The mindless menace of violence
Instead of trying bring Americans together after the latest act of political violence, the Trump administration is fanning the flames of division.
Bell’s departure is overdue, but this crisis is not all her fault. Here’s why
Genevieve Bell, vice-chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU), has announced her resignation. Many will welcome this news.
Robodebt and super tax: Rob the poor, feed the rich?
When our most vulnerable are treated with suspicion, and our wealthiest get massive tax cuts, what does that say about our priorities?
Yes, Minister. The secret haggling behind the destruction of an ancient treasure.
It tells you a lot about who wields power in Australia that Woodside is being allowed to haggle in secret over the conditions of the North West Shelf expansion
As fascism rears its ugly head, we are trapped between the craven and the unwilling
Let’s take a bit of a look at responsibility shall we?
Imagine if a business or federal department acted like this. Here’s why unis get away it
The leaders of Australian universities are enjoying the best of both worlds when it comes to the way they are regulated, but students are getting the worst.
Will AI kill traditional media?
With large language models threatening to swamp Australia’s traditional media, a little bit of government funding could go a long way to protect public interest journalism.
Proposed changes to Freedom Of Information scheme don’t add up
New Australia Institute research reveals that the failures in Australia’s freedom of information (FOI) scheme lie with the government, not with applicants. The government’s proposal to limit FOI requests by charging fees instead of fixing the broken system misdiagnoses the problem.
“I’m not a dictator”: how Trump is consolidating executive power
Trump is behaving like “an emperor”, enabled by insufficient checks and balances on the power of the Oval Office.
Was your house freezing over winter? A bit more “red tape” could have kept you warm
“Deregulation” is back in the news, but this time it’s not Tony Abbott talking about “cutting red tape”, it’s Labor ministers.
Was your house freezing over winter? A bit more red tape could have kept you warm – new analysis
After a chilly winter, Australians are about to be hit with their winter heating bills. New analysis by The Australia Institute has found that a bit of red tape might have kept us warmer and kept our power bills down.
August 2025
Who’s going to stand up and make Nazis ashamed again?
A “March for Australia” rally sounds benign, but people who plan to attend the “March for Australia” rallies around the country on Sunday will almost certainly be marching alongside white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
Is population growth driving the housing crisis? Here’s the reality
Population growth is in the news again. The usual suspects are trying to whip up a scare campaign about immigration. So, let’s look at the actual numbers and put them into context.
Fossil-fuelled universities – Australian uni’s selling their integrity to coal and gas companies
Of Australia’s 37 public universities, 26 take money from fossil fuel companies, according to new research released today by The Australia Institute.
Economic round table recycles broken ideas
A genuine debate about how to boost Australia’s productivity should bring in a wide range of groups to talk about a wide range of options, but, alas, that’s not what happened in Canberra last week.
Three simple, fair steps which would raise 70 billion dollars a year in extra tax
New Australia Institute research has identified three simple tax reforms which would raise an extra 70 billion dollars a year without hurting low or middle-income Australians.
Delayed RBA cut is welcome, but borrowers are still lagging
The RBA has cut interest rates – five weeks too late.
Feeling hopeless? You’re not alone. The untold story behind Australia’s plummeting standard of living
A new report on Australia’s standard of living has found that low real wages, underfunded public services and skyrocketing prices have left many families experiencing hardship and hopelessness.
Rate cut welcome – but borrowers are still behind
The Australia Institute welcomes the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to cut interest rates today, but borrowers are still at least 0.25% behind where they should be.
Will Trump run again?
“Probably not…”
The problem with productivity
We discuss the proposals around corporate tax and artificial intelligence ahead of the government’s productivity roundtable.
The Productivity Commission is floating AI copyright exemptions – with worrying implications for Australian authors and publishers
In an interim report released overnight, Harnessing data and digital technology, the Productivity Commission has floated a text and data mining exception for the Australian Copyright Act. This would make it legal to train artificial intelligence large language models, such as ChatGPT, on copyrighted Australian work. AI training would be added to the list of
The big reform that could make our childcare system cheaper and safer
There is a sickness at the centre of Australia’s childcare system. The profit motive.
July 2025
Australia’s gun laws aren’t as strong as you think
Nearly three decades after the Port Arthur massacre, there are more guns than ever before in Australia and there is still no national firearms register.
Private health insurance is for the rich – the rest would rather better public health
ATO figures show that private health insurance is favoured by the rich and it should be subject to GST
The disempowerment of the ‘consumer’ in public services
We are all consumers. Every one of us.
Australia is a low-taxing nation
Also: the country is not too reliant on income tax.
While university leaders zip around the world, consultants are creating twin crises on Australian campuses
University leaders are keeping their institutions in the news for all the wrong reasons. Yesterday, it was University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) turn for a round of bad press.
Six months down, 42 to go (maybe…)
It’s only been SIX MONTHS.
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