Ticker Views
Efficiency and creativity the only way to fix Australia
As Australia grapples with the intricacies of its expanding public sector, the imperative for a more efficient, innovative, and adaptable government has never been more pressing.
As Australia continues to navigate the complexities of its growing public sector, the need for a more efficient, creative, and agile government has never been more urgent.
Australians adore the beach. What makes our country great—our laid-back, chilled lifestyle—is also the very thing that can hinder us. I have Australian friends overseas who felt compelled to leave the country in search of individuals who aspired to perfection. They reminisce about Australian workplaces and refer to them as the “80% nation”—as in, 80% effort is quite satisfactory, right?
The conversation surrounding public service reform is one that has sparked fierce debates – especially since Elon Musk’s DOGE started looking behind closed doors in Washington.
In Australia, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has vowed to slash “wasteful” government spending and reduce the size of the public service. But while cutting costs is important, it’s equally vital that efficiency is not pursued at the expense of creativity and long-term problem-solving. Australia’s future hinges on our ability to balance these priorities.
The idea of reducing the public service is not new. Over the past few decades, governments have made various attempts to streamline the bureaucracy, from Scott Morrison’s overhaul of government departments to Mathias Cormann’s calls for a more innovative and responsive Australian Public Service (APS). On paper, these ideas look attractive—especially when framed in terms of reducing administrative bloat and saving taxpayer money. However, the real question is: how do we ensure these cuts don’t stifle innovation?
Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton
Inflation and debt
Peter Dutton’s pledge to shrink the public service is grounded in his belief that it will drive productivity and help ease Australia’s economic challenges, including inflation and debt. His vision is to eliminate wasteful spending, a move that has garnered both support and backlash. Supporters argue that less bureaucracy means less inefficiency, while critics warn of the practical impacts—slower processing times for essential government services like pensions, healthcare, and other public support systems. Governments around the world world will be watching Elon Musk carefully to see how he manages to work through this.
Can technology help to create efficiency without losing the personal touch that many people require. After all, who in their right mind would touch base with the government unless they desperately needed to?
Dutton’s approach—focused on efficiency and cutting waste—can only go so far if it’s not balanced with an emphasis on creativity. Efficiency shouldn’t just mean reducing costs; it should also mean improving the ways we deliver services and fostering a culture of innovation within government. As seen in the private sector, cost-cutting initiatives must be paired with new ways of thinking—embracing technology, new workflows, and a willingness to challenge old assumptions.
I call it the take and give approach. If you take something away, you must replace it with something that’s better.
Jobs and funding
The pursuit of efficiency should not be confined to simply eliminating jobs or reducing funding for departments. Instead, we should be asking: How can the government operate more effectively while still maintaining a level of creativity that allows the government to respond to new challenges and opportunities?
Australia’s government could take inspiration from the success of creative industries, where disruption and the breaking of norms often lead to better products and outcomes. Why shouldn’t this same mentality be applied to public service? Creativity, when combined with efficiency, can transform the way we solve problems.
But creativity in government doesn’t just mean high-tech solutions. It also involves empowering public servants to think outside the box – and to attract people to the public service who think that way.. This requires a shift in culture: one that values not just speed and cost reduction, but also innovation and a commitment to long-term problem-solving.
The debate about public service reform is far from over. Peter Dutton’s call for reducing the public service size and cutting wasteful spending is a start—but it must be paired with a strategy for fostering creativity. As taxpayers, we must demand value for money, as we would if we were buying a new couch.
As we move forward, we must balance the need for efficiency with the need for bold, creative solutions to the challenges ahead. Only then can we ensure that Australia’s public service is not just lean, but also capable of adapting to a rapidly changing world.
First, the tariffs from China hit Australian exporters now it’s the Trump tariffs on steel and aluminium – and as we have just learnt there will be no exemption.
How will these measures affect the USA, but also China, Australia and the rest of the global economy?
Like the China COVID tariffs, the Trump tariffs will hurt Australian workers.
After all, 1 in 5 Australian workers depend on exporters and exporters pay 60 per cent higher wages on average than non-exporters in union jobs with EBAs. This will be bad for the steel workers of the Illawarra and the aluminium workers of Portland, and will also be inflationary, and put upward pressure on interest rates. That’s why we have seen the impact of tariff decisions (and tariff uncertainty) hitting the Australian share market and superannuation balances.
As a former Australian Prime Minister, could Ambassador Kevin Rudd got an exemption? I am sure he’s trying. But his pre-election comments disparaging Trump have not helped Australia’s interests not have the recent comments of another former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. But to be fair, both Rudd and Turnbull have also been critical of Beijing.
