2014: we changed minds Our year in numbers TAI in the media Coming in early 2015: safeguarding QLD against corruption Give the gift of ideas this Christmas  2014: we changed minds By any measure, it’s been a big year for The Australia Institute. As the government sought to make sweeping changes, we worked with politicians

The budget’s hidden gender agenda The Chairman, the Commission and the questionable contract The (actual) facts about higher education TAI in the media Exciting news – TAI and Catalyst are merging   The budget’s hidden gender agenda In our workplaces men and women are treated differently and the situation is getting worse, not better. According to

Making the dash from gas You know all the gas company marketing that bangs on and on about gas being a cheap and clean form of energy? Well, turns out it is indeed just marketing. Quite distinct from reality. Are We Still Cooking with Gas is a new report from the Alternative Energy, which shows

Following new climate targets from the US, China and the EU, and the beginning of the UN climate talks in Lima, the World Coal Association (WCA) is bracing for continuing criticism over its high-emissions energy source. The WCA argues: Technologies such as high efficiency, low emissions (HELE) coal plants and carbon capture, use and storage

Divestment on the agenda Gender pay gap continues to cost women Are we beginning to overcome Indigenous disadvantage? Infographic Divestment on the agenda  Australia Financial Review might have gone totally overboard in its attack on ANU, but now it seems everyone’s talking about divestment. It was top of mind at the recent Responsible Investment Association of Australia

Australia’s $105 billion Future Fund has agreed to divest from tobacco, in recognition of the damage it causes to human health. However, the fund continues to invest public money in fossil fuels. When asked about this in a Senate inquiry on 20 November, Peter Costello, Chair of the Future Fund, said: The answer that the

New report shows Aussies walking the tightrope Like a Boss – hot tips for reclaiming your work day Queensland to invest in more mines  TAI in the media Infographic   New report shows Aussie workers walking the tightrope Do you stay in the office after hours? Check emails while at home? Work unpaid overtime for

The Commission of Audit was always going to be an exercise in ideology. We knew from the Terms of Reference and from the heavy influence of the Business Council of Australia. The Commission’s recommendations confirm this. So, we think it’s time for the People to audit the auditors – will you help us? Why, for example,

The Australia Institute, in partnership with the City of Sydney and the Economic Society of Australia NSW, is delighted to bring Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz to Sydney to address a public forum on the topic of “The Price of Inequality”.  Event details:Tuesday 8 July 20146.30 – 8.00pm.Sydney Town Hall  This event is FREE but you must

  First click Clicks 1 http://theausinstitute.nationbuilder.com/donate 41 8% 44 7% 2 http://theausinstitute.nationbuilder.com/donate 129 24% 170 27% 3 http://theausinstitute.nationbuilder.com/donate 255 48% 285 46% 4 http://theausinstitute.nationbuilder.com/mining_equity_and_or_btl 9 2% 18 3% 5 https://www.facebook.com/TheAustraliaInstitute 7 1% 8 1% 6 https://twitter.com/TheAusInstitute 2 0% 3 0% 7 http://australiainstitute.tumblr.com 28 5% 28 5% 8 http://theausinstitute.nationbuilder.com/unsubscribe 40 8% 42 7% 9 http://www.tai.org.au 2

Last week’s commitment by the Australian National University to divest its sizeable endowment from seven companies with questionable environmental credentials triggered a fierce backlash. The government has led the attack, with Treasurer Joe Hockey suggesting ANU was ‘…removed from the reality of what is helping to drive the Australian economy.’ In this morning’s Canberra Times,

Laws around clearing of native vegetation in New South Wales (NSW) are currently being reviewed. In October the Australia Institute released a report looking at agriculture in NSW and the impact of changes to native vegetation clearing regulations. The research has been criticised (here and here), particularly for not making reference to a claim by

All talk, no action Can you see what IPCC see? More coal is not the answer TAI in the media Infographic    All talk, no action Coal – it’s “good for humanity,” according to our Prime Minister and our Environment Minister thinks we’re “condemning people to poverty” if we don’t dig up lots of it.

