The John Hyde Archives
Historic archive of articles and newspaper columns written by former Australian politician John Hyde OAM.
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A Christmas Carol
- In 72, Gough Whitlam committed Labour to abolish the means test to receive welfare payments.
- It is more important for Governments to be correct than to be popular.
- Governments using welfare payments to buy votes.
A Christmas Carol Strikes Back
- The Liberal Cabinet is hobbled by an early election.
- Welfare should be for those who need it.
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- Defensive protectionist policies make things worse.
- Australian trade is much more restrained compared to similar sized economies.
- Nations which have unilaterally reduced their trade barriers have achieved higher rates of economic growth.
Wealth key to Economic Recovery
- Australia's private wealth is our most important advantage.
- Australia has many industries that are among the most efficient in the world due to sound management or natural advantages.
- The role of leadership, be it political, union or business should be help Australians understand the cause of our problems is man-made and can be undone.
Closer Economic Relations
- To prevent trade is to penalise both buyers and sellers.
- The Closer Economic Relations (CER) with New Zealand will benefit Australia more as New Zealand has to adjust its trade barriers as compared to Australia.
Where now
- Party allegiance should not be built upon hatred of one's opponents but rather allegiance to an ideal.
- Liberalism offers the Liberal Party the only hope of moral and intellectual structure.
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Budget Fiscal Policy Monetary Policy
- A budget deficit is an unsatisfactory way to increase money supply.
- The prime role of a deficit is to conceal politicians' expenditures so that they can appear to be better managers than they actually are.
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- Political restructuring is essential and part of the process.
- In a commercial setting, people "vote" using their dollars. It is then wrong that their votes are confiscated by limiting their choices to certain anointed candidates in a political setting.
- If Australia is unable to accept steady restructuring of our industries in accordance to market demands, then bloody restructuring becomes necessary when we become impoverished.
Double Dipping and the ACTU
- A double dipper is a person who cashes in their superannuation and draws the old age pension.
- Inequitable to have two benefits and most beneficiaries are relatively well to do.
Foreign Investment
- Investors are only interested in Australian investments that perform better than elsewhere.
- No investment can take place without the foreign buyer and Australian seller gaining something.
- As long as there are investments that Australians are unwilling to finance, foreign investments will provide jobs and additional incomes.
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- The selfish use of privilege will destroy the free Australia that men fought for.
The opposition and the Mini Budget
- If Labour does a better job of managing the economy, then the Liberal party will be in opposition for a long time.
Grimes Summit Speech
- High taxation, universal welfare approach is not the best way of coping with poverty and cannot be financed long-term.
- Expectations of a pension discourages saving and investment.
Thatcher's Victory
- Two myths were: 1) society has a deep-seated prejudice against women & 2) elections are won by a party that espouses the middle ground.
- People voted for hope that the economy would get better
- A democratic government can earn the respect of its people by governing for the long term.
BHP
- The bigger a company becomes with government intervention, the more damage to an economy it can do.
- BHP is seeking a preference over smaller businesses when it comes to subsidies.
Debt
- Debt adds to the sum of human wellbeing, benefit both borrowers and lenders.
- Some governments borrow not to invest but to increase their life style.
Another Premiers' Conference
- Premiers can make a lot of political trouble for a Prime Minister especially those that are from the same party.
- The Prime Minister has become a convenient whipping boy for state politicians that complain about Federal taxes while saying that the Federal Government's stinginess is not helping with their state's expenditures.
The Long Term
- A nation whose economy stagnates will become hard to govern.
- Poor growth also compounds political problems that are associated.
Where will the ideas come from?
- Influential thinking is now done outside of universities in independent research foundations.
- Each successful foundation has gradually won the support of politicians, media and the community-at-large.
- The ideas that sustain a free society are more likely to come from organisations that do not have a vested interest.
Choosing the right index
Economics Industrial Relations
- For indexing wages, the right index must be chosen. Lest we get more unemployment.
- If the CPI is used to index wages, then we should exclude the effects in terms of trade, taxes and devaluation from it.
A great trading nation
- Countries with small economies must trade with foreigners while citizens of large economies have a range of specialist skills that enable them to trade with each other.
- Australia's trade is getting worse over the years.
The Budget
- A good budget speech is one that discloses various interests at the first reading.
- Liberals preach free enterprise but practice socialism.
- Families should not be taxed additionally to provide free tertiary education where a student loan would suffice.
Trade Policy Transparency
- Tariffs cause job losses and is a tax which few citizens are aware of due to lack of experiences in price comparisons.
