A series from The Australian Commons
The Commonwealth Papers examine the institutions, rules and assumptions that shape Australian government.
Each paper begins with a proposition about how Australia is governed and asks whether our existing arrangements remain the best way of achieving their purpose. The aim is not to produce a complete political program, but to examine individual reforms carefully, consider their consequences and invite serious discussion about alternatives.
The first series considers Australia’s fiscal system: how governments spend, borrow, save and account for the obligations they leave to future generations.
At its centre is a simple question:
What rules would we design if we wanted Australian governments to remain both democratic and financially responsible over the long term?
The Australian Commons 