Santos has been salivating at the prospect of selling gas for two to three times the domestic price for years. But as the big pay day draws near, the company has started blaming protesters, who oppose the harm that gas exploration does to farms and forests, for the impending price rises; the same price rises

Despite the Abbott government carrying out their commitment to slash tens of thousands of public-sector jobs and the pride taken in the deterrence effect of the death of an asylum seeker on Manus Island, our deputy prime minister in waiting, Barnaby Joyce, describes $300 million from taxpayers to his constituency as proof that we are

The review of the Renewable Energy Target is the latest move from a Prime Minister whose actions on climate change don’t match his words, writes Matt Grudnoff in this open letter.

The government’s industry policy is a complete mess. They can’t seem to decide if they want to crack down on corporate welfare or spend big on industry development.   The high Australian dollar is going to continue to put manufacturing businesses under stress. Claims for assistance will keep on coming and the government is deeply

Would you support a trade agreement that prevented the Australian Government from requiring genetically modified foods to be clearly labelled? According to a recent survey by The Australia Institute, 73 per cent of South Australians would not. How about a trade agreement that allowed Australian television stations to show fewer Australian-made TV programs? According to

Class war, it seems, can only be declared on those who have the least. When laws are reshaped to pour money into the pockets of those with the most, however, it is more polite to call it tax reform.

It’s the month of love and we’re taking this opportunity to propose to you! We want to be your Valentine and not just for February. We’ve been doing some of our best work and trying to catch your eye, but the best research from the best people is expensive, so we thought it was time

The gap between the retirement incomes of men and women will never be solved by information campaigns, decision-making tools or new websites. Women earn around 17% less than men who perform similar work. Women are far more likely than men to take time out of the workforce early in their lives to raise children. Women

If you haven’t heard about the growing campaign for fossil fuel divestment, and what it means for both your retirement funds and for the global economy, it’s time to pay attention – because now even the World Bank is on board. At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim called for

Tony Abbott tore through Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd (again) but now, according to the polls, Bill Shorten is the most effective Opposition Leader in history. Abbott’s Coalition is the least popular new government on record and they haven’t even passed a horror budget yet. Incumbency used to be seen as a great

In the old Chinese proverb, the frog in the well thinks he knows everything about the world, based on the little patch of sky he can see. The view from the bottom of an open-cut coalmine might be a little wider than that of a well, but NSW Minerals Council chief executive  Stephen Galilee’s discussion of the role

It’s an election year in Indonesia and, like some Australian politicians, there are Indonesian politicians who are willing to put a surge in the polls ahead of sound policy. And like some of their counterparts in Australia, there are Indonesian politicians who think the easiest way to get a surge in the polls is to

Chinese mining company Shenhua has quite a battle on its hands.  It has loudly and proudly promised employment, investment, and royalties for the Gunnedah region, if its Watermark coal project goes ahead, but locals are publicly calling “foul” on Shenhua’s claims. Residents have managed to stuff the NSW government’s letterbox full of appeals against the

Bundaberg is experiencing a flurry of exploratory drilling for coal deposits. The local mining sector is buzzing, and its investors are trumpeting the region as Queensland’s newest coal centre.  They promise jobs, money, and a shiny white rabbit from under their hard hat! The Bundaberg community isn’t convinced.  They fear the coal mine expansion will

Mining industry lobby group the NSW Minerals Council this week released yet another report on mining’s importance to the NSW and regional economies.  Not surprisingly, the report contains lots of big numbers.   But this report, like many before it, is a case of ‘‘what’s true isn’t surprising and what’s surprising isn’t true’’. Let’s start

If Barry O’Farrell was serious about reducing alcohol-fuelled violence on Sydney streets there are solutions. He could regulate opening hours, increase the price of alcohol sold late at night or even set a maximum blood alcohol level for people in public places and empower the police to undertake random breath testing on our streets and

Who: ‘In the end, no government has ever subsidised its way to prosperity’. Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. The claim: Industry protection through mechanisms such as subsidies, doesn’t foster industry development. The facts: : Most economies, during a strong period of economic development, used direct industry intervention strategies.  Britain, provided protection for the East India Company

“Without doubt I think our biggest achievement this year was the judgement against Rio Tinto’s Warkworth coal mine. The Australia Institute has spent years arguing that the claims made by the mining industry about the amount of jobs they create are exaggerated and hearing a judge agree with that assessment in rejecting a new mine

Who: ‘One thing is for sure: no country has ever taxed its way to prosperity’. Treasurer Joe Hockey, delivering the Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The claim: High taxes are a barrier to increasing national income. The facts: The following graph plots the International Monetary Fund’s measure for GDP per person for various OECD countries

Sooner or later, the Abbott government will have to stimulate the economy using fiscal policy – just like the Rudd government did in response to the global financial crisis and the Howard government did in 2001. That was the key message to come from the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), released by treasurer Joe

Children who use the “but everyone else was doing it” defence don’t usually get very far. I remember my mother retorting: “If everyone else was sticking their head in an oven, would you do that too?” But while sharing risks may not be a great idea for kids, it is, it seems, the most popular way

Who: “Whilst the carbon tax was not a primary cause of the closure, it represents a substantial burden on an export-driven mine.” A company spokeswoman The claim: That the carbon price is a substantial burden on the coal mine and was partly responsible for the decision to shut the mine. The facts: According to an

I think that politicians work hard. I still think that even after Tony Abbott announced that the House of Representatives will sit for only 72 days next year. But the issue isn’t whether they work hard, it’s what they work hard on. Click below to read more of this article published in The Canberra Times.

What do the Libs have against the poor Nats? Direct action debate needs to be less black and white Centrelink changes may help those missing out This Christmas give the gift of good ideas Recent publications Recent media What do the Libs have against the poor Nats? While National Party voters may have breathed a

Who: “Unfortunately for the Leader of the Opposition, he is shattered that we are putting $1.2 billion into school funding that he ripped out of the school funding model before the election.” Minister for Education Christopher Pyne The claim: That Labor took $1.2 billion out of the Gonski education funding reforms. The facts: The previous

Free trade is overrated and collective ownership is underrated. It’s not the lefties and the greenies saying that, that’s what the Coalition government and some of the biggest businesses in Australia are saying. While most people pretend to support free trade “in principle”, in practice most of them lose their enthusiasm. 

The newly released report from the Victorian government’s Gas Taskforce is not surprising, given a recent article by its chair, writes Matt Grudnoff.

The idea that more flexible workplaces promise advantages to all is not new. For decades, Australians have been told that with the aid of new technologies, we can “work smarter, not harder” to achieve a better work-life balance and greater productivity. Goodbye to rigid nine-to-five office-based regimes. Employees will be able to negotiate working arrangements that

Social policy and conservative debt management policy do not always go well together and a good example is the question of what to do with outstanding student debt. Why would private interests want to buy it? It only increases by the CPI and would perform poorly as a financial investment. A term account with a