Benjamin Clark
@ben_clark56
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Head of Digital Audience @prospect_uk 📱 / Columnist @crikey_news ✍🏻/ Formerly @ConversationEDU Opinions mine
London, England
Joined February 2015
@catherinebouris they work agilely + maintain a growth mindset across multiple business environments to foster innovation, align strategic interests and impart corporate learnings something about AI LinkedIn Premium. what don’t you get?.
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Just made a pilgrimage to the only building in Melbourne’s inner north truly worthy of heritage listing:
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In today’s @crikey_news, I make the case for putting @sallymcmanus on the Reserve Bank Board. That might sound radical, but Hawke and Kelty were on it while leading the ACTU. It could help reshape the RBA away from its conservative, pro-capital bias.
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Thread on FB news ban:. I am one of the relatively few people in Aus who is an admin of a popular news site’s Facebook page. I regularly create FB posts from our articles/podcasts and moderate the comments from users. I’m also graduating with a Master of Public Policy in June. .
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In @crikey_news, I argue Anthony “small target” Albanese has lots to learn from Tim “go hard or go home” Walz. Walz’s strategy is: pass bold, family-friendly policies then spruik the benefits. It beats watering everything down + losing popularity anyway!.
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In my latest for @crikey_news, I argue citizenship shouldn’t be a requirement for voting in Australia — permanent residents and other multi-year visa holders should be included too.
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Here are some of the accounts taking issue with my proposal. Can you spot any commonalities?
In my latest for @crikey_news, I argue citizenship shouldn’t be a requirement for voting in Australia — permanent residents and other multi-year visa holders should be included too.
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In today’s @crikey_news, I argue Aus deserves a better left populist than Max Chandler-Mather. Don’t get me wrong – I commend him for championing the housing crisis’ victims with moral clarity. But he needs to accept the evidence on planning reform.
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I think instead of mass deportation of migrants, we should simply build more homes
Lies. It will not take years to fix the housing market. The rental market alone can be fixed in three months by adopting net zero immigration and a once-off expulsion of 1.2m immigrants, which is half of the total immigrant cohort of 2.4m. Just three months.
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My latest in @crikey_news on why Labor needs to raise JobSeeker now. Right now. Hawke + Keating raised it 27%. “Such legacies aren’t built on bided time + bitten tongues. The right time to raise was the day Albo took office. The second-best time is now.”.
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Five weeks annual leave is standard minimum in Europe – some offer six. Yet Aus hasn’t increased ours since the 70s, in which time women’s employment has increased substantially, as has ‘work intensity’. Ppl need more time off – and are more productive when they have it.
Aussies are pretty lucky to receive four weeks paid annual leave a year, but that amount hasn't been changed since the 70s. Now there's a push to increase it to five weeks.
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Final word: if the laws were better e.g. taxing tech giants’ revenue to fund public grants for journalism, I think Facebook would be at least as likely to pull its news, if not more. The fact it is kicking up such a stink over this plan should be a warning: buckle up.
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Every day from 24 Dec—1 Jan should be a public holiday. For those whose workplaces are closed, they shouldn’t be forced to use their own leave allowance for an employer-mandated break. For those working, it’s the busiest time of year — they deserve penalty rates.
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My hot take in today's @crikey_news – migration is good. We should keep facilitating a lot of it. Without it, our nation will be poorer, less equitable and more boring.
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As @Lizzie_OShea wrote in @OverlandJournal, a system of public tax + spend similar to PhD scholarships would’ve been better than a system of private transfers with, as @withMEAA points out, no guaranteed reinvestment in journalism.
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Indeed, my boss and I wrote this submission to the Senate inquiry into media diversity advocating an Australia Council-style independent fund allocating grants for public interest journalism, possibly funded by a tax on tech giants:
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Seeing the government cock up their flagship media policy might be funny to some, but we won’t be laughing for long if the precedent is set that multinationals can threaten governments over moderate reforms until they roll over and let the gravy train run unabated.
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In January I wrote in @crikey_news that Labor had to be open to meaningful negotiations on their ‘help to buy’ scheme: It doesn’t remotely meet the scale of the housing crisis. He can hardly complain if the Senate seeks to extract concessions.
