Small change for Big Cash
The government locks-in cash for essentials, plus Elinor dreams of a mortgage and Greg contemplates the passage of time.
Go Home on Time Day 2024: Exposing the $91 billion rip-off smashing exhausted Aussie workers
Despite new Right to Disconnect laws coming into force earlier this year, new research reveals Australians are still working an average five weeks’ unpaid overtime each year.
Appointing the former INPEX general manager as the NT interim Territory Coordinator is a terrible move
Gas giant INPEX is notorious for not paying tax and now the NT govt is giving a former exec power to exempt gas projects from environmental regulations
Pacific Labourers overtaxed and exploited in Australia
The Pacific-Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is often presented as being beneficial to all parties—Australia, Pacific workers, and those workers’ home countries. In reality, the benefits are weighted in favour of Australia.
Research shows people living in rural areas have a much lower life expectancy
The closer you live to the city and the richer your post code, the more likely you are to have a longer life.
All I want for Christmas…
…is an interest rate cut, says Greg Jericho.
No way to treat family: Pacific Labourers overtaxed and exploited
Fruit pickers and meat workers who fill chronic labour shortages in Australia are being overtaxed and exploited, new research from The Australia Institute has found.
How to fix Australia’s broken childcare system so everybody wins
The potential social and economic benefits of early childhood education and care are huge.
Private health insurance is a dud. That’s why a majority of Australians don’t have it
Right now, final submissions are being made by private health insurers to the government for an increase in insurance premiums next year.
Albanese government rewards foreign company for driving endangered species towards extinction
The Albanese government has today announced it will spend more than $21 million of taxpayers’ money directly on propping up the salmon industry, which does not appear to have paid any corporate tax since 2019-20.
Corporate profits increase inflation | Fact Sheet
The prices of many goods and services have increased dramatically across Australia since 2021. This has resulted in hardship for many households—along with $100 billion in increased profits for major companies. These corporate profits have been a key factor driving inflation.
Less for more: Australia’s dud private health insurance system
Private health insurance is getting more expensive and covering less – it’s time for a major rethink, says Greg Jericho.
How much does Westpac contribute to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter? Much less than you might think.
Westpac may have recorded a 7-billion-dollar profit in its latest financial accounts, released yesterday, but its contribution to the iconic rescue helicopter which bears its name and logo is much less than most people think.
The crushing cost of a university education: Hungry, sleep-deprived students loaded with debt
A new report shines a light on the skyrocketing cost of a university education in Australia, with students skipping meals, living in poverty and forced to work full time while also studying full time.
October 2024
The free market: no problems, ever!
From the number of retirees experiencing poverty to the lack of competition in the banking system, the state of Australia’s economy leaves a lot to be desired, says Greg Jericho.
Our broken super and pension systems condemn retirees to poverty
Australia’s “broken” superannuation and pension systems are condemning a growing number of retirees to financial misery in their sunset years. More than one in five Australians live in poverty when they retire. And that number is growing. With housing affordability at an all-time low, many Australians now face the brutal double whammy of going through
Minister shows lack of leadership again, as endangered species faces extinction
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has, once again, delayed making an important decision to save the endangered Maugean skate in Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Super-powered nukes: Is your superannuation funding weapons of mass destruction?
When you choose your superannuation fund, you’re probably not thinking about weapons of mass destruction. But it might surprise you to learn that if you’re with one of Australia’s largest funds, your money is going into the production of nuclear weapons. Research published last month by Quit Nukes and The Australia Institute found that 13
The misery business: why economists should cheer up about low unemployment
Record numbers of Australians are employed – that’s a great thing, despite what the interest rate doomers are telling you, says Greg Jericho.
Australian super funds investing in nuclear weapons companies
How would you feel if your super was invested in nuclear weapons companies? Well, in Australia, there’s a high chance it is.
On your bike. Policies to increase rates of active transport
A new report by The Australia Institute shows that less than 1% of federal road funding goes towards infrastructure for active transport like bikes and scooters.
Inaction “not an option” after damning report into the state of Tasmania’s environment
On Saturday 19 October, 20 organisations, including the Australia Institute, published an open letter calling on the Rockcliff Government to acknowledge the damning findings from Tasmania’s 2024 State of the Environment Report and commit to reversing the state’s environmental declines.
The Liberal’s plan to boost housing is just a $5bn gift to property developers
The Liberal Party’s announcement this week to spend $5bn on infrastructure over 5 years to “boost home building across Australia” will barely make a difference – except to the profits of property developers.
Experts warn WA Government of gas price threat from Woodside’s export extension
New Australia Institute analysis shows that Woodside’s North West Shelf (NWS) Extension proposal represents a major threat to WA’s domestic gas market. The proposal is seeking approval from WA Environment and Energy Minister Reece Whitby. Today The Australia Institute is joined by two former WA premiers, Carmen Lawrence and Peter Dowding, and oil and gas
Government is ‘nature positive’ in the same way asbestos is lung positive
It’s like an episode of Utopia or Yes Minister – just a week out from the government’s Global Nature Positive Summit, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek approved three whopping coal mine extensions in NSW.
Australia can make speeding fines fair with proportional model: Report
Making traffic fines proportional to drivers’ incomes, as is done in Finland, is a fairer system according to a new report from The Australia Institute, supported by Uniting Vic Tas and Financial Counselling Victoria.
Are you feeling NATURE POSITIVE?!
Corporate spin and complex markets distract from real solutions to Australia’s climate and biodiversity crisis, says Greg Jericho.
Super-powered nukes: Aussie funds and weapons of mass destruction
Australian superannuation funds have been investing in nuclear weapons, according to new research.
The government’s coal approvals could make the housing crisis worse
By choosing to extend three coal mines, the government could be inadvertently redirecting construction workers from building houses to the fossil fuel industry.
Are the Big Two too big? Reining in the supermarket giants
Senator Nick McKim joins us to discuss the ACCC legal action against Coles and Woolworths and why the government should have the power to break up the Big Two.
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