Thursday, 22 June 2023

Markets & Prosperity

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (09:54): I rise to speak today about a new book released this month edited by Harry Stutchbury called Markets & Prosperity. Hot off the press and flying into the hands of readers across the nation, it is a great collection of 17 essays from politicians, academics, business leaders and journalists alike focusing on the need to leverage markets and incentives to solve our most pressing problems. It is a group of original thinkers representing a broad swathe of the free market polity in Australia, centre-left rationalists and libertarian ideologues. It even includes some Labor comrades, like Craig Emerson, whose writing is in the book. There is a common theme, a line, that markets are the best way to alleviate problems for people.

I am humbled to have been approached to write one of the chapters myself, on the need for the centre right of politics to seriously engage in the conversation of criminal justice reform. I acknowledge in my essay that we have a proven track record on this side of the house on keeping the community safe, but we should always realise that people are better than their worst moments and those who have followed the wrong path in life should be helped onto the right one and be given the opportunity to do so. We should not be spending so much money locking up non-violent offenders when there is a serious case for rehabilitative justice. Criminal justice reform should be engaged seriously. You can hear more from me and other great writers by picking up a copy of Markets & Prosperity from Connor Court press.