PM Anthony Albanese accuses the Greens of “immaturity and spite” as they and the Coalition prepare to vote down in the Senate today the Govt’s signature “help-to-buy” housing policy. @10NewsFirst
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Firstly, it doesn’t give credit where it’s due: thx to sustained advocacy, our conservative govt now accepts:. A) Google and Facebook’s monopoly power is bad and requires govt intervention.B) Journalism should be the beneficiary of such intervention because its a public good.
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For my latest in @crikey_news, I argue against upper-level setbacks. They’re ugly and reduce the number of housing units during a supply shortage. Ironically, NIMBYs who claim to care about the beauty of our cities often, in practice, make them uglier.
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But FB DOESN’T HAVE TO BAN NEWS. It’s a massive overreaction to a scheme will cost them a small fraction of their $. The shock tactics are simply to make an example of Aus to other nations that seek to redistribute their profits, potentially in better, more progressive ways.
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In today's @crikey_news, I argue there are solid reasons for the left to 'go YIMBY'. Sure there are some free-market YIMBYs who neglect public housing, but most want abundant housing of all types. Worth supporting for same reasons as full employment.
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Very Serious People: “we tax income too heavily and assets too lightly”. “Cool, so you’ll advocate for inheritance tax, wealth taxes, higher capital gains tax…”. VSPs: “Oh no, not like that…”.
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In today's @crikey_news, I argue we should bring back Tony Abbott's deficit levy. It added 2% income tax for those earning >$180k. The gov't needs revenue + it'd be hard for the LNP to argue against – they introduced it when the deficit was smaller.
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Cutting immigration was not excluded from the survey option. It’s just that very few economists recommend it as a way to lower house prices:
It’s like there’s one question missing but I can’t put my finger on it….
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In today’s @crikey_news, I analyse the growing Aus YIMBY movement. Public opinion + political momentum are shifting, but “status quo bias + financial self-interest are strong foes + Aus’ culture of big cars, lawns and spare bedrooms won’t die quietly”.
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@DrEmmaBeckett @theprojecttv Hi @DrEmmaBeckett, @ConversationEDU’s Audience Editor here. I’ll shoot them an email outlining our Republishing Guidelines shortly, so hopefully this doesn’t happen again. Thanks again for the excellent piece, which is going off on socials (if you haven’t already, check our IG!).
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I don’t get the reticence/apologetic tone from some leftists towards YIMBYism. I’m a YIMBY because, not in spite of, my left-wing politics. To me, housing abundance is good for the same reason as full employment. But for some reason, many lefties support latter but not former.
I think a lot of socialists are conflicted about yimby stuff because it's not really leftist. but there is nothing wrong with making strategic alliances with particular factions of capital against other factions of capital where it serves the common interest.
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so I have many opinions on the new laws affecting the area I work in. Firstly, the code is not the instrument I would have chosen to support independent journalism in Aus. .
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Having said that, I have been struck by the virulence of the backlash against the code by some here on Twitter, particularly those on the left. A strange design + a missed opportunity for something better doesn’t make the code abhorrent.
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I’ve never had so many vile racists commenting/quoting on one of my posts. I knew they were out there but still a bit shocked.
I think instead of mass deportation of migrants, we should simply build more homes
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My latest in @crikey_news on why enterprise bargaining is broken. E.g. This week FairWork heard Gina Rinehart’s contractor struck a shoddy EBA with just 2 workers, then shunted the rest onto it. NZ is expanding sectoral bargaining. It’s time we followed.
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Instead the government proposed a system of arbitrated negotiations. @CaseyNewton does a good job here of explaining some of the oddities of the specific rules:
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so I guess the crux of it is: do you so revile A as to deprive B, C + D of extra revenue that will otherwise stay in Silicon Valley?. I get that you shouldn’t have to choose but that’s politics — crummy govts offering you sub-par options. I don’t see a better outcome from here.
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In today's @crikey_news, I make the case for an Aus inheritance tax. Inheritances will rise in 2030-40s. They won't help young or low SE ppl, coz most inheritors are wealthier over 50s. To even things out, we should bring death taxes back from the grave.
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In today's @crikey_news, I unpack new data confirming a big divergence in voting patterns between homeowners + renters. Homeowners increasingly vote right, renters voter left. Ft insights from @ShaunRatcliff, @KosSamaras + @bspiesbutcher via @socsci_mq.
