Grattan Institute

A conversation with Health Program Director Stephen Duckett and Fellow Hal Swerissen. February 1, 2018 marks the 34th anniversary of the beginning of Medicare. How did it begin, how has it been used politically and what challenges will it continue to face?

A conversation with Energy Fellow, David Blowers. Australia’s electricity sector is in crisis, or something close to it. But electricity shortages are just one part of the story - for most Australians a more visible and perhaps crucial part of this crisis is our ever-increasing electricity bills and everyone wants to blame someone else for the problem. Is there a single factor responsible for our electricity pricing woes? Or is the story more complex than that? Discussed on the podcast this week: David Blowers, A high price for policy failure: the ten-year story of spiralling electricity bills, January 2018 https://grattan.edu.au/news/a-high-price-for-policy-failure-the-ten-year-story-of-spiralling-electricity-bills/ Wood, T., Blowers, D., and Moran, G. Price shock: is the retail electricity market failing consumers?, 2017 https://grattan.edu.au/report/price-shock/

A conversation with Australian Perspectives fellow, Brendan Coates and Associate Trent Wiltshire. Unsurprisingly, housing affordability continues to remain in focus for media, politicians and researchers. In recent weeks, two papers have been released discussing regional housing supply and demand in Australia and housing accessibility for first home buyers. Here are the papers discussed on the podcast this week: Gianni La Cava, Hannah Leal and Andrew Zurawski, Housing Accessibility for First Home Buyers, RBA Bulletin December Quarter 2017 http://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2017/dec/pdf/bu-1217-3-housing-accessibility-for-first-home-buyers.pdf Ben Phillips and Cukkoo Joseph, Regional Housing Supply and Demand in Australia Regional Housing Supply and Demand in Australia, 2017 http://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/regional-housing-supply-and-demand-australia Also discussed in the podcast this week: Ong, Dalton, Gurran, Phelps, Rowley, Wood, Housing supply responsiveness in Australia

Event podcast: at this Policy Pitch event, Grattan Institute launched our annual Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister at the State Library Victoria. Melbourne broadcaster Sally Warhaft joined Grattan Institute CEO John Daley in Melbourne to discuss how this year's titles illuminate some of Australia’s most important debates.

A conversation with Grattan Program Director Jim Minifie, Senior Associate Cameron Chisholm and Associate Lucy Percival. The widely held belief that powerful firms control the Australian economy is a myth. But where a few firms dominate markets, such as in the supermarket and banking sectors, they earn higher profits.

Event podcast: This Forward Thinking event explored the widening economic and social divide between Australia’s cities and regions. What are the economic forces at play? What are the effects on the social fabric of the nation? And what if anything should governments do to bridge the divide?

A conversation with School Education Program Director, Pete Goss. Australia’s school education system is not fit for purpose, and we need to rethink the way we teach students, support teachers and run schools. To halt the decline, we should make the system more adaptive.

Event podcast: Energy policy in 2017 has been constantly in the media headlines, driven by the reality of the impact of high prices and security uncertainty and the ongoing, intense politicisation of energy and climate change policy. The chair of the Energy Security Board, Kerry Schott, and the chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims, came together for our last Energy Futures forum for 2017 to reflect on 2017 and what we need in 2018.

A conversation with Program Director Danielle Wood and Associate Carmela Chivers. Last week saw Australians overwhelmingly vote yes for same-sex marriage. What were the patterns of voting in this plebiscite? What trends did we see and what are the political implications? Read the op-ed published at The Conversation: https://grattan.edu.au/news/same-sex-marriage-results-crush-the-idea-that-australian-voters-crave-conservatism/

Event Podcast: This Policy Pitch event detailed Grattan analysis about the real shifts in Australia’s economy, culture and institutions, and which of them are plausibly linked to shifts in voting. It then considered what policy reforms would do most to re-engage people in the institutions that are vital to good government.

A conversation with Health Program Director, Stephen Duckett. Australia needs to reform the way we collect and use information about patient safety, to reduce the risk of more tragedies in our hospitals. The system is awash with data, but the information is poorly collated, not shared with patients, and often not given to doctors.

Event podcast: In this Forward Thinking event, an expert panel considered: if we can manage Sydney congestion by working our existing approaches harder or has the city reached a tipping point, where a new approach is needed and if Sydney adopted a different approach, what could it do to keep the city moving?

In part 2 of this two-episode podcast, with the help of Australian Perspectives Fellow Brendan Coates and Productivity Growth Director Jim Minifie we follow up on our discussion into the evidence that economic growth may be slower in the future and what might explain it with an in-depth chat about what policymakers could do in response. One of the big policy debates in Australia and around the world right now is whether economic growth will be slower in the future than in the past. Nearly a decade after the Global Financial Crisis and economic growth remains weak in many rich nations. Australia has been an exception to the malaise, but growth has slowed as the mining boom winds down. A growing number of voices are wondering whether we’ve entered a “new normal” of slower economic growth, which would have big implications for Australians’ future living standards, our public policy choices and the state of our politics. Further readings To help listeners navigate the debate, below are a few references cite

Event podcast: In this Policy Pitch event, an expert panel discussed the role of competition and competition policy in the Australian economy including, how valid concerns are about competition and market power in Australia; where competition is working less well than it could, and what are its limits as a policy tool; and what else policymakers should do to ensure competition benefits the community?

A conversation with Senior Associate Hugh Batrouney. Road congestion charges should be introduced in Sydney and Melbourne. An examination of 3.5 million Google Maps trip-time estimates across more than 350 routes suggests both cities could face traffic gridlock in future unless decisive action is taken to manage congestion.

One of the big policy debates in Australia and around the world right now is whether economic growth will be slower in the future than in the past. Nearly a decade after the Global Financial Crisis and economic growth remains weak in many rich nations. Australia has been an exception to the malaise, but growth has slowed as the mining boom winds down. A growing number of voices are wondering whether we’ve entered a “new normal” of slower economic growth, which would have big implications for Australians’ future living standards, our public policy choices and the state of our politics. In part 1 of this two-episode podcast, with the help of Australian Perspectives Fellow Brendan Coates and Productivity Growth Director Jim Minifie, we take a deep dive into the evidence that economic growth may be slower in the future and what might explain it. Stay tuned for part 2 where we will discuss what policymakers could do in response. Further readings To help listeners navigate the debate, below are a few references

Event podcast: this Energy Futures Seminar, a part of the Policy Pitch series, explored the Thwaites Review findings and the Grattan Report ‘Price shock: Is the retail electricity market failing consumers?’ released earlier this year. The expert panel, moderated by Dr Sara Bice and joined by John Thwaites, Tony Wood and Sarah McNamara debated the Review’s recommendations for a regulated Basic Service Offer and related issues.

A conversation with Energy Fellow, David Blowers. Australia’s electricity system is under pressure like never before. Work should start immediately on a new ‘capacity mechanism’ in case it is needed to ensure reliable supplies in future.

Event podcast: Established political parties are struggling across the developed world, while “outsider parties” rise. In this State of Affairs event, Grattan CEO John Daley presented detailed Grattan analysis about the real shifts in Australia’s economy, culture and institutions, and which of them are plausibly linked to shifts in voting.

A conversation with Australian Perspectives Fellow, Dani Wood. The question of whether inequality has been rising or falling in Australia appears to be difficult to answer at first glance - and a different story emerges when looking at income inequality or wealth inequality. So just what is happening to inequality here in Australia? How do we compare to the rest of the world? And what are our politicians suggesting to bridge the gap?