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How the Property Council is shaping the debate around negative gearing, taxes
Housing affordability and tax reform have shaped up to be two of the defining issues this election. The Property Council of Australia – which describes itself as “the Voice of Leadership” – has helped frame the debate on behalf of its 2200 company members. The financial stakes are high when it comes to lobbying for...
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Digital disruption: STEM graduates and more regulation not the answer
A complacent government could easily adopt a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the effects of technology on our economy, but a report from the Productivity Commission advocates what governments need to do to confront digital disruption - get out of its way, writes Jim Minifie.
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Our cities will stop working without a decent national housing policy
We have to move the housing conversation beyond a game of political football about negative-gearing winners and losers. Australia needs a bipartisan, long-term, housing policy. Why? Because we have a slow-burn, deepening crisis that is affecting Australians who are already highly vulnerable and disadvantaged. They include: 206,000 households on the waiting list for social housing...
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Lobbying 101: how interest groups influence politicians and the public to get what they want
Over the past 20 years, lobbying activities in Australia have expanded dramatically. Following the United States' lead, where a radical shift in ideology in the 1970s led to a re-evaluation of the way corporations view their role in society, the notion of corporate “civic duty” has been replaced by a belief that governments and the...
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Election FactCheck: is crime getting worse in Australia?
Former federal MP, Pauline Hanson, is back on the campaign trail for a Senate seat in Queensland. In a recent interview she said a lot of people she had talked to did not believe they were safe and that with regular stories on crime in the media she believes the situation is getting worse. Is...