The cost for Melbourne’s West Gate Tunnel project is expected to spiral out of control, and a transport expert attributed part of the problems to the Labor government’s rushing the project. The West Gate Tunnel project is a four-kilometre toll road under construction that will upgrade the West Gate Freeway at Yarraville and link to CityLink at…

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has turned down the idea of hiking GST (goods and services tax) across the country, despite recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to do so. Chalmers, who is visiting the United States to meet with global financial leaders, said making changes to the GST was not a priority for the…

Commentary Sometimes there are signposts to what a government may be planning to do, and when it comes to the budget in Australia, the Grattan Institute is one. Its latest pointer is called “Back in Black” and is a submission on this May’s Federal Budget. As a centre-left think tank, sponsored by the Australian and…

The Grattan Institute has released new modelling showing that Australia can safely “live with COVID” once 80 percent of the population is vaccinated. However, to reach this goal, the think tank is proposing a suite of measures—including a national lottery—to incentivise Australians to take the jab. Currently, around 13.6 percent of Australians are fully vaccinated…

Australian think tank the Grattan Institute is calling on the government to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 to help meet the 2050 net-zero emissions target. In its new report, the think tank said zero-emissions vehicles should be exempt from stamp duty, import duty, and luxury car tax to make…