To Doug Everingham
- Lack of agreed upon lexicon makes political debate difficult.
- An economic stagnant society is an intolerant one.
- Economic freedom is intertwined with freedom of the human spirit.
Interest Rates will fall by 2%
- Overseas influences coupled with a need to fund the public deficit and an uncertainty about future inflation caused a small dip and a raise in interest rates.
Drought Aid
- Farmers that know how to use the rules and that are in the right position, can benefit from government aid at the expense of the taxpayer and other farmers.
- Subsidies creates weakness.
Dumping
- Goods are said to be dumped when they are imported and sold in Australia below current price levels.
- Predatory dumping should not be confused with price discrimination.
Peacock's Deakin Lecture
- Without political leadership, vested interests will control the Liberal party.
- The Deakin lecture lacks credibility as it did not confront the tough choices present.
Who were the Monetarists?
- Tight monetary controls may not work anymore due to rational cynicism
- Neither governments nor central banks are inclined to adopt monetarism
Sex Discrimination
- Society discriminates and would not function without doing so.
- Legislation fails to distinguish between choice from prejudice
- It is not possible to stop rational discrimination by passing laws.
- There is an economic cost to discrimination and it is better to let the market dictate.
The Liberal Federal Movement
- A country's future is dependent on the goals that are chosen by Politicians
- To give guarantee for future performance by a politician is like an alcoholic guaranteeing his or her sobriety.
- To govern effectively one needs a long-term strategy.
Statutory Marketing Authorities
- An industry that depends on world markets cannot avoid change. By delaying just long enough, many who have neither learnt to swim or moved to a higher ground will drown.
Their Own Worst Enemies
- The capitalist economy has a better track record than the socialist economy and so there is no need to apologise for it.
Airline Deregulation (11/11/83)
- Deregulation has enabled sharp reductions in the level of subsidies.
- The airline industry is no worse off while the consumer and taxpayer is better off.
Westpac to the Martin Committee
Cronyism Regulation Competition
- Westpac is caught between asking for continuation of protection from competition but is fearful that the same protection is extended to others.
- Labour ought to favour deregulation such as interest rates control as it makes the market more efficient.
Statutory Marketing Authorities
- The question most asked is whether statutory marketing authorities are adequately accountable to the various state governments, but the more important question is whether they are competent to market rural Australian produce.
- Only competition will make marketing authorities efficient.
The TPC & the IATA Agreement
- The problem with the trade practices commission is that the most serious monopolies are out of its reach.
- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is a price maintenance agreement that allows for cabin crew to share in the monopoly margins through their union.
Sir John Kerr
- Vilification of Sir John Kerr is irrational as he did the best he could and should be judged with more objectivity.
Democracy & Property Rights
Individual Rights Law Politics
- Governments when they revoke property rights change the value of whatever underlying property the rights were attached to.
- The right to trade one's efforts is as important as a right to free speech and is even more relevant in everyday life.
- Many politicians don't understand the principles that they violate and the harm the arises.
Chaney on resource industries
- A resource rental tax is arbitrary as measuring it is impossible.
Facing 1984
- Productivity may be improved by effort, improved practices or increased capital per worker
- Our productivity gains are less than other countries and is not sustainable.
Large Colour TV Sets
Protectionism Competition Cronyism
- The Australian TV production industry taxes buyers and have developed into an uncompetitive assembler of foreign produced parts.
The Eternal Nanny
- Society gravitates towards the least regulated activities
- Even our bodies have become the property of the state.
- Governments offer us a security blanket that is useless and prevents us from developing survival skills.
Entrepreneurs
Economics Regulation Cronyism Business
- Entrepreneurs are first forwards looking decision makers, but often become crony business managers once estabilished.
Thomas Sowell & Walter Williams
- Sowell & Williams argue that racism, discrimination & poverty are minimised where markets are the freest and are worsened by government intervention.
- Affirmative action has created an action not to hire groups.
- Sowell has insisted that he has faith not in the market but rather the evidence about the market.
Who's a liberal?
- Traditional young liberal concern for human rights, environment and discrimination is in good hands.
- The spread of income level is narrowest in societies which are the freest and the disadvantaged the least oppressed where privilege is not maintained by law.
Taxes and Economic Growth
- High taxes are hostile to economic growth and hence to higher living standards.
- Link between high taxes and lower productivity, lower private consumption and lower life expectancies.
Measuring Education
- Both labour and liberal party members send their children to private schools due to teachers moving to private schools. Government schools perform the worst compared to catholic and private schools.
