Watch here: https://youtu.be/ybqWLEwL28Y From economic reform and rising government spending to cultural shifts and the decline of liberalism, Costello reflects on the ideas that shaped the Howard years and what’s needed to renew them today.

👉 Support Sound Economic Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

Peter Costello was elected to seven terms as a Member of the Australian House of Representatives and was Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest term of any Treasurer in Australian history. Mr Costello delivered twelve federal budgets, including ten surpluses. During this period, Australia’s Sovereign Credit Rating was updated twice to its current AAA rating. Mr Costello set up Australia’s system of financial regulation establishing the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). He also established the Takeovers Panel.

In 2006, after the Government debt was eliminated in net terms, Mr Costello established the Australian Future Fund. From its original deposit, the Future Fund has grown to over $230 billion invested in diverse asset classes.

Mr Costello served as Chairman of the Future Fund from 2014-2024. Mr Costello has served on the IMF Committee and as Chairman of the Global Group of 20 Finance Ministers & Central Bankers (G-20).

After leaving politics in 2009, Mr Costello joined a number of international and domestic boards and was chair of the Independent Advisory Board to the World Bank. Mr Costello was Chairman of the Nine Entertainment Corporation from 2016-2024. NEC is the largest Australian-owned media company with television, radio, publishing and streaming operations.

Listen to our new show, The Stutchbury Sessions on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM or listen on your browser. Watch this episode here: https://youtu.be/sv9pXQxa9bo

In this episode of Liberalism in Question, host Robert Forsyth engages in a thought-provoking discussion with Mark Leach, co-founder and CEO of "Never Again Is Now", on the rise of anti-Semitism in Australia, the erosion of Western liberal values, and the need for cultural renewal. They explore how anti-Semitism is a broader threat to Australian society, rooted in declining confidence in Western civilisation's core principles like individualism, equality, and pluralism.

👉 Relevant Research:

The Future of Australian Multiculturalism: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/the-future-of-australian-multiculturalism/ Fractured Loyalties. Australian citizenship and the crisis of civic virtue: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/fractured-loyalties-australian-citizenship-and-the-crisis-of-civic-virtue/ Reconciling value pluralism and national identity: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/the-ties-that-bind-reconciling-value-pluralism-and-national-identity-in-australia/

👉 Help Australia: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

In this episode, Rob sits down with Trisha Jha, a policy analyst at the Centre for Independent Studies, to explore the relationship between liberalism and education. They discuss how liberal principles, like individual freedom, pluralism, and limited government, may require an educated population to survive.

Trisha Jha is a Research Fellow in the Education program, where she leads a stream of work on the science of learning, as well as projects on school improvement and educational policy. Trisha has previously had roles as a secondary teacher, including through the Teach for Australia program, in state and independent schools in regional Victoria. She has also worked as a senior policy adviser to opposition leaders in Victoria.

She holds a Masters of Teaching with a specialisation in Research from Deakin University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the Australian National University.

👉 More from Trisha Jha: Free Trade vs Tariffs: https://youtu.be/n69-4wdl5b0 What is the Science of Learning? https://youtu.be/RjQ004yGsOo Learning Lessons. The future of small-group tutoring: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/learning-lessons-the-future-of-small-group-tutoring/ Implementing the Science of Learning: teacher experiences: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/implementing-the-science-of-learning-teacher-experiences/

👉 Help Australia’s Educational Standards: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

All our links: https://linktr.ee/centreforindependentstudies