Issue 2004 July 03
Browse Articles
OVERSEAS DEBT: Foreign debt grows as we live beyond our means
Australia’s net foreign debt has hit $374 billion, and will almost certainly hit $400 billion by the end of the year.In the early eighties, foreign debt was only 6% of our Gross Domestic Product. Now it is 47% of GDP.When the Coalition came to power, net foreign debt was $193 billion, a matter of such concern that they paraded “debt trucks” around the…
AGRICULTURE: Western farm subsidies rising, Australia’s falling
In the face of rising farm subsidies across Western nations, only Australia and New Zealand have cut assistance to farmers.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 15th report, OECD: Agricultural Policies 2004 at a Glance, on Western farm subsidies, found that in 2003 Western farmers derived 32% of their net revenue from government subsidies and farm support, up from 31% in the previous…