Hawke On Structural Adjustment
- There's a trade-off between today's protected industries and tomorrow's living standards.
- Mr Hawke, "we need a longer-range vision".
Uncooperative Federalism
- States that want more powers should be prepared to finance themselves.
- Competition between states to offer the lowest taxes or the best services is a good thing.
The Next Deficit
- With each succeeding deficit, either interest rates or lost opportunities will be higher.
- Easier for politicians to increase government spending rather than to decrease it.
Greiner's Small Business Policy
Regulation Industrial Relations
- The policy allows for an individual to negotiate employment conditions above the minimum requirements.
- Allows for the NSW industry to gain a competitive edge over other states and foreign imports.
The W.A. Sheep Meat Industry
- The Lamb Board shows the consequence of instituting a government-controlled monopoly versus a free market.
- Both consumer and producers have been prejudiced.
Aboriginal Land Rights
- Australian governments have granted special rights to various classes of peoples.
- The nature of lands right in the NT has caused uncertainty and the government is probably harder to deal with than Indigenous Australians.
The Problem with Big Government
- Smaller government where the people have more discretion.
- The problem with regulations is the enforcement and the more rules the less productive a society will be.
- Government doesn't know the wants of the people and the market is better place to punish any "rule-breakers"
Tax No 1
- The enforcement of taxation is inefficient and has become a vehicle for political favours.
- Consumption and capital gains taxes will fill the void if there is a reduction in personal income taxes.
Tax No 2
- A progressive tax should be a combination of company, income & sales taxes.
- Majority of revenue is coming from income taxes, a tax threshold should be allowed for smaller incomes.
- Too much reliance on any one category causes the marginal revenue to drop as there will be less persons or companies to tax.
Tax No 3
- A new capital gains tax where it taxes only real gains and allowing real losses would improve equity and economic neutrality but would be extremely difficult to administer
- An improvement would be to have a broad-based consumption tax through taxation of an approximation of real capital gains and removing special privileges from the income tax act
Of Bread and Eggs
- Regulation governing the production of eggs & bread in QLD is destroying the profitability of both products.
Exporters Pay for Tariffs
- Tariffs raise prices in the import competing industries over and above the extent that the wages rise for the rest of the economy.
- Protectionism impoverishes exporters rather than penalising foreign competitors.
Labour's style
Politics Industrial Relations Economics Business
- Bob Hawke ceded authority to those whom should not have authority.
- He expected big business to follow the government's lead on when and where to invest.
- His government is a corporatist consensus of government, big capital and big union.
The Opposition Industrial Relations Policy
- Few unionists understand that they are the prime cause of unemployment.
- An opportunity should be given to both employees/employers to be able to opt out of an award.
Changing Australia
- Collectivism preference installed in the Australian Christian Church with a removal of personal moral responsibility.
- Governments should not be imposing their will on the distribution of wealth and getting the Church involved.
The Grass Roots Against Deficits
- State Premiers demand increased Federal grants but called for smaller government & lower taxes
- In the US, grass roots opinion is going towards the direction of limiting the growth of government and to impose a budget balance.
Coastal Shipping
- Protection of the Shipping & Steel Industries have knock on effects on other industries.
- A government decision to protect an industry destroys another/others.
Occam's Razor
Taxation Subsidies Politics Economics
- It is remarkable that socialists think that the free world's financial system to blame for third world poverty.
- There is no obligation for a liberal society to tax itself to subsidise conversation & peace movements.
Early Retirement from the Public Service
- Basic economics where subsidies create more demand.
- Abuse of provision of medical certificates for civil servants who retire on medical grounds.
Handling the Vested Interests - The Dries
- Governments that are strong enough to deal with powerful vested interests are themselves dangerous.
- Politicians are followers; people don't like those that prejudice the community interest.
- Processes ought to be as transparent as possible.
Means Tests
- 3 positions for welfare funded by tax levels
- A pension reduces an incentive to save; high taxes reduced capacity to save
- Irresponsible to discuss universal welfare before eliminating the budget deficit
Productivity & Living Standard
- Australian productivity has not kept up with living standards from 1969 in a 13-year period.
- Consumption has outstripped production; investment per head has declined.
International Comparisons
- Comparison of Australia's economic performance with other nations
- Slower growth rate compared to the UK (Study of a group of developed nations)
- Even with our resources (Aus. & NZ), our living standards have fallen behind resource poor countries of Western Europe
- With our lower economic performance, there might be a labour and skill migration of Australian to other countries.