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The Greens’ new housing policies look good. But their “get a house where you want to live” line is a bit galling given one reason many of their voters can’t live where they’d like to is NIMBYism at council level, where Greens often have real power. Build up near train stations!.
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In today's @crikey_news, I argue unions should be able to charge non-members a fee when they win them pay rises. The current system permits 'free riding', lowering unions' resources to pursue further pay claims. Renowned socialist Milton Friedman agrees!.
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Pursuing full employment is no excuse not to raise welfare — the two are mutually reinforcing. In tandem, they:.a) reduce inequality and poverty.b) smooth shocks from inevitable transitions in/out of work.c) put pressure on employers to make job offers less shit.
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NIMBYs are causing ethnic segregation of our cities. They're pushing non-white migrants to the urban fringes while keeping well-located suburbs the preserve of privileged whites. In @ConversationEDU, @westernsydneyu experts examine Sydney. 1/2.
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My latest for @kyd_magazine on why cultural signifiers like accents, pastimes + taste are decreasingly relevant to class in Aus, as education + geographic changes have shifted economic power. I cover @bri_lee_writer, @lechblaine + @SquigglyRick's books.
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New activist chant:📢 "Ambulances should be free, not just for the bourgeoisie". Seriously tho, we cannot risk people delaying urgent medical care for fear of the (often huge) cost. In today's @crikey_news, I make the case for abolishing ambulance fees.
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To clarify things for you @PeterDutton_MP, it wasn’t @sallymcmanus who first suggested giving her an RBA seat recently — it was me in @crikey_news: Glad to see @InsidersABC, @RadioNational + @australian covering the idea since + @JEChalmers considering it.
I just saw Peter Dutton accuse me of acting because I “want a job on the Reserve Bank board”! He doesn’t understand that not everyone acts in grubby self-interest. I’ve already got a job thanks! #insiders.
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Australian political scandal: Why did our former PM secretly expand his legal powers in contravention of parliamentary norms?. Finnish political scandal: Is our PM too hot and having too much fun?.
Finland’s Prime Minister @MarinSanna is in the headlines after a video of her partying was leaked today. She has previously been criticized for attending too many music festivals & spending too much on partying instead of ruling. The critics say it’s not fitting for a PM.
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My latest in @crikey_news on how Australia's rich listers get huge tax deductions for donating to (often dubious and/or right-wing) charities, and why Australia should implement a 'Buffett rule' limiting write-offs to a percentage of their total income.
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Unemployed Aussies deserve #80aDay. One reason: we should SUPPORT recipients to be 'job snobs', not making them so desperate as to rush into whatever crappy, low-paid gigs are available. My latest in @crikey_news:.
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In today's @crikey_news, I argue Australia has too many 'shit rentals'. Last week's High Court case highlighted this issue in the NT, but it's happening across the country. Ping: @purplepingers.
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My latest in @crikey_news on what Aus can learn from Scandinavia’s progressive policies. I review @ascottnlights + @R_o_d_C’s new book ‘The Nordic Edge’ (@TheAusInstitute x @MUPublishing). Also ft @MattBruenig on why the Nordics are indeed socialistic.
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He had his L’s, but the Grand Final holiday was a true Dan Andrews W. Classic Andrewsism: noticeably giving stuff to working/middle voters, whilst making his opponents look like out-of-touch killjoys. A fitting week to call time.
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As Keating turns 80, I argue in @crikey_news that "our media's undue deference towards him only feeds his outsized ego.". Don't get me wrong: he's done a lot of good. But his record is mixed + his ideas are outdated. "He's not a prophet; he's a fossil.".
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In today’s @crikey_news, I argue the News Media Bargaining Code should be superseded by a simple tax on tech giants to fund public journalism grants. Then Meta couldn’t shrug obligations by banning news + funding would be based on public good.
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Secondly, the code’s implications would probably be (quite modest) net positive. Large multinationals, whose impact on the public sphere is currently net negative, would be forced to redistribute some of their profits (albeit in a sub-optimal way). .
