Who's afraid of public debt?

Date: 31 October 2002

Zero debt: an issue for all citizens

In a novel collaboration, the Evatt Foundation has teamed up with the Australian Financial Markets Association to present a seminar on public debt and the Howard Government's proposal to eliminate the Australian bond market.

"The foreshadowed move to zero public debt is a significant issue for all citizens, not just the financial markets", Evatt Foundation President Bruce Childs said today.

"Embracing zero public debt also means dramatically curtailing public investment, a policy that's not in the interests of either the present or future generations of Australians", said Mr Childs.

"The Evatt Foundation has long argued for a sensible approach to public debt."

"We have always objected to zero debt as a baseless, populist justification for privatisation, and have argued that our governments should maintain a decent level of public investment, with due regard to the costs and benefits."

"Hopefully, the release of Treasurer Costello's discussion paper will trigger a wider re-appraisal of the flat-earth fiscal policies that have been uncritically accepted by both our state and federal governments".

"The infrastructure of this nation is owed to the fact that earlier generations of Australians had the foresight to maintain substantial public investment", said Mr Childs.

Dr Tony Aspromourgos from Sydney University's Faculty of Economics and Business, and John Rappell from AFMA will address the issues at an Evatt Foundation breakfast seminar on Tuesday 19 November at Sydney's Southern Cross Hotel.

The seminar will be chaired by Professor Frank Stilwell, and will take place in the Hotel's Macquarie Room, corner of Elizabeth and Goulburn Streets.

Breakfast will be served from 7.30 am, the seminar will commence at 8.00 am, and the discussion will conclude on the dot of 9.00 am.

For more details, see the advertisment and briefings on the Evatt Foundation's website at: http://evatt.labor.net.au/events/32_20021021.html.

For further information

Contact:	Bruce Childs
Union:	The Evatt Foundation
Phone:	9386 1240
Contact Mobile:	0412 803457
Email:	evatt@unsw.edu.au
WWW:	http://evatt.labor.net.au/events/32_20021021.html

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