Building Industry Superannuation
Superannuation Industrial Relations
- Inelastic demand in the construction industry; ability to pass on increased costs to others.
- Union Superannuation is a tax on union members as they get a percentage of their members contributions.
- The revenue will give them the ability to further industrial or political action and further their careers.
Of Paddington Bear and Medicare
- Regulation as a means of control
- Uneven enforcement
- Confusing legislation, that is, it is hard to adhere to the regulations.
Colour TV
- Import quotas for Colour TVs; prices should be allowed to signal the levels of supply and demand
- Quantitative restrictions (QR) are licences to print money
John Stone and all that
- Review of John Stone's lecture.
- Weakening of Australia to face the world market.
- Government gains monopoly of information.
Grain Handling
Protectionism Trade Regulation
- Wheat board (Trade barriers).
- Farmer are unable to price differentiate between higher quality of wheel produced (price takers not setters).
- Cost of over regulation where both some producers and consumers are the biggest losers.
Health Care 3: Medicare
Monopoly Regulation Competition
- Medical fraud by doctors in a statutory monopoly
- Firing a doctor removes his/her service from the community
- The best is no Medicare; the market decides
- * But what about a naturally formed cartel?
Youth Employment
- Employers will choose employees that can provide the most for each dollar spent on them.
- Sen Chaney was concerned about income inequality and alienation.
Japan's Ministry (MITI)
Economics Business Industrial Relations
- Japanese Government assisted in economic growth by restraining itself from interfering with the economy.
- Japan's industrial policies are the best because the government interference is the least.
Rich Land, Poor Land
- Those that followed economic wisdom the closest increased their people's standard of living the most. (Ghana v Taiwan)
MTIA, Wages & Protection
- MTIA has been significantly responsible for the 1981 wage hike which has caused the high wages that they are complaining about.
- No monopoly is prefect. If the price of any commodity is raised, some other similar product will take its place.
- Due to comparative wage flow-on, other industries are also facing pressures to increase employment costs when they would otherwise not have to.
The MIN Report
- Exporters have difficulties of low international prices and high Australian costs.
- The source of the troubles is bad government instead of bad markets.
- Mining companies are being loaded with infrastructural costs which are not asked of other competing sectors of the economy.
Advertising
- Tax funded advertising is the usage of taxes to subsidies one set of ideas against another.
- John doesn't believe that the public supports making judgements on standards such as tobacco and alcohol advertising and homosexuality.
- The Government's responsibility is to increase competition for claims about products and ideas.
Brookings on Deficits
Budget Monetary Policy Fiscal Policy Economics
- Aside from printing money, a govt deficit must be financed by bidding for the same funds that private investors seek.
- Brookings' objection to a high budget deficit is that it will reduce economic growth by increasing consumption at the expense of investment.
- Deficits allow govts to spend money that is not raised in taxes.
The OECD & Youth Employment
- The Australian Bureau of Labour Market Research (BLMR) states that youth employment was adversely affected by increase in relative youth wages in the 1970s.
- There is a substantial barrier to downward flexibility.
- Any further employment gains by youths are the expense of adult employees.
Whither the Liberals
- There are three philosophical positions: 1) The Dries (Free market advocates), 2) The Wets (Keynesian Big Govt advocates) and 3) The Uglies (preservers of status quo).
- Due to the people seeing political corruption, a demagogue may just get enough support by posing as a Dry or Wet to turn the Opposition's philosophy away from a more open, free and personally responsible position.
Kasper's Schumpeter Lecture
- He opposes Keynesian theory that productivity is unchanging. His theory is that capitalism improves productivity through entrepreneurs.
- Every fifty years or so, the world goes through burst of innovation that is concentrated in certain areas.
Future Cost of Superannuation
- The case against budget deficits has several arguments. One argument is that it is unfair that future debts are paid by our children.
- Today's governments are making commitments to their employees which future governments are unable to fulfil without raising taxes. Future governments faced with this issue will find a way to welsh on their predecessors' promises.
Peacock's Shadows
- Only when a politician is in power, can he or she stay true to an ideal.
NSW Egg Corporation
- Even though the NSW Egg board has been mandated to be efficient, it can never be truly efficient as it is a monopoly.
Foreign Investment
- When Governments meddle with commerce, it is to grant an unequal privilege over established vested interests.
Of Statesmanship and Architecture
- When politicians do not accept that there are constraints to their art, the state they built will be plagued by unemployment, inflation, poor economic growth, petty government tyranny and small country status overseas.
