This paper offers four broad objections to the Henry Tax Review from a classical liberal perspective. The public release of Australia’s Future Tax System—known as the Henry review—in May 2010 sparked an ongoing debate in Australia about the structure and efficiency of the country’s tax system. The review recommended substantial reforms be made to state...

This paper argues that the federal government’s plans to establish a Clean Energy Finance Corporation should be scrapped. As a commercially oriented company, it competes with private investors. As a company with a public mandate, it nevertheless aims to serve a public policy goal. These dual purposes are hard to reconcile. However, its place under...

This paper considers the arguments for and against greater use of a sovereign wealth fund in Australia. It argues that the existing Future Fund is unnecessary and that greater use of a sovereign wealth fund would harm Australia’s future prosperity. Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have become more prominent both in Australia and abroad since the...

Politicians in New Zealand are wedded to the idea of the activist state, but despite huge spending increases life is not much better for most people. Over the last decade, government has provided more social services but at such great cost that we have to question whether the marginal improvements in social outcomes justify the...

This monograph argues that the rising size, cost, and complexity of the out-of-home care system in Australia is directly linked to child protection failures. Children are entering care later and more damaged, and are spending longer in care due to the misguided emphasis placed on family preservation by child welfare agencies.