Over 50 scientists and experts, including former Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Stanley AC, Carmen Lawrence, former Premier of WA, Professor Peter Newman AO, WA’s 2018 Scientist of the Year, and Ian Dunlop, former Chairman of the Australian Coal Association and Shell executive, are urging the Western Australian Government to permanently ban fracking in

Research by The Australia Institute examines the fundamental conflict of interest that underlies the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Alliance (GISERA), making it an inappropriate organisation to undertake research to evaluate the social and environmental impacts of unconventional gas development.  Key points include: GISERA is an alliance between the five largest unconventional gas companies operating

The Australia Institute commissioned ReachTEL to poll the federal seats of Mayo (766 respondents) on the evening of Wednesday 25 July. Key Findings: 59/41 two-party preferred, favouring Centre Alliance candidate Rebekha Sharkie 64% of Australians support bringing genuine refugees to Australia who arrive by boat, only a quarter support indefinite detention on Nauru and Manus

New analysis from the Australia Institute shows that requiring Australia’s agricultural sector to reduce emissions by at least 26 per cent by 2030 would impose significant costs and reduced production for the industry. The federal government’s proposed NEG plans to lock in a 26 per cent reduction in the electricity sector, implying an intention to

New polling shows Tony Abbott, Federal Member for Warringah, is out of touch with his electorate on issues of coal, renewable energy and climate change – and his electorate know it. The Australia Institute commissioned a ReachTEL poll of 615 people in the electorate of Warringah, which was conducted on 11 July 2018. Key results:

The best way to protect coal jobs in existing mines is to stop the construction of new, highly automated coal mines in the Galilee Basin according to new research by The Australia Institute. The Institute’s report estimates that development of the Galilee Basin would reduce coal mining jobs by 9,000 in the Hunter Valley (NSW),

A research report released today by The Australia Institute shows job claims of the Acland mine on the Darling Downs have been grossly exaggerated by owners New Hope and other coal lobbyists. The new report shows: 1. New Acland Coal and the Queensland Resource Council (QRC) are using inflated job figures up to triple what

New polling in Mayo shows majority support for World Heritage Protection for Great Australian Bight. Key results: An overwhelming majority of Mayo respondents (73.9%) supported World Heritage Protection for the Great Australian Bight. Majority support for World Heritage Protection for the Great Australian Bight was measured across supporters of all political parties: Centre Alliance (86.5%

Port Augusta Mayor Sam Johnson is visiting Canberra to call on politicians to stop undermining certainty with coal closures. Following Port Augusta’s own experience of coal closure and its rapid transition to a renewable energy hub, Mayor Sam Johnson welcomes AGL’s decision to reject Alinta’s offer to buy Liddell power station. In 2015 Alinta Energy

A report released today by The Australia Institute reveals New Hope Coal’s spending on advertising and astroturfing for its controversial New Acland mine expansion. The mine in Queensland’s Darling Downs agricultural region has been fought by local farmers for a decade due to concerns over water and social impacts. The local community won an epic

The Australia Institute has written to the Australian Auditor General and to the South Australian Royal Commission on the proposed amendment to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The amendment is scheduled to be voted in the Senate this coming Tuesday, 8 May 2018. “The proposed amendment is based on 36 projects worth $1.6 billion dollars,” said

The Senate is about to vote on an amendment to the Murray Darling Plan that would increase water use by irrigation. The amendment is likely to be unlawful, claimed water savings are unlikely to exist and threaten the value of water licences. The amendment should be disallowed. Research released by The Australia Institute today shows

Twenty of Australia’s top scientists are calling to permanently ban fracking in the Northern Territory because of its impact on climate change. The joint statement, written in response to the Final Report of the NT Fracking Inquiry, commends the Inquiry’s findings that the increase of greenhouse gases that would result from fracking is “unacceptable” and again

Polling of the electorate of Solomon released today by the Australia Institute shows a majority support keeping the NT fracking moratorium in place. Results: 53% total support for keeping in place the fracking moratorium, to 38% opposed. 58% do not trust the NT and the gas companies to implement and enforce all recommendations from the

