Insights
A public point of view on Australia’s next decade.
Original essays, research and media commentary on the decisions reshaping government, capital and technology.
Modular solution for multi-generational living as housing crisis changes way we live
Modular homes are a speedy answer to multi-generational living. The constraint is still demand, and trust in the product.
Why the panic over data centres if golf courses use four times the water?
Fear should not overwhelm the facts, or stand in the way of an opportunity Australia cannot afford to miss.
How Government Makes Policy and Why Industry Matters
Hugh on The House’s Digital: how policy is actually made, and why industry has to be in the room.
In an age of distrust, decentralised AI could be the way to go
Bitcoin showed the world open, permissionless money. A similar architecture may ease public misgivings about AI.
AI disruption is Chalmers’ chance for budget repair
Whatever policy response AI requires, it will need fiscal space — something Australia currently lacks.
REIA CGT rent scare campaign is ‘bunkum’
Capital gains reform has to be paired with spending restraint and larger tax cuts for workers — not sold as a rent panic.
Scaling back the capital gains tax discount might not help housing affordability — but there are still good reasons to do it
There is a profound inequity in tax breaks for investors. Reform could help the budget and help renters trying to buy.
If Indonesia’s so important, why are we treating its people so badly?
Australia talks up the relationship, then makes family visas slow and language education scarce. Rhetoric is not a strategy.
A closer look at parties’ rival housing policies (and one big risk)
The biggest barrier to first-time buyers is scraping together a deposit, not the subsequent mortgage payments.
‘Big Australia’ is over yet home hangover remains
Stalled projects, regulatory overreach, and an industry struggling with low productivity. Over-supply should be the goal.
Four policies to supercharge housing supply
Demand-side band-aids will not do it. Fiscal incentives, a 20 per cent cost cut, league tables, and a set-and-forget social housing mechanism would.
Hugh writes on Bittensor and the meeting of AI and blockchain. Essays on decentralised intelligence and incentive networks.
Bittensor essays