debt – John Humphreys

NSW budget 2024/25

_{Published in The Spectator Online on 21 June 2024 under the title “NSW’s smoke and mirror budget“.}

The NSW budget continued the nationwide theme of unimaginative big-spending budgets with large deficits. The economic story is not unique, but the budget does stand out for one reason – the masterful display of Machiavellian narrative control.

John Humphreys is the Chief Economist at The Australian Taxpayers' Alliance and Director for the Australian Economic Education Foundation.

John has a PhD in economics from the University of Queensland. He has worked previously for the Australian Treasury, as a consultant doing projects for the World Bank and ASEAN (among others), economics lecturer in Australia and abroad, and manager of an education charity in Cambodia (for which he was awarded a knighthood in 2016).

Outside of his day job, John is a certified scuba divemaster, recreational pilot & Justice of the Peace, and he spent four years as a travelling hippy visiting over 80 countries. He was the founder of the Liberal Democratic Party (now called the Libertarian Party) and the Friedman Conferences. Most importantly, John is married to a wonderful wife and has three amazing boys, and is now living the simple life just north of Brisbane in Australia.