After a very busy time sensitive news cycle, my latest op-ed has been published on Quadrant Online:
Of the three major Gillard government initiatives – carbon tax, mining tax, and plain packaging – only the plain packaging policy is not slated for repeal. It should be. It isn’t — yet supporters have been waging an impressive campaign to maintain the policy.
It is clear that the health lobby believe the optimal rate of tobacco consumption is zero and is happy to achieve that outcome at any cost. Nowhere else in public policy do we pursue such single-minded policy goals. We might like to live in a world where there is no crime – but everyone understands the costs of achieving such an outcome far outweigh the benefits.
Read the whole thing.