Monthly Archives: May 2005

Over the years, I’ve noticed that a much higher fraction of my female friends complain about the lack of eligible men, than the fraction of my male friends who complain about the lack of eligible women.*  But I’ve always assumed … Continue reading →

I’ve been watching Big Brother, and reading AusCulture Jess’s BB05 blog. And I can confidently say that the latter is a heck of a lot more interesting than the former. Over at Centrebet, shearer Glenn ($2.20) has now moved past … Continue reading →

With the drought unabated, John Howard has again dusted off the Akubra and gone bush. There, he’s heard from Australian farmers, calling for making drought assistance more generous, or making the income and wealth tests less restrictive. I’m comfortable with … Continue reading →

Having just written a piece in Monday’s Sydney Morning Herald pointing out that lower class sizes over the past 25 years have not raised literacy and numeracy standards, I was mildly surprised to open today’s paper, and find Tony Vinson … Continue reading →

Of all the pro-taxcut arguments cropping up over recent days, the one I’ve heard most frequently is "well, the rich pay more tax than the poor, so they deserve a bigger tax cut". This argument has a superficial appeal to … Continue reading →

Since no-one else seemed to be doing it, I’ve analysed the 2005 tax cuts by household. Since inequality and poverty analysis is typically done at a household level, it is more informative to see how the benefits are distributed across … Continue reading →

I have a piece in today’s SMH on school productivity and teacher quality. Full text over the fold.

Can we please stop talking about the budget’s tax cuts as applying to high and middle income earners? I know it’s hard for most of the (personally affluent) commentariat to grasp, but there’s barely anything here for middle income earners. … Continue reading →

Last night, we went to see The Big Con, a political satire written by Guy Rundle, and performed by Max Gillies and Eddie Perfect. There were a couple of gems: Gillies’ Amanda Vanstone doing a Pfeiffer-on-the-piano routine, Tony Soprano coming … Continue reading →

Well, the Coalition’s ginger group for tax reform should be happy with tonight’s budget. Below is the distribution of the tax cuts (based on data in the SMH), which I’ve prepared for a post-budget talk I’m doing for schoolkids at … Continue reading →

I was on a "leadership and political structures" panel for the 2005 Future Summit in Melbourne on Friday morning. The person next to me was NSW Liberal Leader John Brogden, who came across as pretty impressive, even self-deprecating on occasion. … Continue reading →

A friend in the UK just drew my attention to Michael Howard’s resignation. The Tory leader has stepped down on the basis that he’ll be 67 or 68 at the next election, which he regards as too old. Should make … Continue reading →

I’ve recently written a piece entitled "The Progressive Case for Reforming Australia’s Schools", for a volume called Progressive Essays, which Craig Emerson, Bob McMullan and Lindsay Tanner* are putting together. When I presented a version at a teachers’ conference in … Continue reading →