How would you feel if your super was invested in nuclear weapons companies? Well, in Australia, there’s a high chance it is.

On Saturday 19 October, 20 organisations, including the Australia Institute, published an open letter calling on the Rockcliff Government to acknowledge the damning findings from Tasmania’s 2024 State of the Environment Report and commit to reversing the state’s environmental declines.

Australia is one of the lowest-taxing countries in the developed world. While it is sometimes suggested that Australian governments spend too much, the reality is that Australia raises very little tax revenue compared to similar countries. Insofar as Australian governments have a problem balancing revenue and spending, that problem lies in the level of revenue

Last week, the federal government announced plans to define menstrual products as “lifestyle-related” and exclude them from NDIS funding.

Is government spending inflationary?

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.

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

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.

“We are recommending a tax on fast fashion to protect Australian businesses and also protect the environment.”

Digging into details of the Future Made in Australia plan, does the Government’s actions match their rhetoric?

Inflation has stopped falling, but there’s no need for a further rate hike, says Greg Jericho.

“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

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

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,

In 2019 the Australia Institute identified ambitious, progressive policies from the Australian Capital Territory, most of which are overwhelmingly popular among all Australians. Five years on, we have an update on how these policies have progressed in Canberra and around Australia.

An on-the-ground video investigation into native forest logging and the people trying to protect the last refuges of some of Australia’s most iconic wildlife.

Ongoing logging within the boundaries of the proposed Great Koala National Park threatens the survival of endangered species and contradicts conservation efforts, writes Stephen Long.

“Gina Rinehart and the mining industry already get out of paying excise on petrol. So I can see why she thinks everybody should avoid it.” – Executive Director Richard Denniss on Channel 9’s the Today Show.

The Australia Institute’s analysis of the 2024 Federal Budget finds that while there some big numbers and good measures, there’s no meaningful solutions to issues such as inequality, housing or climate change.

The government failed to make a dent in the structural challenges facing housing, social security and the climate in its pre-election budget, says Senior Economist Matt Grudnoff.

Inflation will remain higher for longer, but a recession is not the solution, says Greg Jericho.

The government has the power to make significant and long-awaited improvements to the JobSeeker scheme in this federal budget, but it has to make it a priority, says Greg Jericho.

Soaring house prices, high household debt and the pervasiveness of variable rate home loans mean that Australians bear the brunt of interest rate rises, says Greg Jericho.

By waiting for a carbon credit scheme to be established before delivering its Great Koala National Park, the New South Wales Government is putting the species at risk, says Stephen Long.

A budget surplus doesn’t mean a government is good at running the economy – we should focus on the choices they make instead, says Greg Jericho.

With unions calling for a five per cent increase to award wages, business groups are crying wolf over the proposal’s impact on inflation and unemployment, says Greg Jericho.