Of course, Australia is not alone. The USA’s North America closet trading partner, Canada is in the same boat, as is Mexico. Canada has just had a leadership election with former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney (who was also Bank of England Governor) taking over as Prime Minister of Canada from Justin Trudeau. The Canadian Tories led by Pierre Poilievre are going to paint Carney as a Globalist, more comfortable in Switzerland than Saskatoon, but the tariffs on Canada give the new Prime Minister a chance to wrap himself in the Maple Leaf and fight the Trump tariffs. Carney can also paint Poilievre as Trump lite, and improve the Liberals chances in a contest suffering from the unpopularity of Trudeau. When a central banker can replaced a charismatic second-generation politician as Prime Minister and have a better chance we know we are living in interesting times.
With China and the USA unreliable trade partners, what options does Australia have? The Albanese Labor Government, to their credit have improved relations with our North East Asian trading partners like Japan and South Korea, Taiwan, ASEAN (with the special Australia ASEAN summit in Melbourne last year) as well as Europe and the emerging markets of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Latin America.
We could actually get closer to Canada under their new Prime Minister, given our similar economic and political backgrounds (if not geography) and current situation on steel and aluminium tariffs. Canada has also had its issues with Beijing as well as Washington.
So forget the tyranny of distance, and May the Moose be with you.
Professor Tim Harcourt is the Chief Economist of IPPG at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and host of The Airport Economist on Ticker.
Tim is also former chief economist of the Australian Trade Commission (AUSTRADE), the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, many of Australia’s property markets have experienced some extraordinary price growth.
Many locations, both city-based and regional, achieved unprecedented price increases with median house and unit prices soaring as demand hit new highs. Where once a million-dollar house or unit median was unusual, that recent growth has launched many locations into that club for the first time.
As of January 2025, there were 1,194 suburbs or towns with a median house price or median unit price of $1 million or more – 50 more than in September 2024.
These figures show that although price growth may have eased in some locations in the past six months, the number of million-dollar markets continues to increase throughout Australia.
And there are still plenty of opportunities for investors to find markets that are set to tip over into million-dollar markets in 2025.
The latest Hotspotting and Propertybuyer, National Million Dollar Hotspots report shows there are plenty of markets teetering on the edge of a million-dollar median.
They are the markets where price growth has been steady in recent years and demand remains strong. ith that trajectory set to continue, these markets will soon breach the million-dollar barrier.
They are also strong markets for investors, where rents have been rising, yields are solid and vacancy rates are low.
Residential properties line the Sydney suburb of Birchgrove in Australia.
WATCH THE PROPERTY PLAYBOOK NOW
Million-dollar median
There is a distinct lure to investing in a suburb with a million-dollar median and it’s not just the prestige of the price tag. The magic of buying in a million-dollar suburb is its capital growth potential.
By reaching a million-dollar median, it’s already proven to be a desirable location where owner-occupiers and investors are prepared to pay top dollar to secure a piece of the action.
There are plenty of inner-city markets throughout Australia which already have million-dollar medians, but successful investors are those who find locations where prices aren’t just rising, but the fundamentals and amenities are in place to ensure ongoing solid price growth and increasing demand for properties in the suburb.
It’s essential when considering a million-dollar location to invest in that it meets a variety of criteria, not just price point. There needs to be ongoing demand for property and significant amenities to meet community needs, such as public transport, shops, schools and recreation spaces, whether that be beaches, parks or lakes.
WATCH THE PROPERTY PLAYBOOK NOW
Employment opportunities
Infrastructure spending is also important, as is solid population growth and access to good local employment opportunities. These are factors that will keep buyers returning time and again to these suburbs and increased buyer demand is what will keep prices increasing to $1 million and beyond.
Southport on the Gold Coast is a good example of this. Within less than six months, the median house price in Southport, which was a selection in our October 2024 report, has breached the $1 million median mark.
It had a median house price of around $970,000 in September 2024, which hit $1.04 million in February 2025 – that’s a rise of $70,000 in just five months.
The suburb has achieved 15% median house price growth in the 12 months to February 2025 – and is an example of what can be achieved in the Million Dollar Hotspots.
Terry Ryder is the Managing Director of HotSpotting
-
News3 days agoTrump’s long-term economic strategy for America
-
News3 days ago
Ferrari plans to counter potential U.S. tariffs
-
Money3 days ago
S&P 500 correction worsens amid Trump’s tariff threats
-
News3 days ago
Aussie rookies show promise in Melbourne F1
-
Tech4 days ago
Telstra launches Scam Protect feature for phone users
-
Ticker Views5 days ago
First Xi, now Trump: tariff impacts on the Australian economy
-
News3 days ago
Trump administration pushes for Ukraine-Russia ceasefire amid high-stakes talks
-
Money4 days ago
Poll: 57% find Trump’s economic actions too erratic
