29 years on, Australia’s gun laws still fall short of John Howard’s pledge
Tomorrow marks the 29th anniversary of the day John Howard announced sweeping changes to Australia’s gun control laws in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre.
Trashing a treasure. 28 days after the election, the Australian government faces a critical test of its priorities
Just 28 days after tomorrow’s federal election, the government faces a critical decision, which will send a message to the world about its priorities.
An election campaign helping the rich, ignoring the poor
With the election just days away, there has been a total lack of focus on the most vulnerable in our society.
April 2025
Time to shake up Australia’s university sector
Australia’s bloated universities are plagued with scandal and struggling under the weight of their own poor governance and financial mismanagement.
Australian universities slash costs, staff and courses, while lavishing hundreds of millions on themselves
Australia’s universities spend hundreds of millions of dollars on travel, marketing and consultants, while cutting costs, staff and courses, according to new research by The Australia Institute.
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.
Housing cash splash – two out of three ain’t good enough
There were three significant housing reforms announced yesterday – just one will increase supply and bring down prices. The other two will make things worse.
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.
Our PBS is a national treasure, not an international trade barrier
Extraordinary new analysis from The Australia Institute reveals the prices Australians would pay if the US had its way and dismantled our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
March 2025
Sydney smells the stink from Tasmania
Sydney voters care about fish deaths and the impact of commercial fishing in Tasmania, according to a new poll.
Time to clean up Australia’s failing, scandal-plagued universities
Australia’s universities are plummeting down international rankings while charging students more than ever for their degrees.
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.
Bad advice – which hasn’t aged well
Ten years after former Treasurer Joe Hockey advised Australians to get “a good job that pays good money” to buy a house, new analysis by The Australia Institute reveals just how bad that advice actually was.
Implications for ACT of High Court decision on Commonwealth v Yunupingu
On Wednesday 12 March, the High Court of Australia is scheduled to hand down a decision on the case Commonwealth of Australia v. Yunupingu (on behalf of the Gumatj Clan or Estate Group) & Ors.
February 2025
Australians must be protected from diseased salmon
With an unfolding ecological disaster in Tasmania, salmon farmers have a duty to protect Australian families from diseased, dying or dead fish.
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.
The housing crisis is turning into an inequality crisis
The rising concentration of property and investment assets in the hands of wealthier Australians is making housing crisis worse and deepening economic divides.
95 top Australian and international artists unite to stop the destruction of one of the world’s greatest artworks
Many of Australia’s most renowned artists, writers and musicians are calling on Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to stop the destruction of one of world’s most important artworks and cultural heritage sites, the Murujuga petroglyphs in Western Australia.
January 2025
Taxpayers Subsidising Private School Luxuries
As Australia enters a new school year, a submission from The Australia Institute highlights the growing disparity between public and private school funding, revealing that taxpayers are helping fund lavish private school facilities and the high salaries of private school principals. In a submission to a New South Wales inquiry into private school profits, the
Australia’s Gun Ownership Scorecard: A Growing Problem in Need of Reform
New findings released today reveal alarming trends in firearm ownership across Australia, showing that the number of guns in private hands has grown significantly since the Port Arthur massacre, and regulation across states and territories is failing to keep pace with community expectations. Key Findings: There are more guns in Australia than there were before the Port Arthur
“Much-needed” super changes should pass
The federal government’s stalled changes to superannuation rules would make the nation’s super system fairer, at a time when so many Australians are doing it tough.
Australian leaders urge President Biden to pardon Julian Assange
A group of Australian leaders, including several Members of Parliament, have written to outgoing US President Joe Biden, urging him to grant a full and unconditional pardon to Julian Assange.
December 2024
Housing bubble or housing trouble? Australians wary of increasing property prices in future
The Australia Institute surveyed 1,009 Australians between 13 and 15 November 2024 about their attitudes to future property prices. The margin of error is ±3%. Key findings: About as many Australians want property prices to decrease in the future (36%) as want them to increase (33%). One in five (18%) want them to stay the
Another day, another bumper catch of misinformation from the salmon industry
Just 24 hours after The Australia Institute exposed the salmon lobby’s lies in the debate over fish farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, more misinformation has been spread by those with a vested interest.
Extreme heat fans flames of inequality
New research from The Australia Institute shows that older, sicker and lower-income Australians are at greater risk during heatwaves (days over 35° Celsius).
November 2024
Millions of Australians plant a seed for a healthy life and a healthy planet
From the humble backyard vegetable patch to herb gardens on the kitchen windowsill – 9 million Australians are now growing their own food, according to new research from The Australia Institute, in partnership with Grow It Local.
Australians overwhelmingly support the right to peaceful protest
After a weekend which saw 170 people arrested for briefly delaying ships at the world’s biggest coal port, new polling research by The Australia Institute reveals the vast majority (79%) of Australians support the right to protest.
The crushing cost of a university education: Hungry, sleep-deprived students loaded with debt
A new report shines a light on the skyrocketing cost of a university education in Australia, with students skipping meals, living in poverty and forced to work full time while also studying full time.
October 2024
Our broken super and pension systems condemn retirees to poverty
Australia’s “broken” superannuation and pension systems are condemning a growing number of retirees to financial misery in their sunset years. More than one in five Australians live in poverty when they retire. And that number is growing. With housing affordability at an all-time low, many Australians now face the brutal double whammy of going through
On your bike. Policies to increase rates of active transport
A new report by The Australia Institute shows that less than 1% of federal road funding goes towards infrastructure for active transport like bikes and scooters.
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