Ian McAuley, a former lecturer in public finance at Canberra University, has a knack for explaining complex economic concepts in plain language, a talent displayed in his regular contributions to NewMatilda.com, frequent media appearances and reports he has written for the Centre for Policy Development. He was a contributing author to the books Pushing Our Luck: Ideas for Australian Progress and More Than Luck: Ideas Australia Needs Now and co-author of Crusaders of the Rising Sun. Ian is a former trade commissioner whose experience spans the private and public sectors. Miriam Lyons is a policy analyst and social commentator. She was co-founder and the main face of the Centre for Policy Development for seven years as its executive director. Miriam edited Pushing Our Luck: Ideas for Australian Progress and co-edited More Than Luck: Ideas Australia Needs Now. Her articles have been published in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, AFR, The Punch, The Drum Unleashed, Crikey, Griffith Review and others. She is a frequent guest on talk shows such as the ABC's QandA and The Drum, Sky's The Nation and Radio National. She is known for her passionate yet measured approach to thorny policy debates.