Universities
- Intellectual capital, primarily benefits whoever owns it like physical capital. It should be purchased even though it is not transferrable.
- "Free" education unfairly taxes the poor who rarely enjoy the benefits of it.
Restructuring the High Cost Industries
Industrial Relations Economics
- Restructuring means releasing resources from high cost activities to invest in low cost activities.
Keep the Czar far away from us.
Individual Rights Law Politics
- Liberty is freedom from the only legal organisation that is permitted to use force (The government)
Privatising
- Privatisation brings a greater portion of total capital stock under public control.
- Managers can no longer expect the public to underwrite inefficiency.
Missing out on devaluation
- Full indexation of the Australian dollar at this time of declining economic fortune would be disastrous.
Asian Shipping
- Australia's shipping industry is to be handmaiden to trade and the industry's over-tonnage will burden either the ship owners or shippers.
On the right to strike
Industrial Relations Monopoly Law
- There is a misuse of legal power to create monopolies.
Housing Policy
- Housing policies favour owners against renters. There is a considerable tax advantage to owning a home versus renting one.
Farm Costs
Protectionism Taxation Cronyism
- The National Farmers Federation (NFF) wants to the government to have relief for its members but it must be prepared to get the heavily protected dairy, tobacco and sugar industry off the backs of the taxpayers.
How much for the Poor
- A better case for subsidies for the poor is to rest on utility.
- There is no solution for the issue of moral hazard.
The Tax Summit
- The current tax system is inequitable. The best tax mechanisms should mirror government expenses.
Sir Joh's Industrial Laws
Industrial Relations Individual Rights
- There should be a recognised freedom of employment in society.
An International College
- Australia has a comparative advantage in the field of education. Allowing for a private college to be setup in Perth will not take away anything from the students.
Parliamentary Superannuation
- If the taxpayers want to get the best value for their money, the payments to government workers/politicians need to convey the right incentives.
Victorian Milk Price Arbitration 1
- Regulations place Victorian Milk Farmers in the worst competitive position in Australia.
Milk Price Arbitration 2
- If the Victorian Dairy Farmers do not deregulate fast enough, they will face competition from Dairy Farmers from other states.
When Elephants Mate
- Consensus should never be used to replace a clear legal framework that protects the rights of the individual.
The Underlying Economic Problem: John Brunner
- Either production must be increased substantially, or consumption must be decreased drastically.
New Zealand and Sri Lanka
- A democrat can, given the right circumstances, successfully implement long term economic goals.
Tax, Expenditure and the Summit
- When there is a demand for a tax cut, there is a need to advocate for a specific expenditure cut.
The Sage of a Pipe Line
Fiscal Policy Taxation Politics
- Taxpayers are slugged with the cost of infrastructure projects when the government decides to build a "monument". *Q
Helping the Poor
- Private choices (i.e. Single Parenthood) must be subject to influences which encourage the acceptance of individual responsibility.
The Ultimate Cost of Protection
Protectionism Politics Trade Economics
- Australia is paying a heavy social price for a closed economy. Only by reducing border protection is there a possibility of turning things around.
Farmer Militancy
- Farmers should not be bought off by policies that might be regarded as income tax favouritism and that everyone keeps their sights on the objective of an efficient free society.
The Crunch
Industrial Relations Economics Politics
- If Bob Hawke feels that he is too weak to defy vested interests, he will sow the seeds of economic decline for everybody.
Junior Employees - Special Orders
Individual Rights Industrial Relations
- Minimum wage prevents potential employees from negotiating with employers.
- The right to determine one's own labour is a basic human right.
Cutting the Deficit
- Any increase of public sector spending above the current level 44% GDP is not sustainable.
Maintaining Direction in Government
- The Liberal Party must work out what it stands for.
Industrial Policy
- Only a free market economy with strong positive and negative incentives can stimulate productivity.
Of Liberals, Conservatives and Dries
- The ideas are more important than which political party wins.
Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation
- It is important to privatise markets and there be alternative competitors for any former state firms.
On Maintaining Direction in Government
- The Liberal Party needs to be consistent in its ideas put forth.
A Mandate to Govern
- Changes which benefit the entire economy rather than just the few will only work if the vested interests understand that they tend to gain more than they lose.
The National Party and The Farmers
Politics Protectionism Trade Taxation
- Australia's trade barriers is costing Australian farmers on average $12,000 annually and is more than fuel taxes, capital gain tax and all other areas of rural complaints.
