Articles & Opinions
Shortlist for the Australia Institute Climate Cartoon Award
We are delighted to sponsor this year’s Australia Institute Climate Cartoon Award, organised by the Australian Cartoonists Association. The winner will be announced on Saturday, 30th November at the 40th Annual Stanleys Awards at Old Parliament House. This year’s shortlisted cartoons are as follows: Megan Herbert Judy Horacek Glen Le Lievre David Pope David Rowe
Eight things you need to know about the Government’s plan to change Australian elections
And eight ideas to improve it
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.
Secretive and rushed: Unpacking SA’s new electoral laws
As dramatic changes to South Australian electoral law pass the house of review (Legislative Council), voters could be forgiven for wondering “what just happened?”
A week ago, no one had seen the government’s revised Electoral (Accountability and Integrity) Amendment Bill 2024. Now, it’s set to become law.
Amy Remeikis and the Director of The Australia Institute’s Democracy and Accountability Program, Bill Browne, unpack how we got here … and what should happen next.
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.
A Time for Bravery
Welcome to The Australia Institute, Amy Remeikis
Amy is one of Australia’s most respected political observers.
She proudly swims against the tide of spin which swirls around the Canberra bubble.
This is her first column for The Australia Institute.
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.
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.
Toxic Trump ambitions could easily take hold in Australia
Strap yourselves in. Convicted felon Donald Trump has been re-elected president of the United States.
A big day for democracy … in Tasmania
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.
What to expect on Election Day: history could be made, or we’re in for a long wait
As Americans vote in one of the most important presidential elections in generations, the country teeters on a knife edge. In the battleground states that will likely decide the result, the polling margins between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are razor thin.
Climate change driving insurance premiums, adding to cost of living pressure and inflation
Climate change is driving an enormous increase in the cost of insurance with premiums massively outpacing price rises for nearly all other goods and services, making it unaffordable for many Australians.
There are no safe seats. Major parties have to get used to independent thinking
Since the 2022 election, commentators and reporters have debated whether the wave of new independents was part of a broader movement or just the reflection of a moment.
The role of the whistleblower in pursuit of climate integrity
Whistleblowers are critical to addressing the climate and biodiversity crises.
October 2024
Ozymandias Revisited – The doomed conceit of AUKUS
Three years on, there is still no compelling argument, strategic or otherwise, for Australia’s acquiring eight Virginia class nuclear-propelled submarines (SSNs). Nor is there any compelling calculation of the large lick of funding – $368 billion and more – that the program will soak up. Only Defence seems able to command such stupendous outlays when
There is no such thing as a safe seat | Fact sheet
A notable trend in Australian politics has been the decline of the share of the vote won by both major parties at federal elections. One effect of this is that there are no longer any safe seats in Australian politics: minor parties and independents win more “safe” seats than they do “marginal” ones. The declining
Federal Labor’s lesson from Qld defeat: bold progressive policies provide a pathway to a second term
There’s a lesson for the federal government from Labor’s narrower than expected defeat in the Queensland election: voters embrace progressive policies that address cost of living pressures.
The US election will change the world. Will we let it change Australia?
How has it come to this? The United States presidential election is a fight between a prosecutor and a convicted felon and the felon might win.
Six ideas to fix Australia’s secrecy problem
The Australia Institute’s inaugural 2024 Transparency Summit brought together experts, whistleblowers and those working to ensure the interests of all Australians are represented in our policy-making process. We are sleepwalking towards disaster when we accept the idea that the more secret we are about decision-making, the safer we’ll be. – Richard Denniss, Executive Director of
A lack of transparency and integrity lies near the heart of every political issue facing Australia.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
Australia Institute Launches Publishing Imprint
The Australia Institute is launching its own publishing imprint, Australia Institute Press.
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.
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.
Australia’s gas policy mess | Fact Sheet
Gas companies and the Australian government claim that Australia faces gas shortages, while multinational exporters are shipping record volumes of gas out of Australia. The prices that Australians pay for gas have gone up, while government revenue from gas production has gone down. What’s going on?
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.
Finding peace is hard, but unending mutual destruction is in no one’s interest
Like most of the US allies, Australia is caught between a rock and a hard place.
How parliaments share power | Fact Sheet
Parliaments are made to share power.
September 2024
Tanya believe this government’s environmental hypocrisy?
Shortly after the Minerals Council warned the government to undermine mining “at your peril”, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek approved three new coal mine extensions. This nature-destroying decision has come just a few weeks before the government is set to host the Global Nature Positive Summit. The government is clearly pursuing a small target strategy but,
The report the Prime Minister cites against changes to negative gearing actually shows housing would be more affordable and rents barely affected.
Rather than show negative gearing changes are bad, a Deloitte report cited by the Prime Minister concludes they would improve housing affordability and home ownership.
We don’t need nuclear power – the path to cheaper electricity is renewables
The last thing Australia energy market needs is nuclear power. The data is clear – more renewables will lead to cheaper electricity.
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