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Due to Twitter's security measures re the hacking incident this morning, @ConversationEDU is currently unable to tweet. Fortunately I, TC's Editorial + Comms Assistant, am not NEARLY as popular, so I still have my twitter freedom. Here are the morning headlines. (THREAD).
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The Liberals have lost touch with the cities, looking down their noses at where most Aussies live. They need to spend more time swilling almond lattes to get back in touch with real Australia.
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Quite late to the party, but this piece from @jathansadowski (+ @MmichaelLlucy) on why the Luddites are misunderstood is great. They weren't reactionary, as is often assumed - they fought for democratic control of technology in the hands of workers.
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Lord, what I’d give to be “not rich” in the eyes of the Fin Review. In today’s @crikey_news, I beat back the growing tide of media coverage identifying objectively rich people as “ordinary” battlers just trying to make their way. Who are they kidding?.
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In today's @crikey_news, I argue heritage laws are stifling development, increasing commute⌚️+🏠prices. "They should be reserved for buildings of true historic significance [. ] lest our cities become private museums for dead architecture styles.".
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Personal news: today I start a new role as Deputy Engagement Editor at @ConversationEDU! . I'll be explaining TC does, why it's important + how you can get involved, inc. via socials, newsletters + republishers. Keen to keep working w dream team @TessaOgle5 + @GlasseyMolly 🎉.
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Proud to write for a small but mighty organisation standing up for media freedom against powerful bullies. Subscribe if you can — @crikey_news need your support*: *Plus you can read all my articles un-paywalled.
Lachlan Murdoch threatened to sue us for publishing public interest journalism. We believe in media freedom. So today we’re standing up to Murdoch and publishing the legal letters from his lawyer to show you how abuse of media power works in Australia.
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🔥 from @AmberMaySchultz in @crikey_news — ‘Dobseeker’ will let dodgy bosses coerce vulnerable dole recipients into taking potentially dangerous jobs. Yesterday I wrote about how low $ pressures jobseekers into crappy jobs, let alone this insane hotline!.
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A great piece from earlier this week by @SaulEslake in @ConversationEDU. Contrary to popular platitudes, small businesses aren't “the engine room of Aus." They are shedding jobs, pay 35% less than the average wage + are the biggest tax avoiders in Aus.
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to A) large commercial media, some of whom can be unscrupulous + tbh often a net negative to society — I take @rgcooke and others’ critique of our sector seriously.B) the public broadcasters.C) regional media.D) independents like TC, Guardian, Crikey, Schwartz etc.
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In dark times for our nation, I‘m proud to work for @ConversationEDU, committed to covering the #bushfires and #ClimateEmergency with the seriousness they deserve. Read our Enviro Editor @nicole_hasham’s personal story now.
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In today’s @crikey_news, I argue that bracket creep isn’t such a bad thing. We have rising needs for social spending – why shouldn’t we bake in a rising tax take to match?.
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I believe the White Australia policy was bad and we should not reinstate it
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In today's @crikey_news, I take a closer look at the phenomenon of the right-wing bro. I unpack some interesting research by @MichelleArrow1, @ShaunWi96140376 and others on the May federal election. A short 🧵 with graphs:
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Housing = capital. The owners of capital vote more often for the party of capital, while those who rely on their labour vote for parties of labour.
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Does pushing for full employment = simping for bosses?. No? Then how does pushing for full housing = simping for private developers?. As with jobs, I’d prefer more 🏠 were govt-provided, but blocking private 🏠 is the same as blocking private sector jobs – bad for non-owners.
simping for private property developers is just as embarrassing bootlicker behaviour as simping for bosses or cops IMO.
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My latest in @crikey_news on why Albo needs to quit worrying about 'cautious spending'. Economists and the public have moved on from fears of a 'budget blow out'; now it's time for Labor to move on too.
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At the MCG. Relatively few ppl watched the first quarter voluntarily – just those who couldn’t fit in any of the bars, where the tillies were on. Never seen anything like it #Matildas.
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My latest in @crikey_news today on how the Treasurer is trying to meddle with your super, and why we should instead democratise super to empower workers to transform Australian capitalism.
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The Greens have some worthy policies this election, but their choice to prioritise student debt relief over far more important issues is incredibly misplaced. Australia ≠ America.
