A classic case of the Australian government denying that it is the Australian government

Most of the examples of fiscal austerity leave one puzzled as a result of the sheer myopia that is usually present – the ‘save a penny today to spend a dollar tomorrow’ sort of nonsense that history tells us repeats when governments try to reduce spending in areas that it should not. But sometimes one encounters examples of the government pretending not to be the government and making decisions that are just absurd on any basis. Here is one example that is current in the Australian context but which carries general principles that apply everywhere. I am currently doing some work on the proposal of Airservices Australia (ASA) to outsource the provision of its infrastructure to a private partner in the financial sector under what it calls a ‘Value-for-Money’ partnership. The details of this proposal, inasmuch as there is public information released makes you wonder how far the neoliberal lunacy has gone. It is a case of a government deliberately constraining itself in its responsibilities to provide an essential service – essentially denying its unique capacities – then proposing that it can ‘save taxpayers money’ by delivering profits to a private speculator (in essence) and get a better deal. But the arithmetic that delivers this ‘better deal’ is only possible if the government denies that it is the government and tilts the playing field so far that a terrible deal becomes the preferred one. Lunacy exemplified. And all the parties to this deal produce glossy PowerPoint slide shows, and have meetings and all the rest of the ‘private consultancy capture of government’ hoopla that is played out on a daily basis in these days, pretending that it is just normal business. Yet, anyone who actually understood what was going on would realise that this is a scam of all proportions.

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Australian labour market – largely stable but dark clouds present

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (APRIL 16, 2026) – Labour Force, Australia – for March 2026 – which showed that the labour market steadied after last month’s contraction. While employment growth remained positive and was dominated by full-time work gains (as part-time employment fell), the fact that the participation rate fell helped keep the unemployment rate stable. There are now 10.1 per cent of available labour not being used (either unemployed or underemployment), which makes a farce of the RBA’s claims that the labour market is tight. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present. However, if the global situation doesn’t improve quickly then that slack will increase sharply.

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 7

This is Part 7 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the British Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. The thoughts, in my view, are relevant for all aspiring progressive political parties that might have fallen prey to the fictional world of mainstream economics and cannot find a way back. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I began an examination of the long debate about economic planning, In Part 4, I continued that discussion. In Part 5, I discussed how the age of rapid, networked communication systems eliminate the basis of the pro-market, anti-planning critics. In Part 6, I provided a detailed case study of the role that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in Japan played after WW2 to ensure rapid development could occur within the available real resource envelope. Today, I reflect on industry policy and the way the arch neoliberals are silently conceding defeat.

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 6

This is Part 6 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the British Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. The thoughts, in my view, are relevant for all aspiring progressive political parties that might have fallen prey to the fictional world of mainstream economics and cannot find a way back. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I began an examination of the long debate about economic planning, In Part 4, I continued that discussion. In Part 5, I discussed how the age of rapid, networked communication systems eliminate the basis of the pro-market, anti-planning critics. Today’s discussion focuses on the importance of institutional structure in government with a special case study of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in Japan and the role that it played in that nation’s spectacular rise out of the ravages of World War 2 and US Occupation.

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My blog is on holiday today

It is a public holiday in Australia today and I decided that I would use the time, which is free of workplace-type interruptions, to finalise a major project that has an impending (very) deadline. So happy holidays to all not…

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 5

This is Part 5 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the British Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. The thoughts, in my view, are relevant for all aspiring progressive political parties that might have fallen prey to the fictional world of mainstream economics and cannot find a way back. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I began an examination of the long debate about economic planning, In Part 4, I continued that discussion. In Part 5, I am discussing how the age of rapid, networked communication systems eliminate the basis of the pro-market, anti-planning critics. Today’s discussion is a practical description of how cybernetics can help deal with resource constraints in a planning system.

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The Manosphere fills a void created by neoliberalism which has been largely ignored by progressives

Over the weekend just gone I took some time to watch the latest Louis Theroux documentary – Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere – which relates how far we have gone in reverse with attitudes that men hold towards women. This blog post is not intended to be a review of that film but rather my thoughts on where it sits in the history of neoliberalism. The proposition is that neoliberalism creates voids where individuals are left behind and constructed as miserable failures. It also promotes an idea that an individual’s prosperity is a function of their own diligence and that the state fails to advance our well-being. Increasingly, these ideas are then embedded in misinformation and conspiracy theories and movements emerge to give voice to the anxieties that we face. The manosphere serves that purpose and allows young men to gain a sense of purpose and worth – notwithstanding that it is the world of scammers and oppressors. But it is another way in which neoliberalism is driving our societies into system-failure.

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New Green-linked report in Britain avoids the critical issue

I read a new Report this morning – Waste Not – that was published by a new unit in Britain called Verdant, which seems to have links to the England and Wales Green Party. The work is interesting and raises several issues that bear on how government fiscal policy should be assessed. The issues I have with the Report were not canvassed by the author to its detriment. It relates to the impact of government spending and the employment effects of cutting expenditure, regardless of whether we classify that expenditure as ‘waste’ or not.

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 4

This is Part 4 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the British Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. The thoughts, in my view, are relevant for all aspiring progressive political parties that might have fallen prey to the fictional world of mainstream economics and cannot find a way back. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I began an examination of the long debate about economic planning, In Part 4, I will continue that discussion and demonstrate that most of the criticisms of it from free market advocates are no longer applicable in an age of rapid, networked communication systems.

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Australian labour market – unemployment rises sharply – hard to reconcile with RBA’s excess demand claim

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (March 19, 2026) – Labour Force, Australia – for February 2026 – which showed that the labour market had gone backwards. While employment growth remained positive, full-time work fell. The participation rate rose, which in some situations indicates a positive outlook as workers re-enter the labour market to take advantage of the increased employment opportunities. In this case, I think it signals more desperation as cost-of-living pressures rise, given that a lot of older workers came back into the labour market looking for work. Unemployment rose sharply (0.2 points) to 4.3 per cent. Together with underemployment, there are now 10.1 per cent of available labour not being used it is ludicrous to talk about Australia being close to full employment. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present. The RBA’s claim that there is significant excess demand in the overall economy, which they used on Tuesday to justify a further rate hike, is hard to reconcile against this data.

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