Australians see review and scrutiny role for Australian Senate as Greens likely to hold sole balance of power
At last Saturday’s election, the Albanese Labor Government won a large majority and a historically significant swing towards it, but seven in ten Australians still expect the Senate to review every government policy on its merits.
Open letter calls on newly elected Parliament to introduce Whistleblower Protection Authority, sustained funding for integrity agencies to protect from government pressure.
Integrity experts, including former judges, ombudsmen and leading academics, have signed an open letter, coordinated by The Australia Institute and Fairer Future and published today in The Canberra Times, calling on the newly elected Parliament of Australia to address weaknesses in Australian political integrity. The open letter warns that a decade of decline in agencies
Polling: Majority of Australians support power-sharing parliament
Most Independent / Other voters support crossbench to negotiate for best outcomes for nation and electorate
What a power-sharing parliament may hold
Over the course of the election campaign, there’s been a lot of fear-mongering around the prospect of a “hung parliament” or “minority government”.
April 2025
Reforms would sharpen the teeth of Australia’s anti-corruption watchdog
Almost two years after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) began operations, it is at a crossroads.
Election 2025: Outer suburban stories, told by inner city journalists
It’s widely predicted that Saturday’s federal election will be decided by voters feeling the cost-of-living squeeze in the outer suburbs of our capital cities.
Voters overwhelmingly support stronger whistleblower protections – new poll
New polling research by The Australia Institute reveals that 86% of Australians want stronger legal protections for whistleblowers.
Six reforms to fix Australia’s new, deeply flawed political finance regime
The Australia Institute, The Centre for Public Integrity, the Australian Democracy Network and Transparency International Australia have come together to identify six key reforms to redress the unfairness created by the Commonwealth’s new political finance laws, and make real progress on combatting the influence of vested interests on the exercise of public power.
Newspapers are dying. News diversity died years ago.
New research by The Australia Institute has found the slow death of newspapers in Australia has led to a plunge in media diversity and local storytelling.
Albanese Government policies popular, but not well known
Most Australians fail to recognise some of the key policy measures introduced by the Albanese government, new polling research shows.
March 2025
Mythical shortages and a manufactured “crisis” – How the gas industry uses AEMO data to trick Australians
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) will this week release its annual Gas Statement of Opportunities.
Pay a fortune in premiums or risk losing everything – the brutal reality of Australia’s insurance crisis
Struggling families who ditch their home and contents insurance would lose three-quarters of their wealth if their home was destroyed, according to new research by The Australia Institute.
Making billions yet crying poor
Australia’s biggest private health insurers are making billions but, at the same time, crying poor so they’re allowed to hike premiums.
February 2025
Cutting the public service saves nothing
Reducing the size of Australia’s public service is often characterised as a way to save the country money and make government departments more efficient.
Giving our consumer watchdog more teeth to tackle companies gouging shoppers
Australians know they’re being ripped off at the supermarket checkout.
Dutton’s divesture plan good for retail companies, but it’s climate change which is driving insurance costs up
The Coalition’s proposed divestiture powers to break up major hardware and grocery retailers could help keep inflation down and assist with cost-of-living pressures.
Rushed, secretive and dismissive – the dirty deal which degrades our democracy
Last night the federal Liberal Party announced it had done a deal with the Albanese Labor Government on electoral laws – and, this morning, it became law, having been rushed through both houses of Parliament.
A Blueprint for Democratic Reform
Crossbench MPs have joined The Australia Institute to launch a new report outlining potential democratic reforms for the next Parliament.
Integrity 2.0 – whatever happened to the fourth arm of government?
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came to office in 2022 promising a new era of integrity in government.
Legislation requiring real-time disclosure of political donations could pass this week
The Australia Institute is calling for transparency and real-time disclosure of political donations ahead of the Australian Electoral Commission’s annual release of political contributions data for 2023-24.
December 2024
Opaque, powerful and cashed-up – time to clean up the murky world of industry lobby groups
Companies are funding political parties and political campaigns through well-resourced lobby groups. But this spending may not be in shareholders’ – or the public’s – best interests, according to new research by The Australia Institute.
Australians urged to support Minister to keep her promise on “no more extinctions”
The Australia Institute has launched a petition encouraging Australians to support Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to keep her promise of no more animal extinctions under her watch.
November 2024
Electoral reform impasse provides opportunity for real scrutiny – which voters demand
The breakdown in talks between the government and Coalition over major changes to Australia’s electoral laws provides the perfect opportunity for further scrutiny of the proposed changes.
South Australian electoral experiment deserves much closer scrutiny
With the South Australian House of Assembly considering dramatic changes to electoral law this week, The Australia Institute warns the process has been rushed and the legislation is compromised and unfair.
Rushed changes to federal political donation laws could hinder, not enhance, democracy
With the Albanese Government announcing it will attempt to rush through major changes to Australian elections, democracy experts at The Australia Institute warn that any changes should increase the competitiveness of elections, and not make the playing field more uneven for new entrants.
New SA political donation laws: An undemocratic process which will not increase trust in politicians
The South Australian Government will today introduce legislation for a partial ban on political donations – replacing them with huge taxpayer-funded handouts to political parties and MPs.
Consulting clean-up: Parliament recommends sweeping changes after multiple scandals
A multi-party Parliamentary Committee has concluded that major reform is needed to address glaring problems in the audit, accounting and consulting industry, in a report released on Thursday.
October 2024
NACC needs urgent reform
The National Anti-Corruption Commission is at the crossroads.
Queensland election: A clear message to Federal Labor
Queensland voters have sent a clear message to Federal Labor – Popular progressive policies win over a large number of voters.
Miles government policies popular with Queenslanders: poll
As opinion polls suggest the Miles Labor Government is closing the gap on the Liberal National Opposition ahead of this Saturday’s state election, new research from The Australia Institute reveals most Queenslanders support cost of living, environmental and reproductive rights policies. The research follows existing Australia Institute polling research which finds most Australians support proven
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