From 1901 to the 1970's the prevailing view in government was that the government had a prevailing role in the economy And on the money or right economically pragmatic track.

Bourne out by the fact that we went through a post-war period of unprecedented prosperity, became the third wealthiest economy and a creditor one at that.

Plus we developed a robust manufacturing arm based on and dependant on the lowest energy prices and all power generation in public not for private profit hands as were most social amenities.

As such along with a more rational migrant intake! Allowed infrastructure roll out to proceed housing development. That was until the so-called economic rationalists imposed their ideological insanity on the place and sent us accelerating backwards ever since.

Sold what was not nailed down and gave us no choice whatsoever when they introduced their (mad hatters tea party) granny killing GST to offset the corporate tax lost to overseas corporation migration.

Refused to face the reality of man-made climate change even as the irrefutable evidence around them became mountainous!

And now, insanely refuse to change course and re-adopt the proven sanity that alone created our unprecedented post-war prosperity!?

Steadfastly refuse to adopt the only energy policy that would support that reignited strategy, i.e., MSR thorium. Which among creating Bismuth 213 a miracle cure for many death sentence cancers, can also be tasked with very safely burning the mountains of nuclear waste the world has thus far created and for enough profit to pay for all the new power generating facilities, all while actively mitigating against climate change!

I rest my case.
Alan B.

There are other things, needed on the table and made possible by the world's cheapest cleanest safest energy. That other is desalinated water. And the method has to be via deionisation dialysis desalination. Why? Because it produces a much as 95% potable water from seawater and at a quarter of the cost/energy input of traditional desalination. Those two numbers make it cost effective for broad-scale agriculture!

Finally, we need our corporate guests and residents to pay a fair share of their tax liability, always providing we introduce zones where some tax can be forgiven for a time. And given the top tax paid by any corporation the year ending 2017, was 13% along with an averaged tax compliance cost of 7%. total top tax and associated costs topped out at 20% in total.

A 15% flat tax, would, therefore, actually collect more revenue as well a lift all compliance costs. Meaning, the average firm would be around 5% better off in real terms and the wealthiest would not see any difference, given the most privileged can so arrange their affairs now, so they only pay 15%!

Those at the lower end of the socio-economic ladder would have around 4% shaved off current tax liability and not have to bother with expensive reconciliation etc. And as such, applicable to all tax brackets.

Once in place, forever end insanities and unfairness like eternal bracket creep.

Welfare must be rejigged so it serves only the needy, rather than the entitled greedy.

To that end, all school and health funding ought o be supported by a means-tested endowment that the beneficiary directs. rather than given as cash, others above a reasonable threshold should pay their way and stop leaning on those below.

Particularly, the self-made, born in log cabins, hewn from the wilderness, with their own two bare hands!

We need to return to the bipartisan pragmatism of the past!
Alan B.

Bold thinking is not allowed in Australia.
News media is mentored.
Schools are now deprived of leading edge insight.
Economic opportunities for Australia are now being lost.

There is need for productive infrastructure, not pink batts, not 'light rail' trams.

Alan B,
How would you stop Climate Change ?

UBI is stupid and we don't need it but I'm sure you'll Cloward & Piven it upon us anyway.
What we need is governments making good policies, not bad ones.

There are two basic economic models in the world, Keith Suter. The first is the free market, and the second is government economic control. Neither works in their purest form, although the free market is better than government control.

There can be no absolute free market, because social psychopaths will end up completely in control of your economy, and your politics as well. (Rockerfeller, JP Morgan, the US railroad tycoons). So you do need some regulation. Government economic control is Socialism, and Socialism has never worked anywhere. Even the smart Socialists (Nazi Germany, modern China) have figured out that it is better to squeeze the free market lemon rather than try to run the economy with bureaucrats.

But the problem has always been, where do you draw the line between the free market, and government control through regulation?

Now, you have pointed out that the world economy is changing away from human work to work done by machines. And this at a time when the world population is exploding. Your solution is to turn teach young people in school to be entrepreneurs. And then you rather incredibly claimed that there must be a minimum wage. Yoo hoo Keith, every time that a minimum wage has been introduced anywhere, all it has done is to reduce job opportunities for the working poor. It is another bureaucratic socialist solution to poverty that does more harm than good. But it looks good for the politicians promoting it, and that is all they care about.

Australia should be forging ahead. Open more bloody coal mines and renounce this Human Induced Global Warming hoax. Build a nuclear industry using our abundant uranium reserves. Drill for oil on the Barrier Reef. Reduce government legislation and red tape on businesses. Abolish state licences and make them all Federal. Reduce the number of licences needed to obtain a job. Declare "aboriginal only" land as "Crown land" again, and allow development. Stop importing immigrant groups who are always dysfunctional, prone to terrorism, and who have high rates of criminal behaviour and welfare dependency