The Accord, Labour Market Regulation
Regulation Industrial Relations Individual Rights
- Only soft approaches that are based in individual liberty will work for labour deregulation.
Going for Growth or For Broke
- Foreign capital used for growth is no cause for concern. Only if it is used to finance current consumption.
Lange's Economy
- Mr David Lange is the man who steered the New Zealand economy to eventual recovery by using free market principles.
Occupational Regulation **
- A licence does not inform a buyer about who is the best service provider. The effect is to stop competition.
Neither Left nor Right nor Half Way In Between
- Labels confusion and creates acrimony where none need exist.
The WA TV Licences
- The root cause of Australia's economic decline is the subtle corruption of political authority.
Transparency II
Protectionism Politics Economics
- Industry specific councils are a menace which should not be given any standing when forming public policy.
The Australian Dollar
Currencies & Commodities Monetary Policy
- If the Australia dollar is unable to maintain stability internally (inflation) and externally (exchange rate), then Australians will demand payment in something else they can trust in.
What Is Wrong with The Liberals?
- John Howard wants to remove privilege and the Liberal Party has upset some of the most powerful interests in the land. The only way is forward.
The Wages Debate
- Most people resent the abuse of union power and fear that the unions will bring the country to its knees before giving up power.
- Legally binding awards and trade union monopoly powers which constraint people which they did not agree to are morally reprehensible.
Taxis
Protectionism Regulation Cronyism
- Taxi deregulation is the same as any other product or service regulation. There will be winners and losers, but everyone should benefit in the long term.
A New Political Party?
- Good political leadership is not the practice of defying public opinion but the art of changing of it.
Privatisation
- The main purpose of privatisation is increased productivity not obtaining the highest selling price for the underlying asset.
Privatisation II
- There no substitute for care of a private owner over public ownership.
Dumping
- Any Australian produced good that is dumped on the Australian market benefits Australians.
Written on Turning Fifty
- The reliance on credit by the current generation will cause future generations to be in debt.
John Burton
- Relative economic decline should be reversed by deregulation and privatisation.
Oil Revenues
Welfare Taxation Fiscal Policy
- Revenue from the Bass Strait oil fields should be shared as widely as possible instead of being concentrated in unemployment benefits.
Parliamentary Reform
- Parliamentary privilege is being abused by politicians that slander each other instead of debating the merits of each bill.
The Real IR Debate
Protectionism Industrial Relations Business Individual Rights
- Being able to opt out of a wage award allows the parties to come to an agreement rather than having something forced upon them.
Recovery Alone Was Not Enough
Industrial Relations Business Individual Rights
- To reduced unemployment, we need to free labour and capital from government and the unions.
Sir Hal Colebatch
Politics Fiscal Policy Protectionism
- He stood against: 1) protectionism, 2) excessive borrowing and 3) legislation that compelled price controls.
Housing Interest Rates
Regulation Monetary Policy Interest Rates
- Regulated interest rates cause those that are unable to obtain regulated money to resort to hire purchase and second mortgages. They also distort housing supply.
The Trilogy
- The trilogy promises are: 1) reduction of the Federal budget, 2) no increase in tax revenue and 3) reduction of Federal budget outlays.
- There is a need to increase investment to meet the trilogy.
Fools or Knaves? The Reith Lectures
- Our current politicians favour interventionism, the question is whether they are knaves or fools? *
American Morality
- The degree to which basic human rights are respected by a nation is the degree of its morality.
The Future of Agriculture
Protectionism Industrial Relations
- The two demands by the National Farmers Federation that industry protection by reduced and that real wages reflect the nation's economic circumstances are reasonable.
Retrospectivity 3
- When a law is interpreted in an unintended way, a new law confirming things are they are thought to be may enhance certainty and equity.
The Opposition's I.R. Policy
Protectionism Industrial Relations Individual Rights
- The Liberal policy will give all employees the right not to join a union.
EPAC And Gruen On Trade
Protectionism Regulation Business
- Professor Gruen says that selling below full cost in not regarded as an unfair trading practices within Australia. It smacks of double standards when it is labelled as unfair when done by foreigners.
The Accord
- The accord between the Labour Party and the Trade Unions are about to be tested. A productivity award will cause unemployment to be higher than it should be.
Fraser On Howard
- The question facing the next Prime Minister is whether they will tackle our economic crisis without deferring to vested interests.
Howard's Economic Statement
- Australia's chronic condition is how uncompetitive our industries are. The supply side of the Australian economy must become more flexible.
