Des Moore IPE Director

The Institute for Private Enterprise was established by Des Moore in February 1996 as a body to promote the cause of private enterprise and to argue for a reduction in the role of government. This does not mean that IPE supports any form of private enterprise or that it espouses the elimination of government. In particular, private monopolies and enterprises that depend on government imposed restrictions on competition are not favoured. Equally, government has a legitimate and important role in assisting those who are genuinely disadvantaged and in maintaining a legal system within which enterprises can flourish. Indeed, whether or not the "institutional" framework is conducive to risk-taking and innovation is an important determinant of economic growth.

A major reason for establishing the IPE was the then fashionable view being expounded that the debate about the need for economic reform was over because it had become widely accepted. Associated with that view was the argument that the case for reform needed to be put less vigorously than in the past. I took the position that, even if the theoretical case for reform could be said to have been won (which was itself doubtful), the implementation process would be difficult, the benefits would need to be continuously explained and the opponents of reform would need to be vigorously rebutted on an on-going basis.

Subsequent events have fully justified the position I took and we have seen a marked slowing in the reform process and an increased demand for "compensation" to those perceived to be losers. The need to support the IPE in its on-going battle for reform is thus now greater than ever. It is harder to get the message across and the number of fronts on which the battle needs to be fought is increasing. The main focus of the IPE has recently been on deregulation of the labour market because that is probably the highest reform priority.

The report prepared for the Federal and State Labor Ministers Council on The Case for Further Deregulation of the Labour Market was published in November 1998 and is accessible through the publications section of this web site. There has been considerable follow-up to that report, reflected in other parts of the site.

A subscription to the IPE ($275 incl GST) entitles one to a hardcopy of all publications issued during the year. The intention is to continue to issue a newsletter approximately every month which will comment on a topical issue or issues and will include other material on IPE activities, including articles and letters published in the media. Director Des Moore also attends conferences and seminars and argues the case for reform publicly in such fora and elsewhere.

Within the short period since it has been established, the IPE can fairly claim to have become recognised as a coherent and credible voice for reform. Additional support will help it spread that voice. The IPE will provide continuing and vigorous support to the private enterprise cause, with particular emphasis on analysing and expounding the economic and social benefits of such reforms and the economic and social costs of government intervention.

Director Des Moore has had considerable experience and training in analysing economic issues. After graduating in law from Melbourne University, Australia, and in economics from the London School of Economics, he worked for 28 years in the Commonwealth Treasury, including five years as one of three Deputy Secretaries.

During his time in Treasury, Des headed most of the main policy areas. In 1987 he resigned from Treasury because of his concern that the macro-economic policies being pursued by the Federal Labor Government would likely lead to recession. During the following nine years spent as Senior Fellow of the Economic Policy Unit at the Institute of Public Affairs he published and commented on a wide range of economic policy issues. A list of all publications by Des since he left Treasury is included on this site.