The government announcement on Tuesday that it accepts all of the recommendations of the Broadbent inquiry into the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is a high-water mark in the politics of perception. The commitment to spend $10 billion on renewable energy and energy efficiency helps convince the public that the government takes climate change seriously.

pramSince early 2010, The Australia Institute has researched the extent to which Australians who are entitled to government assistance are missing out. Given the populist focus on ‘welfare cheats’ we thought it would be interesting to examine the flip side of the coin. In Missing Out: Unclaimed government assistance and concession benefits we estimated that

Firms are keen on self regulation. They claim it works because they are transparent, accountable and good corporate citizens. In March, Rio Tinto released a voluntary report called Taxes paid in 2011, which showed the amount of tax that Rio Tinto paid worldwide. Rio was upfront in its press release on why it had produced

At a time when the mining industry is earning record profits you might be surprised to learn that it is also receiving $4 billion worth of government subsidies and concessions each year. In a new paper commissioned by GetUp, The Australia Institute provides a breakdown of the amount of support the industry receives, which includes

Late last week the ACT electricity price regulator released its draft electricity pricing decision for 2012-13. And the political response couldn’t have been more predictable. The Coalition raced to highlight that, out of an estimated $244 increase in annual household electricity bills, almost $190 was attributable to the carbon price. Labor and the Greens downplayed

‘Who’s using the hot water?!” You can often hear that shout from someone trying to have a shower while someone else in the house is trying to do the dishes. The reason is simple; most houses don’t install multiple hot water systems to ensure that everyone in the house can simultaneously use as much hot

In our latest TAI newsletter Andrew Macintosh and Deb Wilkinson from the ANU’s Australian Centre for Environmental Law explain the likely threat of the mining boom on the Tarkine. For eight years conservationists have fought to have the Tarkine rainforest in Tasmania included on the National Heritage List. Yet despite its eligibility it is under

If business groups really want a simpler tax system, let’s get rid of unfair tax concessions. Would they agree? In a world of spin there is a simple way to find out what people really mean: give them a choice to make. Big business in Australia is banging on and on about simplifying the tax

Labor’s short memory Who wins, who loses from the mining boom? FREE PUBLIC FORUMS IN CAIRNS AND BRISBANE Why do we subsidise industry? LOVE YOUR THINK TANK – help us reach our target of 100 Recent publications Recent media Events Labor’s short memory This week we have seen the adjectives fly after news leaked of

 After Durban, is climate change on the backburner? The Australia Institute will host Politics in the Pub in Canberra on Wednesday 14 March. Ian Fry is the International Environmental Officer for the Government of Tuvalu. He has represented Tuvalu as part of their delegation to climate change meetings since the start of the Kyoto Protocol

Solar subsidies just the tip of the enery policy iceberg, Crikey, 1 March Coal seam gas, Alan Jones 2GB, 14 February Economic models: uses and abuses, Counterpoint, 13 February The budget surplus and the banks, Weekend Sunrise, 11 February Super rort for wealthy, The Canberra Times, 3 February The very model of a future based

CSG economic modelling: On the alleged benefits of the Santos coal seam gas project in North West NSW, D Richardson, 14 February The use and abuse of economic modelling in Australia, R Denniss, 1 February Casual labour: A stepping stone to something better or part of an underclass?, D Richardson, 27 January Rubbery figures: An

 In 2004 we published a lengthy analysis of the role of non-government organisations under the Howard Government called ‘Silencing dissent’. In 2011 we were one of the first to provide a detailed critique of the view that everyone benefits from a mining boom in our paper ‘Mining the truth: the rhetoric and reality of the

”The cost-benefit analysis to taxpayers … is not just about the car industry jobs … it’s also about the importance of that skill system and that ability to innovate and that kind of equipment and machinery to the whole of manufacturing – and manufacturing employs around 1 million Australians.” Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 6 February

