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

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.

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

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

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:

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

Tasmanian MPs have not had a pay increase since 2018.

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.

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.

Tasmania’s Government has failed to publish a State of the Environment Report since 2009,
despite having a legal obligation to do so every five years.

Transparency, integrity and accountability were buzzwords of the 2024 state election, yet Tasmanians went to the polls without knowing where their politicians get their money, without laws requiring truth in political advertising, and without an anti-corruption body that is fit for purpose.

Tasmanians have been badly served by its government’s exaggerated fears about the condition of the state budget.

The Australia Institute Tasmania’s work was critical to triggering the federal EPBC review of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.

The Australia Institute Tasmania’s work was critical to triggering a federal EPBC review of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, given new scientific evidence shows the endangered Maugean skate, a ray-like animal, is at risk of extinction due in large part to salmon farming.

‘Thylacine of the sea’ at risk of extinction this summer if salmon farming doesn’t cease in Macquarie Harbour

Tasmania’s native forests are globally recognised for their unique species and conservation value, as well as being some of the most carbon dense forests on the planet.