Usually the speeches of treasury secretaries are relatively bland, echoes of their political masters. But an address this week from Steven Kennedy was something quite different.
One economist described it as “unplugged”. It gave not just a blunt assessment of the challenges the Australian economy has, but offered a bracing critique of what needs to be done.
Kennedy mightn’t be a household name, but people should remember that it was advice from him and his colleagues that steered an initially reluctant Morrison government to JobKeeper, which kept so many businesses and workers afloat during the pandemic.
