Who: “these fires are certainly not a function of climate change, they’re just a function of life in Australia.” Prime Minister Tony Abbott The claim: The Prime Minister is saying that climate change is not a contributing factor to the October bushfires in the Blue Mountains. The facts: Climate change is making Southeast Australia hotter

At the moment the Abbott government’s position on foreign investment is being put to the test. GrainCorp is subject to a takeover bid by American company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).  This bid has received approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and we now await the decision of Treasurer, Joe Hockey.

Do you think cars are better than planes? What about apples? Are apples better than sandwiches? It is hard to answer some questions because they don’t make much sense. Take our political debate about climate change, for example.

Peter Reith, Paul Howes and Innes Willox think lifting the ban on fracking in Victoria will stop gas prices from rising. Sorry guys, but you’re wrong. To think that more gas is going to stop the price going up misunderstands why the gas price is rising.

Who:  “The study by the Allen Consulting group …. argues the economies of Adelaide and Melbourne would be “devastated” by the closure of auto manufacturing.” The claim: That the economies of Adelaide and Melbourne would be devastated by ending taxpayer subsidies to the car industry. The facts: The claim is based on analysis commissioned by

While capitalism was built on the notion that new companies and industries would destroy old ones, the modern version of capitalism is far more clubby, far more polite and far less innovative. Innovative branding and marketing strategies are okay, but it seems the emergence of whole new industries would be going a bit too far.

Who: The size of the Commonwealth government ‘has expanded significantly’ according to the terms of reference for the National Commission of Audit. The claim: In the preamble to the terms of reference Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Mathias Corman said that there had not been a thorough review of the ‘scope, efficiency and functions

Tax is the price we pay to live in a civilised society. It is what funds our health system, our education system and our public transport infrastructure. Tony Abbott has just asked the head of the Business Council of Australia to advise him on how much we should spend on those things. Not surprisingly, the

Whether it’s a last minute meeting, a phone call that can’t be ignored or your inbox needs a clean out, many of you won’t manage to make it out the door today at the time you had hoped to. This scenario is the inspiration behind national Go Home on Time Day which will be held

Who: Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has instructed staff to publicly refer to asylum seekers as ‘illegal arrivals’. The Claim: The people who arrive on boats seeking asylum are doing so illegally. The Facts: Under the UN Refugee Convention, which Australia has signed, it is not illegal to arrive by boat and seek asylum in Australia. The

The issues of coal seam gas and free trade are combining to create a perfect storm for the National Party, and in turn, the Coalition government. Tony Abbott obviously saw the clouds on the horizon before the election and responded by declaring that a Liberal would hold the Trade portfolio for the first time since

Just as those in the world of Harry Potter refused to utter Lord Voldemort’s name for fear of their lives, the gas industry appears equally frightened of using the words ‘coal seam gas’ for fear it might hurt its profits. But just as calling Voldemort ‘He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’ didn’t make him disappear, calling coal seam gas (CSG)

Who:  “If some politicians get their way a container tax will be introduced…Every family in New South Wales will be slugged more than three hundred dollars every year.” –  Full page ad by the Australian Beverages Council, in Sydney Morning Herald, October 15 2013, page 6. The claim: That implementing a cash-for-cans style container deposit

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Last week, Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) chief executive Hennie du Plooy said in the Newcastle Herald that the proposed Terminal 4 project (T4) would “inject $770million a year into the regional economy during construction and another $418million a year” when operating. I don’t

Despite decades of debate, many economists can’t agree with each other about fundamental issues. We can’t agree what causes unemployment, we can’t agree what fixes it and we can’t agree whether we should run deficits when the economy slows down. Careers could be made on the length of some unresolved disputes with colleagues. Lawyers, on

If you believe the recent media reports about the composition of the Senate from July 1 next year, you’d think we were facing three years of the Clive Palmer’s Palmer United Party (PUP) “bloc” holding the Abbott government to ransom. But there are two important reasons to view such reports with scepticism…

