Articles & Opinions
July 2024
Over 30 organisations urge the Rockliff government to release Tasmania’s decade-overdue State of the Environment Report
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.
Why Queensland is Miles ahead of the game
Canberra doesn’t really have a fossil fuel industry, which perhaps explains why we lead the country in decarbonising our economy.
Value for money? The princely salaries of private school principals
While public school funding lags, principals of private schools are paid up to four times their state system counterparts.
History shows American political violence is nothing new: Thomas Jefferson said ‘the blood of patriots’ is liberty’s ‘natural manure’
If you select “virtually any date in US history, it would be possible to find the same poisonous ingredients [… that] percolated violently to the surface on January 6th, 2021,” writes journalist and historian Nick Bryant in his new book, The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself. Over two centuries ago, in 1787, Thomas Jefferson,
June 2024
Muddled answers and outright lies: what the Biden-Trump debate says about the dire state of US politics
There are no parallels for the first debate of the 2024 US presidential election cycle.
As the Coalition goes nuclear, Labor is free to ensure fossil fuels are burned with abandon and little scrutiny
The sham of Australia’s climate change policy has been made clear in the past two weeks.
What Assange means for the AUS/US relationship – Dr Emma Shortis on ABC News | Video
“The US-Australia alliance is consistently described as being based on shared democratic values.”
Why the US government’s pursuit of Julian Assange was becoming both damaging and untenable
Today, in a surprise development likely weeks in the planning, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was able to leave the United Kingdom for the first time in more than a decade after reaching a plea deal with the US government.
The Minerals Council REALLY wants you to feel good about coal: Spin Bin | Video
The Minerals Council recently released an ad promoting the coal industry in Australia, which uses some figures that don’t stack up.
Webinar: Stop passing the buck -Workers’ compensation and ‘gig’ workers
Workers’ compensation and rehabilitation are amongst the most important legal issues facing the ‘gig’ economy. This reflects the potential vulnerability of these workers and their families, co-workers, and community to harsh and long term consequences from injuries. For a while, it looked like federal industrial policy might ‘solve’ the workers compensation problem by redefining ‘gig’/platform
“I studied economics to better understand the world and equip me with better tools to serve society”
Prof Anis Chowdhury, an Associate of the Centre for Future Work, was recently appointed Emeritus Professor at Western Sydney University, in honour of his decades of influential work in progressive macroeconomics and development economics. Prof Chowdhury’s address on occasion of his installment provides an overview of his evolution as a progressive economist and significant impact on global policy:
Bring out yer dead! Amid nuke hype Tanya Plibersek approves Gina Rinehart’s gas pipeline
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has just approved a new coal seam gas pipeline in Queensland.
The Seamless scheme and developing an Australian circular textiles industry
Every single year in Australia over 200,000 tonnes of textile waste go to landfill, and more than 100,000 tonnes are shipped overseas. Australia must somehow scale this 300,000-tonne mountain of clothing if the nation is to make the textile industry circular by 2030.
Households are hurting. Savings are weak. The future’s uncertain. Is a rate cut near?
The Reserve Bank’s decision to keep rates steady reinforced that the economy at this moment remains one with both good and bad signs, and the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, is refreshingly upfront about the difficulties.
Australians buy more clothes than any other country | Video
“We are recommending a tax on fast fashion to protect Australian businesses and also protect the environment.”
Obsessing over the inflation rate misses one key point: the economy is more than just how fast prices are rising
Over the past few weeks some economists and commentators have become rather obsessed and unhinged about Australia’s inflation rate.
Machiavelli would have known what to do about PwC
Today, the name of Niccolò Machiavelli is a byword for cynicism and hunger for power, but there was one profession so parasitic and selfish even he could not stomach it.
“Shocking” near-zero growth a sign that rates are hurting the economy – Jericho
High interest rates have dramatically slowed the economy, pushing many households to their limits, says Greg Jericho.
Australia is on the brink of recession. So why does the RBA think we are spending too much?
The latest GDP figures reveal that the RBA has got its wish of an economy growing so slowly that it teeters on the edge of a recession.
The fatal flaw in Australia’s renewable energy superpower plan | Video
Digging into details of the Future Made in Australia plan, does the Government’s actions match their rhetoric?
Trump Already Weaponising Guilty Verdict | Video
“This is a narrative that Trump has been running for a long time, saying that the Department of Justice is in particular, but the entire security state is completely corrupt.” “Trump has been really effective at weaponising that narrative and in galvanizing his base in particular.” – International & Security Affairs Senior Researcher Dr Emma
No need for panic over ‘sticky’ inflation: Jericho
Inflation has stopped falling, but there’s no need for a further rate hike, says Greg Jericho.
The future of journalism at stake in Assange case
The United States Government’s indictment of Julian Assange has major implications for the future of public-interest journalism, according to his legal advisor.
For a robust democracy, we need a working anti-corruption system and truth in political advertising
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.
What Donald Trump’s fiery reaction to his conviction says about this moment in US politics
In the week leading up to the conviction delivered in a Manhattan courtroom on Friday, right-wing media was focused on Donald Trump’s innocence.
May 2024
Majority of Offshore Gas Projects Paid ZERO Royalties | Video
“The Australian public thinks the gas industry should be paying for the gas.” “We can keep doing dumb things if we want to. But if this Government wants to have more money for schools, more money for hospitals…there is a simple tax reform opportunity here.” – Executive Director Richard Denniss on ABC The Business
The Assange litmus test and the fight to shape a future Trump administration
Who would have thought that the legal and personal travails of Julian Assange, the Australian citizen whom US authorities are invested in prosecuting and jailing for the rest of his life without deep consideration of his fundamental rights, would become a lightning rod for former President Trump’s re-election hopes?
Great Gas Giveaway Press Conference | David Pocock, Monique Ryan, Richard Denniss
Australia Institute research has found that 56% of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational gas corporations for free. Around 80% of Australia’s gas is exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Most of this gas is extracted from gas fields in Commonwealth waters, but the Australian Government
“Extraordinary” No royalties paid on 56% of gas exported from Australia | Video
Gas companies are meant to pay royalties for the right to extract and sell Australian gas. But no royalties are paid on 56% of gas exported from Australia. Report author Mark Ogge joined ABC News to discuss. A new report from the Australia Institute, Australia’s Great Gas Giveaway, shows that over the last four years,
‘Sticky’ inflation is not falling – but it’s not rising, either. Why should that mean another RBA rate hike?
The latest inflation figures released on Wednesday showed that inflation is “sticky” and is no longer falling at the pace it was earlier this year.
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