Dr Richard Eccleston

The Political Realities of Gambling Reform – Keynote Speech

Dr Richard Eccleston — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:30:00 +0000

Gambling reform has been a prominent issue during the tenure of the Gillard government. Indeed Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie’s support for the minority Labor government was contingent on support for gaming machine reform. Given this context I was happy to give a keynote address to the National Association of Gambling Studies annual conference in November 2012. The speech provided a general political science perspective on the political barriers to gaming reform in Australia and their implications for stakeholders and policy makers. I’m in the process of finalising this speech for publication which will be available here shortly.

Griffith Review #39 – Tasmania: The Tipping Point – February 2013

Dr Richard Eccleston — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:38:51 +0000

The February 2013 issue of the literary and current affairs journal Griffith Review is devoted to Tasmania and the challenges the ongoing challenges the island State faces.

The special issue features a frank and challenging assessment of Tasmania’s economic malaise by Jonathon West and very funny piece by MONA supremo David Walsh.

Essays from the the special issue can be found on The Conversation Website here and a link to my modest contribution (an essay on Tasmanian and the future of Australian federalism) can be found here.

New Book Published – The Dynamics of Global Economic Governance – December 2012

Dr Richard Eccleston — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:30:13 +0000

My three year research project on international tax cooperation in the aftermath of financial crisis has culminated with the publication of The Dynamics of Global Economic Governance:The Financial Crisis, The OECD and the Politics of International Tax Cooperation in December 2012. Sincere thanks to the many and varied friends and colleagues who helped with this project.

Details of the book are available here:

ARC Grant Success – November 2012

Dr Richard Eccleston — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:19:17 +0000

I was fortunate enough to receive Australian Research Council Funding for two research projects in the 2012 funding round.

The first grant is for a project on ‘Rebuilding Fiscal Federalism’ ($210,000; 2013-15) with Rick Krever from Monash University.

The second grant is on promoting compliance in global governance and is a continuation of my research on international tax cooperation. This project received $190,000 (2013-15) and will be a collaboration with Wes Widmaier from Griffith University.

Recent Publications – early 2011

Dr Richard Eccleston — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:51:43 +0000

Some of my recent publications include:

‘The OECD in Global Economic Governance’ The Australian Journal of International Affairs. Vol 65, No. 2. March 2011
‘The evolution of Labor’s health reform agenda: A preliminary assessment.’ Public Policy. Vol.5, No. 2., 2010.

‘The Henry Tax Review, Cartel Parties and the Reform Capacity of the Australian State’ (with Ian Marsh), The Australian Journal of Political Science. September 2011.
‘Revolution or Evolution: Sovereignty, the Financial Crisis and the Governance of International Taxation’, Journal of Applied Law and Policy. November 2011

Feel Free to email me if you would like copies of any of these papers.

OECD Global Forum Meeting in Bermuda May31 and June 1

Dr Richard Eccleston — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:40:10 +0000

As part of my ARC research on international tax cooperation I attended the 3rd OECD Global Forum in Bermuda in late May and Early June to interview representatives of a range of jurisdictions involved in the Forum process. During my three days in Bermuda I interviews representatives of 14 states getting a wide range of views about the Forum process. The findings of this research are reported in the final chapter of my book ‘The Dynamics of Global Economic Goverance’ which will be published by Edward Elgar in 2012. More information on the Bermuda meeting of the Global Forum can be found here.

The National Tax Forum October 4th and 5th 2011

Dr Richard Eccleston — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:31:39 +0000

The Gillard Government agreed to host a national tax forum as part of its negotiations with balance-of-power independents in the aftermath of the 2010 federal election. The broad rationale is to discuss the reform priorities arising from the Henry Review published in early 2010 although it is clear the Government is concerned that the Forum may be used to promote reform proposals (such as increasing the GST rate to abolish inefficient State taxes) which it is politically reluctant to support. Despite this apprehension the Forum has the potential to test and perhaps build stakeholder support for the next round of national tax reform.

I was firtunate enough to be one of 19 experts invited to attend the October Forum. More information on the event is available here while my personal state of priorities is available here.

Recent Public Lectures and Forums

Dr Richard Eccleston — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:19:17 +0000

Its been a busy winter and with debate about State finances dominating Tasmanian politics and tax reform on the national political agenda I have had an oportunity to epress my views on these and related issues. In June I was involved in ‘The Denison Debate’ on the topics of ‘The Future of the Tasmanian Economy’ which can be found here. In August I presented on a panel at the Institute of Public Administration National Conference discussing the topic of minority government which can be found here. In September I was involved in an international forum discussing fiscal federalism organised by my colleague Neil Warren form ATAX UNSW. An overview can be found here.

Media on tax reform, Tasmanian politics and finances April 2011

Dr Richard Eccleston — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:23:37 +0000

2011 has been busy in so far as public debate about tax and CGC reform, State budget strategy and politics is concerned. As a consequence I’ve been reasonably busy fielding various interviews and speaking requests from the media and community organisations.

Highlights include providing the ‘political outlook’ presentation at the recent Committee for the Economic Development ‘2011 Tasmania Outlook’ conference. The audio of the presentation is here.

ISA Conference in Montreal and International Tax Research in DC and New York

Dr Richard Eccleston — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:14:49 +0000

During a busy two week trip to North America in March 2011 I presented a conference paper ‘Regime change in International Political Economy: The case of the OECD’s tax transparency ‘revolution’’ (with Richard Woodward, University of Hull) at the International Studies Association Annual Conference in Montreal before conducting a final round of interviews for my forthcoming book on the politics of international tax cooperation. Interviewees included advisors to members of the US Senate Finance Committee, a former Deputy Commissioner of the IRS as well as representative of the American Bar Association, The Tax Justice Network and the combined Brookings-Urban Institute Tax Policy Centre.

I’m now in the final stages of writing manuscript ‘The Dynamics of Global Economic Governance’ which will be published by Edward Elgar in late 2011 or early 2012.