The Slow Decay.

The credibility tab

Methodology & Sources

This is the tab the experts check first. Here is exactly how we work, the rules we hold ourselves to, and every primary source we draw on. If we survive your scrutiny here, the rest of the site earns your trust.

The one thing we optimise for: being impossible to dismiss

Australian political debate is loud but shallow. The daily contest crowds out the substance of policy — and especially its long-run consequences. This site closes that gap. We read the primary record — budget papers, ABS releases, RBA statements, Parliamentary Budget Office costings, state budgets, regulator reports — so you don’t have to, and translate it into plain English without dumbing it down.

Our position: the loyal, evidence-bound critic

We accept the legitimacy of the government and the good faith of most of its actors. From inside that acceptance, we hold the governing project to account against its own goals and against the hard record. We critique the incumbents because they hold power and therefore own outcomes. A site built during a Coalition government would apply the same scalpel to it. We campaign for no party and are funded by none.

The fairness doctrine (non-negotiable)

Every topic contains a section titled “The strongest case for the policy.” There we state the government’s or the Greens’ justification at its best, in good faith, before we critique it. A reader who supports the policy should recognise their own view described accurately before they meet our objection. This single rule is what separates analysis from polemic.

The three-question test

Before any claim ships, it must pass three tests:

  1. Is it true? Traceable to a named primary source.
  2. Is it fair? Does the steel-man state the other side at its best?
  3. Is it attributed correctly? Have we separated what the government caused from what it inherited or merely presided over?

What we never do

  • Never fabricate a statistic, quote or source. Where a precise current figure is uncertain, we state the magnitude and direction, label it “approx.” and cite the source type — we do not invent decimals.
  • Never attack anyone’s character, family or private life. We critique policies and public conduct in public office, not people.
  • Never use dehumanising language about any group, including migrants, whose numbers we analyse as a policy variable — never as a slur.
  • Never claim certainty about the future. We reason about risk and probability.

Dates and corrections

Economic figures move. Every number on this site carries its “as at” date and its source, so you can check it and we can update it. Errors are fixed promptly, dated, and logged. If you find one, that is a contribution to the project, not an attack on it.

How to read a topic

Every topic is written to be read at two speeds. The 90-second read is the summary card at the top: the claim, three key numbers, and why it matters for the future. The deep read is the full analysis beneath — the human story, the government’s best case, the evidence, the critique, the credit where due, and the risk to the future. Use whichever you have time for.

The primary-source library

These are the documents we actually read. Primary sources are the original record — the budget paper itself, the ABS data release, the RBA statement — not a news article about them. Independent think-tank and audit work is cited too, clearly labelled as secondary.

Commonwealth Budget & fiscal

Economy & prices

Housing & migration

Energy & climate

Legislation & measures

States

Defence & national security

Independent analysis (secondary, clearly labelled)