Rather than be a budget that will fuel inflation, the budget is actually closer to austerity than stimulation

Federal Budget 2023-24 has delayed solving Australia’s structural revenue problem, deferring any change to the Stage 3 tax cuts ($254b over 10 years) or fossil fuel tax credits ($9.4b in 2023-4) until at least May 2024, before the next federal election. The decision to delay revenue reforms leaves the Budget ill-equipped to meet the needs

Wages growth under enterprise agreements show that workers continue to be the ones doing it toughest during the period of high inflation

The overnight resignation of PwC’s CEO as a result of the ongoing tax avoidance scandal reflects the need for structural reform to the way the Government engages large consulting firms to perform core government work, according to integrity experts at the Australia Institute. Experts have reaffirmed their recommendations to the senate inquiry into consultancies and

Labor’s housing policies risk being as ineffectual as the Coalition’s. The real solutions aren’t complicated – but they need political will.

Profits in the mining sector are surging, but output is not – and the increased prices come at a cost to the rest of the economy

Less than 20% of consultants’ reports to government are published

By the middle of 2025 the average wage will be worth less in real terms than it was a decade and half earlier

Commonwealth on Track for Diminutive Deficit or Surplus in 2022-2023 In the lead-up to its 2023-24 budget, the Labor Government finds itself in an awkward position, accepting that the Jobseeker payment is “seriously inadequate” and an impediment to regaining work, yet professing that it lacks the financial capacity to afford a meaningful increase anytime soon.

New research shows fossil fuel subsidies over the forward estimates have increased to a record breaking $57.1b, up from the $55.3b forecast in 2022. As the federal budget approaches, future fossil fuel subsidies will cost 14 times the amount invested in the Australian Disaster Ready Fund, and more than the amount spent on the Australian

Stronger wage growth in the private sector is good news, but public sector workers continue to be left behind

In an extraordinary press conference in Darwin today, the NT Deputy Chief Minister denigrated 96 leading scientists and experts who had this morning called the NT Government to respect climate science by halting fracking expansion in full page ads, by suggesting ‘those people be a bit more practical and level-headed’, while announcing the NT would

As the Reserve Bank continues to raise rates, it continues to misread the nature of inflation that is being driven largely by profits.

Wages growth is rising slowly and inflation is falling faster than expected, and yet the RBA decided to hit the economy again with another rate rise.

96 leading Australian scientists and experts have called for the Northern Territory Government to follow the science and ban unconventional gas development because of its unacceptable impact on the climate. Signatories include many of Australia’s leading climate scientists including Professor Emeritus David Karoly, Professor Emerita Lesley Hughes and Professor Matthew England. Scientific experts also include

The Australia Institute Tasmania has called for stronger measures to address depleted fish stocks and prevent future overfishing in a detailed submission on the Tasmanian Government’s Draft Harvest Strategy for Wild Fisheries. The recommendation of ensuring fish levels stay at 48% of unfished biomass is in line with CSIRO recommendations that guide Commonwealth fisheries strategies.

Consulting firms who leak confidential information and breach public trust should be barred from winning Government contracts, according to a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the integrity of consulting services. Appearing today at the Senate Inquiry into consulting services, experts from the Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability program will warn that the over-use of

New research from the Australia Institute shows that eight in 10 Australians (80%) agree that the Federal Government should spend more money to directly build affordable housing in the Budget. The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Australians about their attitudes toward the Federal Government’s response to the housing crisis. Key Findings:

The government must change its stance on stage three income tax cuts and JobSeeker before it’s too late.

Inflation is falling steadily but hitting low-income households the most.

A 7% National Minimum Wage rise for low paid workers would help tackle the rising cost of living for those on award wages while having a virtually undetectable impact on economy-wide prices, new research from leading economists at the Centre for Future Work has found. The data comes as the Fair Work Commission deliberates about

Last month’s New South Wales election ejected the final mainland Coalition state government from office.

Wages under enterprise agreements are slowly rising, but remain well below inflation

New national research shows a majority of voters feel positive about switching Australian homes away from gas and moving to full electrification, as cost of living and climate concerns continue to rise. The report, based on a nationally representative survey of Australian households undertaken by The Australia Institute and SEC Newgate, reveals very little opposition