Cheer Up Things Are Getting Worse
Industrial Relations Regulation
- Deregulation will force unionist to bear the consequences of their own actions.
Party Conferences
- Due to the loss of trust in the Liberal Party, the WA Liberals can put their house in order by electing a president and a team that is not tainted by the past.
A Crisis of the Spirit
- If Australians are to accept that there must be uneven sacrifices, we must feel that we are going somewhere.
The Evatt Foundation Conference
Regulation Subsidies Politics Business Competition
- Public sector monopolies give politicians opportunities to subsidise favoured voters.
- The public benefits the most from competition not private ownership.
Holmes, Rattigan & Chaney
- Vested interests are no longer stifle debate about protectionism.
The Federal Budget
- The government should adopt the same rigorous prudential standards as businesses
Industrial Relations in The Pilbara
- Foreign buyers only care about the price of iron ore. It is hard to understand why employee insist on practices that reduce productivity.
What's at stake at Robe River
- The main issue is whether Robe will be allowed to increase productivity and to invest in further developing costlier ore bodies or will the unions force it out of business.
Education and Guardianship
- The best kind of education where a child can get is one where there is a lot of competition.
What Is the New Right?
Politics Industrial Relations Individual Rights Taxation Fiscal Policy
- Our wishes are to reduce union power, unfair business privileges, balance the government budget, reduced public expenditure and taxes, stopping the middle class from being ripped off, restore competiveness and protection of the family.
Textiles, Clothing & Footwear (not in print)
- Workers that are in a protected industry must be prepared to accept modest wages that arise as a result of protectionism, if not, the economy will suffer, and riots will occur.
Of Taxes and Superannuation
Taxation Superannuation Industrial Relations
- Democracies can slash marginal tax rates if they want to;
- Some people are unwilling or unable to provide for themselves.
- It is the demands of the middle class that make tax reductions difficult.
- Union organised superannuation can be a competitive and safe alternative to high welfare payments and taxes.
The Premier's Plan
- The premiers seem to be incurring disastrous debts in order to buy votes.
Living with The Dole
- In order to have full employment, wages must fall. However, low wages make the dole attractive; there should be a work requirement for the dole.
Star Wars
- Ronald Reagan did not have the right to trade away the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI). It is immoral to give away the ability to stop a nuclear attack in flight.
Jackey's Marsh
- Where private ownership over resources is granted, there usually is loving care over the property.
- The main question is whether the area in Jackey's Marsh is logged, maintained as it is or used in other ways.
The Constitution and Human Rights
- We are all underprivileged in something and none of us in everything. *
- The most important role of any constitution should be the protection of citizens by limiting the power of the government.
The New Enlightenment
- To describe people who want less state authority as "right" is slander.
What is Unemployment?
- Unemployment figures are no longer a good proxy for economic distress which must be identified more directly.
The NFF Seeks Audience
- The National Farmers Federation (NFF)'s paper argues that the government's policies are unable to cope with changes.
The Laffer Curve
- There should have been greater expenditure cuts to compensate for tax cuts on the low and middle-income taxpayers.
Will Unemployment Ever Come Down
- Reducing taxes on the lowest paid where anyone who was on unemployment benefits will be better off working is the most politically and morally right.
Welfare, Targeting Need
- In practice, the number who qualifies for unemployment benefits must be reduced by restricting eligibility.
Of Bread and Circuses
- Governmental authority is not the equivalent of nationhood.
- If our government gets the fundamentals of a free and prosperous society right, circuses (symbols) will look after themselves.
Petersen et al
- Debt and inflation are now so serious they must be remedied with a strong and specific political mandate.
Commerce and Government Don't Mix
Business Politics Regulation Cronyism
- Government operates differently in that only it can legally force people to do it's bidding.
- Market imperfections are most often caused by government interference on behalf of vested interests.
Health Care
- Doctors and hospital bed must be rationed, and supply must be matched to demand by queuing.
The Rocky Horror Show
- The deficit should be reduced by cutting government expenditure instead of raising taxes.
- The proven way to economic success is through deregulation.
David Heald Reports to the ACTU
- His main recommendation is that collectivists must do everything in their power to recapture the political agenda from the economic libertarians in the 'New Right' think tanks.
Not Lazy (Published in the Weekend Australian as Monopolies corner the market in frustration)
Protectionism Monopoly Regulation Business
- Australians are more often frustrated with government regulations than lazy.
- Monopolies are the reason for Australia's lost competiveness than laziness.
