government responsibilities. Spending in the general government sector (across all levels of government) has...