What do Alan Jones, Ross Gittins and Mamamia have in common? Mining’s David vs Goliath II Abbott’s risky free trade policy Recent Publications Q: What do Alan Jones, Ross Gittins and Mamamia have in common? A: They all agree that The Australia Institute does research that matters! Rather than jump ship to New Zealand following

While the Coalition is yet to turn around a boat carrying asylum seekers, it has already made a stunning turnaround on the issue of government debt. Having raged against the ALP’s high-taxing, high-spending ways for the past six years Joe Hockey now wants us to be a bit more sophisticated in our approach to public finance. After spending years

Who: “The beverage industry, including Coca-Cola and Lion… estimate [a container deposit scheme] would cost the economy between $1.4 billion and $1.76 billion to set up.” Reported in Fairfax media. The claim: Coca-Cola claims that implementing a cash-for-cans style container deposit scheme (CDS) would cost the economy between $1.4 and $1.76 billion. The facts: The

Earlier this month the Greens lost more than 500,000 of the 1.6 million voters who supported them in 2010. Earlier this week Greens leader Christine Milne lost six of her most senior staff, including her chief of staff who cited fundamental strategy differences as the reason for his departure. Senator Milne, on the other hand,

If you can create a “crisis”, offer a snake oil solution, and make a lot of money out of both, then you are onto a good thing. All the better if you can blame someone else for causing it in the first place. That’s exactly what the coal seam gas industry is doing, in partnership

Winston Churchill once said, “never let a good crisis go to waste”. The gas industry clearly agrees with him. It has taken a problem of its own making and turned it into a reason why Australians should ignore all their concerns about coal seam gas and let the industry drill wherever it likes. And if

Who: “the bottom line is … it needs to be a buffer from major urban population centers not from hamlets, and the gas companies are saying the system in NSW right now is simply not practical or workable”. Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane The claim: The buffer zone in NSW is now not practical or

Who: Unemployment in the mining industry is over 10%, causing “considerable pain and disruption within the professional ranks of the minerals sector”.  The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AIMM),  reported in the Australian Financial Review’s hard copy as ‘Mining jobless rate soars’ (AFR 24/9/2013, p8) The claim: AIMM claims that “many highly skilled minerals

The carbon price has become the ultimate political symbol. But has this helped or harmed the cause for those who support it? For many progressives this symbol was so potent that they ran a “say yes” campaign for it even before they knew what it would entail. Regardless of the emission reduction targets or the generosity

Who: “We lost 80 years of prosperity for a whole state because of seven years of approvals which were unfinished.” Andrew Robb, South Australia Minister for Trade and Investment, referring to the failure of BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam expansion project in South Australia. The claim: That approval processes caused the failure of BHP Billiton’s expansion of

A common response from progressive Australians to electoral defeat is to threaten to move to New Zealand.  Just what moving to a country with a weaker economy, worse weather and a conservative government is supposed to achieve is typically left unsaid.  There is no doubt that if he sticks to his word there will be

Australia has listened, it has voted and it has decided. Australia wants political arrangements ‘other’ than what the major parties intended. It’s not what Sophie Mirabella expected before being ‘outgunned’ by the independent forces of Cathy McGowan and Tony Windsor. It’s not what ALP faceless man, Don Farrell, expected when he gave up his number

Small reforms to Senate preference voting could deliver a better and more stable system for everyone. A simple solution would be to ensure that parties which polled below a threshold, say 2 per cent, could disburse but not receive preferential votes. Such an approach would ensure no votes were “wasted” but at the same time

Who: “If Mr Abbott can justify his wild assertion of a 50 per cent reduction in emissions, he needs to tell us what alternative figures he is using, or immediately retract his fanciful claim.” Greens WA spokesperson on Climate Change, Robin Chapple MLC. The claim: The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott was incorrect in his comments