A letter from the Australian government to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, obtained by The Australia Institute under Freedom of Information, misleads UNESCO to allay concerns about the damage industrial salmon farming is doing to Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage.  

(Spoiler alert: nothing!)

The three-day economic roundtable is over. After all the colour and movement, what did we get?

Latest decision on salmon farming almost certain to be catastrophic for endangered species, writes Eloise Carr

As Tasmania’s newly elected politicians jostle to form government, new analysis from The Australia Institute shows that a deal to address integrity would be popular among election-weary voters. 

It’s pleasing to see a real competition emerging for government in Tasmania the state election a fortnight ago. The Labor Party is finally off the bench and in the game – making a play for crossbench support to form government after refusing the last two opportunities to do so. So far, negotiations are focusing on

Australia has a proud tradition of impolite, inconvenient protest for worthy causes.

The Australia Institute and 30 other organisations from around Tasmania have published an open letter with 10 asks for the environment from whomever forms Tasmania’s next government. When cross-benchers and major parties have struck successful power-sharing agreements elsewhere, they covered policy as well as procedure, making now the ideal time for progress.

Tasmanians have returned another power-sharing parliament – it’s now up to the major parties to make it work.

This weekend saw Tasmania’s second election in just over a year, and the result means whoever forms government will need to work with the Greens or Independents if they want to govern.

The Macquarie Point stadium proposal is controversial. It’s also painfully expensive.

More Tasmanians agree than disagree that the major parties should seek to form government with Greens and Independents if they cannot form government in their own right, according to new polling commissioned by The Australia Institute.

Australia Institute research shows simple reforms to the GST would deliver a much-needed budget boost to Tasmania.

Regardless of who wins the July 19 state election, Tasmanians overwhelmingly want the government to rip up the dud stadium deal with the AFL.

Now that the dust has settled on the 2025 federal election, what does it mean for the representation of women in Australian parliaments? In short, there has been a significant improvement at the national level. When we last wrote on this topic, the Australian Senate was majority female but only 40% of House of Representatives

On Sunday in Hobart over 6,000 people protested against the harmful practices of foreign owned salmon industry in Tasmania. The Australia Institute’s Tasmanian director, Eloise Carr, spoke to rally participants about recent changes to national nature laws and how the Institute has raised this issue with the UN. Seventeen civil society organisations have written to

Sydney voters care about fish deaths and the impact of commercial fishing in Tasmania, according to a new poll.  

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.

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.

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,

How is Australia’s system unfair? If you get caught speeding in Australia, you will be fined with a flat-rate traffic fine. Exceeding the speed limit by 12km/h in New South Wales earns you a $361 fine, whether you are on government benefits or a billionaire. This is not a fair system. What about the principle:

The Australia Institute has launched a petition encouraging Australians to support Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to keep her promise of no more animal extinctions under her watch.

Salmon companies are ripping off Tasmania and trying to pass it off as yet another ‘jobs vs environment’ fight. This is the kind of fight that Tasmanian politicians love to have, and like performing seals, the Tasmanian government and opposition have lined up to bark and do their tricks. But the fight over salmon farming

Just 24 hours after The Australia Institute exposed the salmon lobby’s lies in the debate over fish farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, more misinformation has been spread by those with a vested interest.

Tasmanian MPs have not had a pay increase since 2018.

One year on from the commencement of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 reconsideration of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, new research released by The Australia Institute today shows a majority of Australians continue to support stopping fish farming where it risks the extinction of the Maugean skate.

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.

While voters in the United States of America await the results of the 2024 Presidential election race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, researchers from The Australia Institute will appear before a parliamentary committee to recommend improvements to Tasmania’s electoral system.

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.