Marko Matvikov

I generally try to respond to all comments in good faith. I appreciate civil disagreement - it’s an opportunity to test myself and learn from others. But if you show you’re ideologically captured and can’t think critically, then I’ll save my energy for those who aren’t.

Joshua Dale Brown, a 26-year-old former childcare worker, is accused of over 70 child sex offenses against children aged five months to two years old. If found guilty, what value is there in keeping him alive in prison - and likely releasing him? What could society possibly…

One of the worst parts of my job is when I want to make a design change after planning approval that’d improve the end outcome, I often decide not to pursue it because of how painful and wasteful the process is. Something as simple as a landscaping change (extent of decking or…

“More than half of voters now rely on governments for most of their income through public-sector wages, welfare benefits or subsidies.. “ afr.com/policy/economy…

Anarcho-tyranny is defined as government power that is oppressive towards law-abiding citizens, and simultaneously unwilling or unable to be used to carry out basic public duties - such as to ensure public safety and prosecute corruption. I’ve never heard of a more accurate…

My concern is that the government predictably fails to improve productivity and grow the economy within the next 6-12 months, so they resort to all they know how to do before the next election.. .. which is create more government jobs to suppress the unemployment rate, increase…

I often interact with authorities who hate the rules they’re administering or enforcing. From safety inspectors to planning officers to building surveyors, I find them often agreeing with me about how stupid something is that they have to abide by. These rules are imposed by…

Let’s say somebody earns a low income at $1,000 per week and their living expenses excluding housing are $500 per week. They’d be paying about $162 per week in income tax. Now let’s say GST was increased by 5% and that applied to all of their living expenses excluding housing…

And while construction workers per dwelling has also grown, that rate of growth is dwarfed by that of planners.

Real per capita GDP growth (economic growth adjusted for inflation and population) was 2% per year for over 30 years. Since the GFC ended in 2009, that growth has been halved to 1% per year - and declined in the last few years.

Whilst Australia’s population has increased by about 70% over the last 40 years: The number of planners has increased by almost 900%. We used to build 50 homes per planner per year compared to only 9 today.

What exactly in the UK’s recent history and current trajectory is enviable that’d inspire us to follow in their footsteps? The voting age should be the same as the drinking, driving, tax paying and everything else-adult age. Happy to have a debate about what that should be,…

Four decades ago, former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke said Australia had "accumulated an excessive and often irrelevant and obstructive body of laws and regulations." Imagine what he'd say today.

Here we go again - the unemployment rate ticks up and this lot are acting like a rate cut is going to reverse the trend of the private sector shedding jobs like a dog sheds hair in summer.

Our big 4 banks clear more than half a billion dollars profit per month. And yet I can’t get them on the phone within half an hour when I need them.

Given that government-funded jobs as a proportion of population are higher than they've historically been, we should re-calibrate what a low unemployment rate is. Whilst this may seem low in historical context, it's higher than it seems when adjusted for the current public vs…

Regulations, taxation, culture and immigration are all factors - but it’s hard to motivate people to become more efficient when real wages don’t keep up with productivity gains. H/t: @Quagslime