The Next Prime Minister
- A leader should be strong enough to make cuts to the deficit and also be strong enough to deregulate and privatise.
Of Unions, Rights and Property
Industrial Relations Taxation Property Rights
- The poorest person has no property but their labour.
- The government's first responsibility is the security of its citizens. Does taxation extend to the right of labour of its citizens?
A Manifesto
- Today's drive towards liberty and reason has been called the New Enlightenment and sounds better than New Right.
Referendums
- In Australia, the public may wish to say no to a policy of the government without voting them out of office.
The Fiscal Problem
- Public sector borrowing requirement must be eliminated and the Commonwealth must move quickly to a modest surplus with the States coming close to fiscal balance.
Howard III
- John Howard cannot stop reading differences from being aired nor should he try.
The Deficit 1987
Economics Taxation Fiscal Policy
- When governments borrow rather than raise taxes, there are several consequences: 1) The young lose, 2) investments drop, 3) The country's credit rating suffers, 4) The police are required to force people to service the debt, 5) Foreign debt accumulates and 6) The government is tempted to inflate the currency.
South Africa
- Political power is least important in a liberal free market society with a small government.
Two Ways of Coping with Unions
- Reducing the power of unions until they have to obey the law like everyone else.
- Passing legislation to override the power of the unions.
Transport and the Economy
- Transport modes and service should compete on equal terms. The subsidies favouring LPG over petrol should be eliminated.
- Competition between wharves, grain, sugar, container terminals and other port facilities could be greatly enhanced through implementing the Liner Shipping Report
If the Liberals Should Do Badly
- If the Liberal and National Parties are defeated this time, the current in-evitable drop in living standards will cause power to be returned to them.
The Campaign Issues
Politics Regulation Industrial Relations Economics
- John Howard's policy stances are more like Margaret Thatcher than he is given credit for.
- The important issue is to increase efficiency without which Australia is sunk. Tax cuts matter but not so much as deregulation and industrial relations reform.
A Liberal Liberal Party
- Labour leadership is unashamedly elitist.
- John Howard has turned the Liberal Party from the control of people whose approach to governance is mirrors the current Labour party. Like Margaret Thatcher, he has been slandered and abused by members of his political party.
The Issues Today
- Labour's industrial relations policy is corporatist, Liberal's is individualist. The main issue is who will rid is to national debt.
A Tale of Two Nations
- The message for Australia and Fiji is that we have a choice between raising our gross national product or lower our standards of living.
- It is either deregulate or decay.
The 'right' that never existed
Industrial Relations Individual Rights
- There is no inherent right to strike only to stop working. By preventing other people from taking their jobs, they are subtracting their rights.
Giving Authority Back to Parliament
- For government accountability to be present, all political parties must honour the Westminster tradition and there must be an independent press.
What Has Happened to Political Leadership?
- Political leadership is about making the connections and explaining the trade-offs.
The Lamb Marketing Corporation
- The average producer is unaware that they are being duped and politicians have no interest in informing them.
The National Companies and Securities Commission
- The National Companies and Securities Commission (NCSC) should be dissolved if they are seen to be protecting certain interests.
Policing the Media
- The limitations that government places on the media outlets are unnecessary.
- One wonders if the government would like the media to feel obligated to them.
The Case Against the Tax File Number
- Income tax is intrusive, penalises investment, uncertain and unfair. It should be replaced by a consumption tax.
Not So New Federalism
- The Australian economy will not recover until the people who make the economic decisions face the consequences of their own decisions.
David Kemp
- Professor Kemp is hopeful that authority is now seen to have limitations and liberal ideas flowing from government groups.
The Winding Up of WA Inc
- The activities of WA Inc are wrong because they benefit private interests at the expense of the public.
Of Honour and Politics
- Friction is in the nature of politics, there is a need to conduct the party's affairs well.
The Dropping of The Pilot
- John Howard's greatest achievement was to develop a party that would not be in bed with special interests.
The Election and The Debt
- The incoming government must deal with the problem of excessive foreign debt. Increased productivity is the only way to go.
The Dreadful Campaign
- It is ironic that some communist countries are enthusiastically embracing democracy while we are making of a mess of it.
Of Rural Industry and The Economy
- The reason for our relative economic decline is the failure to seek out areas where we have comparative advantage.
- For the moment, primary industry such as farming, and mining is where we are efficient.
About
John Hyde OAM is a former Australian politician. He was elected as the member for the Division of Moore in Western Australia for the Liberal Party.
John Hyde OAM is the author of Dry: In Defence of Economic Freedom.