The housing future fund

The Australian government wants to create affordable housing. An admirable goal, although the means leave a lot to be desired: “The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will provide ongoing investment returns to deliver new social and affordable homes as well as investments to address acute housing needs.

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There's always a trade-off

By now everyone should be aware of the drama in the US surrounding Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank, and many other unnamed banks that a “senior Treasury official” said might have similar issues.

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A rubbish deal

The NSW Liberal Party, if it wins re-election this year, will create “the most significant financial security investment in NSW history”: “Under a coalition government, every child aged 10 and under in 2023 in NSW, and every newborn thereafter, will receive a fund with a starting investment of $400.

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Policy sore thumbs

Former chair of Australia’s Productivity Commission (1998-2013), Gary Banks, took aim at a couple of the nation’s recent “policy sore thumbs”: “We have a tax system that is more about redistribution than growth and looks set to become even more so.

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