With the PM announcing a raft of new spending initiatives people are asking ‘how will she fund it?’ The cost of super tax concessions is set to blow out from $30 billion per year to $45 billion per year. This blowout alone is enough to fund Gonski, NDIS and Denticare and still have change left

Saturday 8 September 5pm Canberra premiere screening of the documentary Bimblebox. For details click here. Monday 10 September 5.30pm Sydney Richard Denniss will participate in a panel discussion Austerity and Growth.  For details click here.  Wednesday 19 September 7.15pm  Canberra Politics in the Pub with Australian Greens Senator Richard Di Natale.  For details click here. Thursday

Will WA’s giant gas hub really be good for the economy? Productivity – lazy workers or lazy analysis? Research that matters Perception versus reality in Tassie forestry debate Date announced for national Go Home On Time Day 2012 Events Recent Publications Recent Media Will WA’s giant gas hub really be good for the economy? The

Will WA’s giant gas hub really be good for the economy? Productivity – lazy workers or lazy analysis? Date announced for national Go Home On Time Day 2012 Research that matters Perception versus reality in Tassie forestry debate Events Recent Publications Recent Media Will WA’s giant gas hub really be good for the economy? The

The Australia Institute has commenced a research project looking at how structural changes in the wider economy are affecting regional economies, using forestry in Tasmania and manufacturing in North-West Melbourne as our case studies. While our research paper will not be released for another month or so, the survey conducted for this project has revealed

Super subsidies: a budget spending secret, The Canberra Times, 7 August The rise of the climate sceptics, Crikey, 6 August Hurting the community, The Canberra Times, 4 August Time to untangle the web of renewable energy policies, Crikey, 3 August What we don’t know can hinder us, Australian Financial Review, 25 July Lower cost, lower

Inquiry into the allowance payment system for jobseekers and others, D Richardson, 9 August James Price Point: An economic analysis of the Browse LNG project, M Grudnoff, 9 August All the lonely people: Loneliness in Australia, 2001-2009, D Baker, 29 June Submission on Arrow Energy’s Gladstone LNG Plant proposal, M Grudnoff, 29 May For a

The end of growth: Richard Heinberg The Post Carbon Institute’s Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg will be in Australia in September conducting a speaking tour about peak oil and the economy of the future. Author of ten books, including The End of Growth, Richard will discuss the need to transition away from fossil fuels. His tour

Australia’s productivity is back in the news, this time a survey ranking us second worst of 51 countries for productivity growth. But productivity means lots of things to different people and often the discussion is very confused, not least amongst business people. On a recent visit to Australia the chief executive officer of Royal Dutch

It’s always gratifying when our back catalogue of research is given a new lease on life and in the past fortnight we’ve had reason to be extra pleased. Our research on nanotechnology, legal aid, dog-whistling in politics and the adequacy of unemployment benefits have all had another airing. Nanotechnology – The Australia Institute is supporting

The Western Australian Government together with Woodside is proposing to build the Browse LNG precinct on James Price Point in the Kimberley region of WA. Recently you may have heard a lot about the environmental consequences of doing so – the area is a known whale migration path – but there has been very little

The Australia Institute is supporting a complaint made to ACCC by Friends of the Earth (FOE) regarding claims made by Antaria Limited that the zinc oxide sunscreen ingredient it manufactures – ZinClear IM™ is ‘non-nano’. FOE have subsequently made another complaint about Ross Cosmetics which claims that products used to manufacture sunscreens for third parties

This edition of The Australia Institute’s newsletter features: Debt is not the villain Dr Richard Denniss Childcare’s market model in dire need of reform Eva Cox It’s hard to escape the big four banks David Richardson Illicit drugs: Changing the current prohibitionist paradigm Prof Bob Douglas A promise delayed, is a promise denied Bridget Griffiths

It’s that time of year again when we appeal to your generous nature, your love of progressive ideas and your support for ‘research that matters’ …. and your ability to claim it back as a tax-deduction!For us, it’s an opportunity to show you what can be achieved and why we think Australia needs The Australia

Politics in the Pub – Father Frank Brennan AO Australia’s 20 year search for a coherent, workable and moral asylum policy 2012 marks 20 years since the policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers was introduced by the Keating Government. Today, more than 4000 asylum seekers are being held in immigration detention, 460 of those

12 – research papers, compared to eight in the first six months of 2011 (on issues ranging from the impact of the mining boom, to the inadequacy of unemployment benefits, access to legal aid, pokies reform and the use and abuse of economic modelling) 18 – the number of years since The Australia Institute was founded

On Valentine’s Day in February we launched our LOVE YOUR THINK TANK fundraising drive with the goal of reaching 100 people who each month can help us work towards a more progressive Australia.  We’re delighted to say that we are just over half way towards reaching our target, with 54 people now signed up as

In the coming weeks we will be publishing new research on the rise and rise of the big banks, the economics of coal seam gas and fugitive emissions, and mapping loneliness in Australia. Further down the pipeline is work on the availability, affordability and quality of childcare, the importance of the co-operatives sector, and as

We don’t want our research to sit on a shelf collecting dust – our aim is to influence the debate, whether that’s via Lateline, Today Tonight, Crikey, The Global Mail, Sky, The Project, Triple J or Radio National Breakfast. And sometimes we’re lucky enough to land two spots on the ABC in one night, like

The Treasurer has just done the books for Australia and many of you will be preparing to do your own as the end of the financial year approaches. Don’t forget that all donations of $2 and above to The Australia Institute are tax-deductible. So if you’ve enjoyed receiving Between the Lines, please consider donating before

Thank you to all our Facebook and Twitter fans who contributed to the great success of our ‘Is Australia a high tax country?‘ infographic. It has had more than 25,000 views and more than 1,700 shares. Not bad for our first attempt! Over the coming months we hope to release a steady flow of infographics

 As the miners look tough, the government looks weak, Crikey, 7 May  Super changes penalise rich, ABC (PM), 3 May NAB keeps a bit on the side, giving rivals excuse to avoid full rate cut, The Canberra Times, 3 May Banks hoard rates cut despite huge pressure, The Daily Telegraph, 3 May End the price

TAI

Reading this year’s budget one is reminded of the cargo cult mentality that was expressed by Treasury in the late years of the Fraser government. Substitute Japan for China and this could be 1979 or 1980. At the time, then Treasury head John Stone lectured the nation on how it needed to import more rather

 In spite of the Treasurer’s boast of an economy “that has earned us a AAA-rating from all three major ratings agencies for the very first time in our history”, with a GDP of 1.5 trillion dollars, low unemployment (4.9%), low inflation (1.6%) and low interest rates (3.75%), the 2012 budget has failed to find an

The government’s obsession with achieving a surplus of one per cent of GDP seems to be the new medium term goal around which spending decisions have to conform. As the budget papers put it: In current circumstances, fiscal policy should be concerned with restoring the budget to a position consistent with the Government’s objective of

Budget speeches are always carefully scripted to try and influence how the media frames its coverage. This year the main message the government wanted conveyed was that it is spreading the benefits of the mining boom. But as is so often the case, the budget papers belie the priorities outlined in the Treasurer’s speech. Beyond