Manufacturing security

As the geopolitical landscape continues to shift, Australia must be able to sustain itself and contribute advanced capabilities by improving its much-reduced industrial capability.

Australia should steel itself for an uncertain future

A UNSW academic accepts that Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium will hurt Australia’s economy and argues that policymakers should focus on strategic adaptability and trade diversification if America seems set on autarky.

Be the change we want to see

Complaining about President Donald Trump’s tariff imposts won’t change anyone’s mind, but Australia can take on the leadership role Trump’s America has abdicated – by abolishing, rather than raising, tariffs.

Handling Trump’s tariff war

Several short-term strategies, including flexible contracting, diversification, and nearshoring, can help the Australian economy mitigate the risks and costs of US tariffs.

Mixed fortunes

Australia’s history is sprinkled with attempts at tax reform which enjoyed varying degrees of success. A new book, Mixed Fortunes, explores these efforts at substantive change in our tax system from the establishment of the Australian Constitution at Federation in 1901 to the major tax reforms of the 1980s and 1990s and the lack of tax reform today, despite fundamental economic changes.

Securing Australia’s interests in a Trumpian trade world

Australia must adopt a sophisticated and multi-layered strategy to engage the second Trump administration on trade and security.

The economy needs boldness not bandages

Australia heads towards the 2025 election a little too relaxed about what’s required to drive our economy into the future. The challenges ahead demand an agenda of genuine reform.

Supply chain tensions

Having piled all their manufacturing into China to reduce their costs, global manufacturers have been diversifying their supply chains beyond China again, but this trend brings its own set of problems.

You make your own luck

If it is to avoid having its luck run out, Australia needs a reform agenda suited to the structure of the Australian economy and its new position in the world.

The good, the bad and the uncertain

The Australian economy has had a tough few years, but while there could be brighter days ahead, potential clouds are gathering on the horizon.

Productivity is the priority

Labour productivity declined by 0.5% in the September quarter and by 0.8% over the year, according to the Productivity Commission’s latest quarterly productivity bulletin.

How will Trump’s tariffs affect Australia?

With the newly elected Trump administration threatening to introduce higher tariffs on imports, the Australian government should act quickly to seek tariff exemptions, and businesses should prepare to adapt to a more challenging trade position