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The Howard government’s growing neglect of our health and hospital system has been exposed again, with reports today adding to the mounting evidence of Peter Costello as Australia’s highest taxing Treasurer ever.

Mr Costello is very good at patting himself on the back, but here are the facts he doesn’t like to share with the Australian people:

• Commonwealth tax as a share of GDP has risen to an all time high of 24.6 per cent of GDP in 2006-07, up from 22.8 percent in 1996-97 – according to official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

• Total payments to the states and territories, including grants and GST revenue, have fallen to their lowest level in a decade – at 6.5 per cent of GDP in 2006-07, compared to 7.2 per cent of GDP in 2001-02 according to the Government’s own Final Budget Outcome.

“Peter Costello yesterday on Insiders showed a smug complacency about the Government’s inadequate performance in the fight against global poverty”, said Bob McMullan.

We live in the South East Asian region, and it's here the issue of human trafficking, bond of labour, and other forms of contemporary slavery flourish. We are not responsible for that, other than in small part where it takes place here, but we are responsible to be part of a solution.

Craig Emerson has contributed this Progressive Essay, which examines broad concepts of how the Labor Party can position itself to improve the lives of Australians.

In this Progressive Essay, Bob McMullan and Dave Peebles examine the "Responsibility to Protect" principles in the light of Australia's experience in the Solomon Islands.

Writing for the Progressive Essay series, Bob McMullan examines the need for an Indigenous representative body to hold government to account, and suggests a number of ways in which such a representative body could be improved.

A Bill for an Act to amend the Copyright Act 1968 to provide for royalties for visual artists.

In the latest Progressive Essay, Andrew Leigh argues that those who advocate lowering top tax rates are out of step with the views of most Australians. Contrary to figures that are often reported, the income of the average Australian is merely $26,000 per year, which is near the bottom of the 30 percent tax bracket.

Leigh suggests simplifying our tax filing system by allowing most people the option of not filing a return. He also argues for reducing effective marginal tax rates at the bottom, where the rates are highest, and the problem of joblessness most acute.

The citizen is at the heart of a properly functioning democracy. In this Progressive Essay, Carmen Lawrence examines democratic participation by Australian citizens, and puts forward a case for strengthening their role.

Bob McMullan says that Australia can learn some important public policy lessons from developments in the debate about global poverty.

In this second Progressive Essay, Andrew Leigh examines the state of Australia's school system, and suggests that changes need to be made.

Australian author Thomas Keneally delivered the 2005 Fraser Lecture. He spoke about Australia's policy and attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers, focussing on their treatment in Australian detention centres.

This is the text of a lecture given by Bob McMullan. The lecture tracks Australia's decline in productivity, and argues that a wider and better informed debate on fiscal policy is needed if we are to reverse this trend.