Peter Dutton confirms excessive gas exports hurt Australia
In his budget reply speech, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton confirmed what Australia Institute research has long shown – the gas export industry is hurting Australians.
Sydney smells the stink from Tasmania
Sydney voters care about fish deaths and the impact of commercial fishing in Tasmania, according to a new poll.
A dark day for the environment – and democracy
This is a dark day for two of Australia’s greatest treasures: the environment and our democracy.
Don’t gut our environment laws
The Government’s proposed environmental law changes are an attack on our democracy and could benefit destructive industries far beyond Tasmania’s coastal ecosystems.
The Prime Minister should take his own advice
Ten years ago, Anthony Albanese launched a passionate defence of the laws which are designed to protect Australia’s environment.
Fossil fuel subsidies hit $15 billion, as crossbench seeks reform
New research from The Australia Institute has found that state and federal governments have given $15 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel producers and major consumers in the 2024-25 financial year.
Undemocratic environment laws to silence the public
The Federal Government and Opposition are proposing to weaken environmental protections and stop community groups from protecting nature.
Fish out of water
Chunks of dead salmon have washed up on Tasmanian beaches and the Maugean skate is at risk of extinction, so why won’t governments to more to rein in the salmon industry in Tasmania?
In 2023-24 Australians paid more than 4 times on HECS/HELP than gas companies did on PRRT
In 2023-24 tax from the PRRT was less than an quarter the amount raised by HECS/HELP debts repayments.
Bombshell FOI reveals fish farms have been inadequately assessed for impact on threatened species and World Heritage
Documents released today under Freedom of Information reveal advice to the federal government that salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour should be comprehensively assessed under national environment law, for its impact on the endangered Maugean skate and the harbour’s World Heritage value. The advice was provided in November 2023 as the ‘likely outcome’ of reconsidering a 2012
Nurses pay more tax than the oil and gas companies
Over the 10 years to 2023-24 nurses paid $7bn more in tax than did the oil and gas companies.
60 jobs: The salmon industry finally comes clean
Ever since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s letter pledging to protect the foreign-owned salmon industry at the expense of world heritage wilderness, an ecological disaster has unfolded in Tasmania.
February 2025
Australians must be protected from diseased salmon
With an unfolding ecological disaster in Tasmania, salmon farmers have a duty to protect Australian families from diseased, dying or dead fish.
Woodside’s North West Shelf gas export project: a disaster on five fronts
Australia Institute analysis reveals Woodside’s North West Shelf gas export project is driving up WA energy prices, threatening the state’s domestic gas reserves, paying even fewer royalties, corroding one of the world’s greatest artistic treasures, and wrecking the climate.
Creating jobs and building a good society while meeting the global warming challenge – Doug Cameron | Climate Integrity Summit 2025
Far from costing Australians, decisive climate action will, in fact, strengthen Australia’s economy, security, community wellbeing and international influence.
Secrecy, Prime Ministerial promises, now mass deaths – time to clean up Tasmania’s salmon industry
Australia’s Administrative Review Tribunal has ordered the federal government to release a ministerial brief on the prospective extinction of the Maugean skate, recognised for its World Heritage value, in a win for government transparency over a culture of secrecy.
PM’s move to protect foreign companies undermines democratic process
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s letter to the Tasmanian salmon industry, promising new federal environmental laws to protect the foreign-owned businesses, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines government process.
Something fishy about PM’s reported pledge to salmon industry
There are reports today that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has written to the Tasmanian salmon industry, assuring its future in Macquarie Harbour.
Australian Government urged to release response to UNESCO concerns about Maugean Skate
The Australia Institute and 13 other organisations have written to UNESCO, the World Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, to highlight the plight of the endangered Maugean skate and request their assistance to prevent its extinction.
Private sector demands ‘real zero’ policies and an end to fossil fuels
Some of Australia’s best-known and most respected industry, business and community leaders have written an open letter to state and federal MPs calling for an end to the “net zero smokescreen” to “secure Australia’s prosperity”.
95 top Australian and international artists unite to stop the destruction of one of the world’s greatest artworks
Many of Australia’s most renowned artists, writers and musicians are calling on Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to stop the destruction of one of world’s most important artworks and cultural heritage sites, the Murujuga petroglyphs in Western Australia.
January 2025
Political Candidates Urged to Pledge Support for Protecting Endangered Maugean Skate in Macquarie Harbour
The Australia Institute is inviting politicians and candidates to show they are willing to listen to the science and pledge their support for protecting the critically endangered Maugean skate. Several politicians and federal election candidates have publicly endorsed the petition, including: Andrew Wilkie MP, Independent Member for Clark Senator Nick McKim, Australian Greens Peter George,
The Election at the End of the World
In the wake of the catastrophic LA fires, how do the Australian major parties shape up on climate policy?
$10,000 fine manifestly inadequate for Santos oil spill
A $10,000 fine issued to Santos for a large oil spill off the coast of Western Australia is little more than a slap on the wrist for the multi-billion-dollar gas company. But it’s a slap in the face for anyone concerned with protecting Australia’s natural environment.
December 2024
There’s nothing naughty about being poor. Why Christmas is a horrible time for kids living in poverty
The busiest shopping weekend of the year is upon us, where shopping malls become a desperate frenzy of overindulgence and waste. But spare a thought for those who can’t afford even the trimmest of trimmings this Christmas.
Minister’s early Christmas gift to coal companies
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has given an early Christmas present to coal companies by approving three new mine expansions – Caval Ridge (Qld), Boggabri mine (NSW) and Lake Vermont (Qld).
Queensland has more coal mines than ever before
Remember when BHP threatened that Queensland was going to “rue the day” that coal royalties were changed to get more money for Queenslanders? How mining companies were going to desert the state? New data from the Queensland Government shows that there are more coal mines in the state now than ever before, with 58 operating
Neighbour from hell – A Pacific plea to Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton
A group of Pacific Island Elders, including two former leaders, have written an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, urging them to stop approving new fossil fuel projects.
Coal royalties are a tiny part of the NSW Budget
The people of Australia collectively own all the resources under the ground. This means that the coal in NSW is the property of the Australian people too. Because of this, mining companies have to pay the NSW Government a “royalty” if they want to dig up and sell coal. Royalties are not taxes. They are
Coal royalties a tiny part of NSW Budget
Coal royalties do little to fund schools, hospitals, teachers or nurses, despite frequent claims to the contrary from politicians and the mining industry, new research from The Australia Institute has found.
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