 The Australia Institute will host two events in Queensland in the coming fortnight to discuss the impact of the mining boom on the State’s tourism, manufacturing and agriculture industries. The events will focus on the 99 per cent of Queenslanders who don’t work in mining. CAIRNSTuesday March 13 6.00 – 8.00pm Civic Reception Room, Council

One of the first things the Rudd Government did when it came to power was remove gag clauses in government contracts with the not-for-profit sector. This was an attempt to start rebuilding relationships with the sector which had broken down so badly under the Howard Government’s culture of silencing dissent. In an interview with The

The Australia Institute will host a special event on Sunday 18 March with Senator Bob Brown and the author of the new book Rupert Murdoch: An investigation of political power Dr David McKnight. The Institute’s Executive Director Richard Denniss will lead a discussion on ‘media diversity and the power of media moguls’. David McKnight is

The left side of politics needs to get over its obsession with vision and leadership. While it may be hard for some on the left to admit it, it is pretty clear that John Howard was a radical, transformative and long-lived prime minister. He was never lauded, even by his own party, as visionary. But

Is it any wonder that Australia’s energy and climate change policy is in a permanent state of confusion when we have Martin Ferguson as the Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism, Greg Combet as the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Anthony Albanese as Minister for Infrastructure (but not energy infrastructure?) and Tony Burke

The New York Times recently asked its online readers a simple question: should the newspaper check the claims made by politicians before it reports them? The response was a torrent of bemused hostility. What, the readers wanted to know, did the newspaper think its job was? Much has been written in recent years about the

The mining industry is used to having its voice heard in Australian public debates, so it should come as no surprise that mining billionaires such as Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer would consider buying up a bigger slice of the Australian media. While the estimated $20m spent by the mining industry on television advertisements opposing

Imagine if you had $30 billion sitting in front of you. And imagine that you had been told to use it to boost the retirement incomes of Australians. Who would you give it to? Would you use some of it to boost the existing age pension? Would you put some of it into the superannuation

There is no doubt that the automotive industry plays an important role in the Australian economy, but there is also no doubt that the Gillard Government’s recent attempts to support it are like providing Panadol to a heart attack victim. It might make them feel a little less pain but it will do nothing to

To assert total costs of the regular process of updating poker machines as a cost of policy reform is simply absurd. No industry in Australia does a better job of taking from those with the least and giving to those with the most than the poker machine industry. The idea that using some of the

Should wealthy art collectors have to contribute to the cost of public galleries if they choose not to visit them, or should their contribution be refunded to help them extend their own collection? Should city residents have to contribute to the cost of upgrading regional hospitals they will never use, or should their contribution be

Summer is a terrific time to build political mountains out of molehills – policies that are not really meant to be acted on H ands up if you support social exclusion. No? Then by the Federal Government’s logic, that means you must support social inclusion. And if you support social inclusion, you must be appalled

What is it Australian politicians are afraid of? They can’t seem to take a strong stand on important environmental questions. In a rapidly changing world it’s reassuring that a few constants remain in Australian politics. Like the sounds of cicadas in the summer bush, the sounds of Australian politics always take on a distinctly summer

It is impossible for politicians to satisfy the conflicting desire for housing affordability while trying to keep home owners happy. Political priorities are often contradictory in Australia. We support individual freedom and liberty, but we accept that, in the war against terror, we must sometimes be searched or delayed at random. We support individuals taking

This edition of the Institute’s newsletter features: A great year -2011 in review Dr Richard Denniss Help needed: billions of tax dollars looking for a problem Lin Hatfield Dodds Big change or a lot of hot air? Dr Richard Denniss The rhetoric and reality of the mining boom David Richardson Bulky billing David Baker Why

Things you helped us achieve: 2011 wrap-up  Here at The Australia Institute we’re a big fan of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Irvine Index. Each week, economist Jessica Irvine condenses topical issues into salient numbers. After such a busy year at the Institute we thought it might be fun to create our own index which reflects