Like all nations, there are economic issues in Australia that are complex to resolve. Your task is to choose an economic issue in Australia from topics 4-8 that interests you and write a report that analyses the factors that shape this issue and the constraints and possibilities for resolving this issue.  The point of this task is to demonstrate a critical understanding of the issue and to make an argument for change or keeping things the same.

Examples include:

Topic 4

• Concentration in the supermarket sector.
• Providing a climate that allows small business to be competitive with bigger businesses.

Topic 5

• Supporting/closing down Australia’s manufacturing sector and the best mechanisms for doing this.
• Limiting or encouraging trade of manufactured products from overseas to promote industry in Australia.

Topic 6

• Support for farmers experiencing natural disasters such as drought, bushfires and floods.
• Policy development to support Australian agriculture adjust to climate and change.
• Policy development to support Australian agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• The renegotiation of free trade agreements to benefit Australian agriculture.
• Constraints on foreign investment into Australian agricultural land.

Topic 7

• Regulating the banking and financial sector to better protect consumers.
• Further deregulating the banking and financial sector to improve Australia’s international competitiveness.  

Topic 8

• Improving the roll out of the National Broadband Network.
• Increasing competition amongst airlines based in Australia.
• The creation of a high-speed rail network.
• Regulating or deregulating media ownership laws.

As this is a report, you need to use headings.

Cover page

• Unit ID
• Student name and number
• Word count
• Title of report

Table of contents

Introduction

• Brief statement of the key issue addressed in this report.
• Key argument as to whether there should be a change in the way that this policy issue is addressed or if things should stay the same.
• The structure of your report. For example, it’s entirely correct to write: “This report will be divided into five main parts. The first will examine the economic policy issue of XYZ. The second part will discuss the economic institutions and policy which govern this issue…” and so on.

Economic policy issue

• What policy issue are you addressing, why is it important to Australia?
• What is the history of the issue? Do past policy decisions bear on how the issue is understood and managed in the present?

Relevant institutions and legislation

• How is this issue regulated, legislated, and/or controlled?
• What are the relevant economic institutions? For example, if you are addressing competition policy in Australia the key economic institution is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

What is the relevant legislation? For example, if you are addressing competition policy it is the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Who are the stakeholders?

• Who is it important to? For example, if you are looking at drought policy it will include farmers and rural communities.
• What are the political impacts of this issue? For example, drought policy will impact electorates in rural and regional Australia and the way in which these electorates vote and state and federal elections.
• Who are the lobby groups? For example, if the issue is drought policy, the National Farmers’ Federation is a peak body that represents agricultural producers and will lobby the government to introduce policy that benefits producers.

Recommendations for policy makers

• Do you think that this economic policy issue should be dealt with differently or changed? What are the benefits and disadvantages of change/keeping things the same?
• If you believe it should be changed, what should this change be?
• What are the economic, social, cultural and/or environmental benefits and disadvantages of this change or keeping things the same? For example, if you were to argue that car manufacturing should be protected in Australia but moved to electric cars. The economic benefits would include employment in areas that had high reliance on the manufacturing sector such as Elizabeth in South Australia. The environmental benefits would include moving towards electric cars and the economic benefits would include improved research and development knowledge in an emerging industry.

Constraints on solutions to the issue

• What would impede the implementation of your proposed solution? For example, if you propose keeping thigs the same, there may be interest group/lobby group pressure for change that makes this difficult. If you propose changing the way in which this is addressed what are the economic, social and environmental costs of doing so that may make change difficult?

Conclusion

• What have you learnt about this issue?
• What is the way forward?

Reference list

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