The battle for jobs in the Hunter The Direct Action bet Weak excuses for a ‘real’ 20% RET The student debt crisis is real TAI in the media Infographic Share the eBulletin  The battle for jobs in the Hunter A few weeks ago we told you that the chief spin doctor for the NSW Minerals Council Stephen

Gough: Advancing equality in Australia We all lose from Medibank privatisation Coal not the solution to energy poverty TAI in the media Infographic Share the eBulletin  Gough: Advancing equality in Australia Poverty is a national waste as well as individual waste (Gough Whitlam, 1969 election campaign). With the passing of former Labor Prime Minister Gough

Today’s editorial in The Australian (24 October) claims: No sector has the right to be artificially insulated from uncertainty.…[the renewable energy sector has] always known that the RET has been opposed by Coalition and Labor MPs concerned to preserve jobs. The push for a cut in the Renewable Energy Target (RET) amongst Coalition MPs is

The NSW Planning Assessment Commission has just rejected the application to extend the Coalpac mines near Lithgow. The Australia Institute, alongside several community groups, has been involved in the long fight against these mines in the environmentally sensitive area adjacent to the Blue Mountains World Heritage area. In September 2014 the Australia Institute made a written submission

Peter Reith writing in the Australian Financial Review today claimed that: The coal industry alone provides about 200,000 jobs and brings in billions of dollars to our economy to underscore living standards. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics coal mining employs 37,800 people. Mr Reith’s claim is more than five times this number. This

Hysteria over divestment The mouse that roars:coal in the Queensland economy Is Australia still the land of the fair go? Politics in the Pub TAI in the media Infographic Share the eBulletin  Hysteria over divestment Billions of dollars in shares are traded every day without much commentary. So why has one investor’s decision to dump

The Treasurer Joe Hockey has described as “absolutely ridiculous” the idea that Australia is the highest greenhouse gas emitter in the OECD per capita. Amongst OECD countries, Australia is the highest emitter of greenhouse gases per capita.

It is anti-poverty week from 12 to 18 October. In Australian there is a system of welfare support for people whose circumstances may otherwise see them living in poverty. Australians who find themselves out of work can apply for the Newstart Allowance and the Age Pension provides support to people beyond working age. Despite the

We’re going on tour! Divestment movement hits a nerve TAI out and about TAI in the media Infographic Share the eBulletin  We’re going on tour! When Richard debated the NSW Minerals Council chief spin doctor Stephen Galilee two weeks ago, Stephen challenged Richard to visit the mining towns of NSW. Richard accepted his challenge on

This week an editorial in the Australian Financial Review criticised a decision by the Australian National University to end its investments in some fossil fuel companies and urged the university to “focus on finding genuine solutions, such as reducing the cost of carbon capture and storage (CCS).” Coincidently, a CCS project in Canada began operations

Thank you! Knowing RET from wrong Big business, little tax Gas campaign takes a blow Politics in the pub TAI in the media Infographic Share the eBulletin  Thank you! More than 250 of you have responded to our call and donated to help us go on tour with the NSW Minerals Council. Unlike the mining

On 1 October the Prime Minister argued “it seems fair and reasonable that university graduates should bear a slightly larger proportion of the costs of their benefit”. He said “the taxpayer will still support every student’s university education to the tune of about 50 per cent.” The 50 per cent figure is supposed to indicate

Welfare rhetoric out of control Banking on a better retirement, now Multinational business or a strong public sector TAI in the media Infographic Share the equity eBulletin  Welfare rhetoric out of control Changes to the welfare system were due to be debated in the Senate this week. The controversial measures include the plan to make

The government is currently conducting a “Review of retirement income stream regulation”. The discussion paper discusses “regulatory barriers currently restricting the availability of relevant and appropriate income stream products in the Australian market.” The paper doesn’t discuss the unfair regulations imposed on the government’s own income stream products, offered through Centrelink. Centrelink payments are usually

Big mining, big hyperbole Budget saves its biggest hits for women Extending the Pension Loan Scheme 63 of Australia’s leading economists agree TAI in the media Infographic Big mining, big hyperbole  We’re more than half way there!!! Huge thanks to all of you who responded to Richard’s message on Monday. We’re more than half way

The Sydney Morning Herald said on Wednesday that “hunger for Australian coal helped power the nation through the global financial crisis.” Mining was not the economic lifeline for Australia during the global financial crisis (GFC) it’s commonly believed to be. In fact, mining employment fell further than total employment during the GFC. The figure below

The miners have decided it is time to play the man not the ball, perhaps because they keep losing the debate whenever it revolves around the issues. Just consider what The Australia Institute has shown over the last few years: 1) the mining industry doesn’t employ many people  2) people think the mining industry employs a lot more people than it