A capable sovereign submarine capability is a core requirement for Australia’s defence over the next two decades, and there are known risks that could prevent that happening. This report proposes that Australia should explore the backup option of leasing or acquiring advanced conventional submarine capability from Japan.

Large portions of spending by national governments can be considered mandatory. Drawing on practices from eight OECD countries, this paper examines how governments define, monitor and review mandatory spending. The analysis suggests that mandatory spending should be reviewed regularly, included in fiscal rules and budget processes, and be subject to clear accountabilities to parliament.

This explainer assesses how the Trump Administration’s approach to United States intelligence is affecting, and will affect in the future, Australia’s national intelligence community and by extension its national interests. It concludes that Australia should enhance the fields in which it has, or can develop, genuine sovereign intelligence capabilities and thinking.

This paper proposes that public debate about the cost of living is based on a misunderstanding of how living standards should be measured. The paper contrasts movements in consumer prices with movements in wages. It identifies sectors where affordability has deteriorated in wage-adjusted terms, arguing that these outcomes are not arbitrary.

Strengthening engagement between economists and regulatory agency analysts can help generate research questions to inform policy and enhance agencies’ analytical capacities. This report reviews opportunities and challenges to improving such engagement and lays out an agenda for both researchers and agencies on better integrating economics research into the regulatory process.