Polling released today by The Australia Institute shows strong support for reviewing the environmental approval for the Adani mine in the Prime Minister’s seat, as well as the seat of Brisbane. On the evening of 5th March ReachTEL surveyed 676 voters in Wentworth and a 747 voters in the electorate of Brisbane, with a series

Federal Ministers and officials have helped Adani in attempts to secure funding from foreign governments – not once, but twice in 18 months. New documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), requested under FOI by the Australia Institute, show in 2017 Adani asked for a “letter of support” to be sent to

30 of Australia’s most respected scientists and energy experts have signed an open letter, published by the Australia Institute today, calling on the Northern Territory and Federal Governments not to allow fracking in the Territory to proceed under any circumstances. The Fracking Inquiry found that a single gas field that would increase Australia’s emissions by

Adani “may have been negligent” when it failed to disclose its CEO’s links to four earlier environmental offences, according to documents released under Freedom of Information.  [FOI brief in PDF below] Adani’s CEO in Australia, Mr Janakaraj, was an ‘executive officer’ of a Zambian mining company when it was charged with polluting a river and

A new report, released today by The Australia Institute, questions using averages to represent flows in the Barwon-Darling and challenges the NSW Water Minister’s claims about how much water is going into maintain river health. Two massive flood years, 1950 and 1956 account for 21% of all of the water flows since 1944. These two

A new ReachTEL poll of over 2,181 Queenslanders, commissioned by The Australia Institute, has found strong support for Queensland parties choosing to veto a federal subsidised loan for the Adani coal project. To accompany the polling (full results in PDF below), The Australia Institute has also released new research on the economic case for the

Few electorates will be clear winners if the Adani coal mine goes ahead, new research from The Australia Institute reveals. A limited export market means that Galilee Basin coal projects like the Adani coal mine could come at the expense of Bowen and Surat Basin coal projects. A report released today by The Australia Institute

An FOI request from The Australia Institute has revealed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has “several hundreds of pages” of documents relating to Ministers and officials making formal representations to foreign financiers to back the Adani project.  “With ‘several hundreds of pages’ of relevant documents across multiple parts of the Department of Foreign

The Australia Institute Tasmania today released a new report Salmon stakes: Risks for the Tasmanian salmon industry, outlining the serious risks Tasmania’s salmon industry faces if its environmental and social impacts are not managed. “The salmon industry is important to Tasmania and has tripled in size over a decade. Rapid growth is always brings problems,

A new report from The Australia Institute shows that the Minerals Council of Australia’s coal advocacy is out of all proportion with its members’ interests The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) represents companies that mine a wide range of minerals, yet delivers three times more media coverage for coal than for any other mineral. Analysis

A new national poll on gas issues shows voters overwhelming support state fracking moratoriums and blame exports for gas price rises. A survey of 1,421 Australian residents, conducted by The Australia Institute through Research Now between 17 and 26 September 2017, showed twice as many support (49%) a moratorium on fracking than oppose it (24%).

The Australia Institute research shows Government proposals to reduce marine protection in Australia and the socio economic impacts of these changes. The Federal Government is currently displaying draft management plans for marine protected areas that wind back 2012 plans to protect large areas of the Coral Sea, waters to the north and west of Australia,

The Australia Institute has released a scathing criticism of economic modelling in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Glencore’s zinc mine expansion. “Glencore claim up front that the expansion of McArthur River would generate taxes and royalties of over $1.5 billion,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director of The Australia Institute. “But it’s not until you

The Australia Institute is today releasing a new FOI showing that the CSIRO pays membership fees to the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) of $10k a year. The CSIRO is an associate member of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), the mining lobby group known for its forceful campaigns against effective action on climate change.

New research released today by the Australia Institute shows that the mining industry is dominated by foreign corporate interests that are spending hundreds of millions of dollars influencing our political process. The report finds that: Total revenue of mining lobby groups over the last 10 years is $524,150,431, with the Minerals Council of Australia accounting

The Palaszczuk Government risks a voter backlash as it breaks a clear election promise which ruled out subsidising the Adani coal project, according to a new report from The Australia Institute. First, the Queensland government is ultimately responsible for a $1bn subsidised loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). Secondly, the Queensland government has