Polluted time: Blurring the boundaries between work and life, J Fear, 19 November Bulky Billing: Missing out on fair and affordable healthcare, D Baker, 28 October The Australian wine tax regime: Assessing industry claims, D Richardson and R Denniss, 28 September Mining the truth: The rhetoric and reality of the commodities boom, D Richardson and

Does this put pressure on their family life? A researcher at UNSW is interested in these issues and is hoping to talk to fathers with young children about their experiences balancing work and life. If this sounds like you or someone you know, please get in contact with George Argyrous at g.argyrous@unsw.edu.au or on 0432

Do you find yourself working back late? Never enough hours in the day to do all the things you need or want to do? Are work calls or emails getting in the way of enjoying free time? Or are you a manager who values your staff? Do you want to show them how important they

In theory, technology is supposed to make workers more efficient and productive. In practice, it may in fact do precisely the opposite. Rather than workers using these new tools to do their jobs more effectively, they are now increasingly beholden to those very tools. Just because technology has made work easier in certain respects does

Abbott takes a punt on repealing legislation Tony Abbott is making a habit of making promises he knows will be very difficult to deliver on. First, he promised to rescind the carbon price legislation if the Coalition takes government at the next election. As The Australia Institute pointed out, doing so would involve a protracted

Despite Medicare being introduced in 1984 to provide ‘fair and affordable’ health care to all Australians, many are now faced with extra costs for visits to the doctor, having prescriptions filled and diagnostic referrals such as blood tests and x-rays. New research conducted by The Australia Institute reveals that in total Australians are paying more

Bulky billing: Is Medicare working? Abbott takes a punt on repealing legislation Social stigma costs the unemployed Events Recent publications Recent media Bulky billing: Is Medicare working?  New research by The Australia Institute released today reveals that Australians are paying more than $1 billion each year in out-of-pocket expenses for medical care. Despite Medicare being introduced

Industry straddles both sides of ‘free trade’ debate, The Canberra Times, 28 October Patients $900 a year out of pocket, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 October Think tank questions value of resources sector, Lateline Business, 8 September Mining offers less than people think, The Age, 8 September You can catch Richard Denniss on The Bolt Report

Bulky Billing: Missing out on fair and affordable health care, D Baker, 28 October The Australian wine tax regime: Assessing industry claims, D Richardson and R Denniss, 28 September Mining the truth: The rhetoric and reality of the commodities boom, D Richardson and R Denniss, 8 September Mining Australia’s productivity, D Richardson and R Denniss,

Politics in the Pub – In conversation with ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher The Australia Institute will host its final Politics in the Pub for the year in Canberra on the evening of Wednesday 23 November. We are pleased to annouce that our guest will be the ACT’s Chief Minister Katy Gallagher. Ms Gallagher became

Last week was Anti-Poverty Week, an initiative designed to draw attention to the millions of Australians and billions of people around the world who live in poverty and the enormous disparity between their plight and the lives of the super-wealthy. One of the principle causes of poverty is unemployment. In many developed countries, the negative

Tony Abbott is making a habit of making promises he knows will be very difficult to deliver on. First, he promised to rescind the carbon price legislation if the Coalition takes government at the next election. As The Australia Institute pointed out, doing so would involve a protracted process which depends on many contingencies going

New research by The Australia Institute released today reveals that Australians are paying more than $1 billion each year in out-of-pocket expenses for medical care. Despite Medicare being introduced in 1984 to provide ‘fair and affordable’ health care to all Australians, many are now faced with extra costs for visits to the doctor, having prescriptions filled

As with all complex financial products, when it comes to emissions trading, all is not what it seems. Common sense tells us that banks would never lend money to people who have little chance of repaying it, but the collapse of the American banking system taught us that they do. Common sense tells us that

Nobody gets an easier run in Australian political debate than the modern “libertarian”. You know, the politicians and commentators who are the first to cry “freedom of speech” in the face of what they see as political correctness and the first to say “individual responsibility” when someone proposes regulation such as those designed to make

An equitable tax system is usually thought of as one that collects money from those who have the most to help provide support to those who have the least. How bizarre then that the Australian football codes are arguing that the money they take from problem gamblers hooked on poker machines is essential to their

The list of friends for Tony Abbott’s Direct Action Plan continues to shrink. The Australian Industry Greenhouse Network (AIGN) which co-ordinates, among others, the mining and manufacturing industry’s response to climate change issues has rejected the Opposition’s plan saying it would cost far more than the Coalition has claimed. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott responded by

One of the most interesting features of the mining boom is the way that it is opening up old, and unresolved, political and policy debates in Australia. Do we trust that the benefits to the small group of people directly involved in the mining industry will “trickle down” to the rest of us? Should governments

One of the main roles of a prime minister is to determine the priorities of their government. Should we focus on tackling climate change or on indigenous disadvantage, should we focus on making it easier for employers to sack their workers or should we focus on asylum-seekers? Of course with the entire machinery of the

Treasurer Wayne Swan is fond of telling anyone who will listen how much he wants bank customers to “walk down the road and get a better deal”. This sums up the government’s vision for reforming the banking sector: relying on consumers to drive change. Unfortunately, as a senior executive from the Bank of England, Andrew

The current debate about the introduction of a carbon price in Australia marks the nadir of policy evaluation and political commentary in Australia. It is hard to imagine an economic issue where there could be less reliance on established facts and consistent logic. Then again, recent developments in US politics suggest that we may indeed

We’ve heard a lot recently about how the internet is changing the retail landscape. Despite the extreme lethargy with which many of Australia’s largest bricks-and-mortar retailers have embraced online opportunities, consumers are increasingly turning to the web to find more products at lower prices, and without needing to go anywhere near a Westfield. What hasn’t