Listening to think tanks?
Ross Gittins writes in the Brisbane Times (17.12.14) that ‘My strongest feeling in recent days is what a mentally incestuous, intellectual backwater we’ve allowed Australia to become, even in an age of instant access to the newest and best ideas. It’s all there to enlighten and guide us into better paths, but few of us seem to be taking it in – not our politicians, our bureaucrats, our media commentators, maybe not even our academics. Just a few of our think-tanks – most notably, the Grattan Institute. The future is pregnant with exciting possibilities, but we sweat the small stuff and keep chasing the same tired old reform ideas round and round the track.’