Focusing on HECS debts is inexplicable when raising JobSeeker is so blazingly urgent. Getting rid of debt doesn’t help people on the lowest incomes eat, whether you went to uni or not.
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PSA: whatever you do, absolutely do not read the comments on this completely innocuous post showing a nice looking social housing development in Qld. Don’t do it to yourself!.
Construction is well underway on 82 new social and affordable homes at Stones Corner in Brisbane. Here’s a sneak peek.
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The brinksmanship atm does pose real dangers, esp for small + new publishers who often grow their audience via FB. I get the feeling of this meme — no news + a compromise scheme feels lousy. .
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You can really judge a player’s character by how well they place the cap on their Auskick kid’s head #AFLGF.
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers will borrow from Jacinda Ardern’s “wellbeing budget” approach for his first budget in October. In today’s @crikey_news, I explain what NZ’s experience suggests about its prospects here — it’s worthwhile, but no progressive panacea.
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Another aspect of corporate bias at the RBA is in their liaison program:.
It’s pretty appalling the RBA had 63 meetings with businesses about wages growth over several months & not a single meeting with workers reps. A massive blind spot was inevitable. We could have told them what was happening with wage growth much more accurately #thedrum.
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I didn’t get room in my Max Chandler-Mather piece to fully lay out the evidence that planning rules influence supply, which in turn influence rents. Thankfully, @BrendanCoates + Elizabeth Baldwin recently did so in @ConversationEDU.
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The self-identified left-right political positions of Australian news consumers by publication, via @UniCanberra's Digital News Report 2023:
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I want more ambitious climate policy, but I'm highly sceptical Labor's moderation is merely "appeasing the donors". Public opinion in key marginal seats appears to be the real roadblock. One can argue you can persuade said voters, but that's a different criticism to 'sell out'.
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Buying books is a separate, tangentially related hobby to actually reading them
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Broader point about the Rebel Wilson affair: I’m not sure why the SMH even has a gossip column. Why would any serious newspaper have one?.
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My latest in @crikey_news on NZ's introduction of unemployment insurance. Priority #1 for Australia should be boosting JobSeeker to #80aday. But UI could play a complimentary role here too by smoothing over the sudden shock of job loss.
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In today’s @crikey_news, I chart how Whitlam broke with the Harvester model of a male breadwinner, toward a multi-earner state-assisted family. But Hawke/Keating reverted a bit i.e. super + we’ve floundered since. Albo must now go back to the future.
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ICYMI: Good chart showing the projected impact of Labor’s budget on poverty rates. From @BenPhillips_ANU’s budget analysis for @ConversationEDU:
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Cricket has had a blokey culture for too long, and cricket fandom has too often been inaccessible to women. I’m going to do my bit to correct this by making my partner watch the whole Boxing Day Test with me and explaining everything so she knows what’s going on 🏏.
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Can we please dispense with the five-year-old moralising about the solemnity of promises?. “You took a sacred blood oath to give rich people a $9k cut, not a $4k one, and you will anger the gods if you cheapen your word!”. idk maybe just be glad we got good policy for once.
“We cannot dismiss a broken promise lightly simply because we like the outcome.” - Waleed Aly on tax cuts. #auspol .
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I had the pleasure of interviewing @johnrmyers and @KaneEmerson of the UK @yimbyalliance for @prospect_uk. We discussed Labour’s Yimby conversion, how they came to housing activism and their favourite examples of beautiful dense housing in London.
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"Australia’s gold-plated housing system manufactures false scarcity. It excludes an ever-larger group of people, for whom housing becomes a rare commodity.". Excellent essay from @ak_pennington, from her forthcoming book, on the dire state of the🏠market.
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.@jasemurphy's piece in @crikey_news last week on changing income levels across suburbs was fascinating. Melbourne: "The east has seen a big fall in median income. That is explained — in some cases — by. apartments bringing in new, younger residents".
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The pragmatic position is the one Albo is now pursuing. The ideal policy is no tax cuts at all – spend the lot on welfare and social services. I think “rejig the rates a second time” is a losing argument rn. Either meaningfully push the discourse forward or just take a big W.
Under Labor’s reheated Stage 3 tax cuts, politicians and billionaires get $4500 a year. That’s about 3 times what Labor’s giving people on middle incomes.
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