Productivity Commission takes aim at local content rules, defence

By Peter Roberts That federal government’s economic adviser the Productivity Commission has a new spring in its step and new targets of its quest for an economically pure Australia – defence procurement policies and local content rules more generally, especially those applied by the states. The PC’s 50th Trade and Assistance Review (TAR) just released…

Picking winners – yes we do this now in Australia, thankfully

By Peter Roberts I have just been reminded by a former colleague of the bad old days when policy, any policy, favouring manufacturing was seen as protectionism and picking winners. Those times lasted for decades, with the Productivity Commission and the Coalition weaponising the words against manufacturers. My former colleague asked: what government policy is…