The Australia Institute welcomes today’s disallowance of floodplain harvesting regulations in the NSW Parliament. “This regulation would have given the green light to huge diversion of floodwater with terrible ecological, social and economic consequences,” said Rod Campbell, research director at the Australia Institute. “Diverting water beyond the limits in the Basin Plan has contributed to

New research from The Australia Institute shows the Labor Party holding a narrow 2PP lead, 51%-49%, one month out from the 2022 state election. The Australia Institute’s survey of a representative sample of 602 South Australians also found there is strong sentiment in the community that the state was not adequately prepared when borders were

Today marks one year since the company formerly known as Facebook mounted a hostile takedown of Australian news and civil society sites, threatening quality journalism in Australia. “The failed takedown, designed to apply bipartisan pressure in an effort to block the News Media Bargaining Code, highlighted the willingness of the global corporate giant to threaten

The early closure of Eraring power station demonstrates the need for an organised transition out of coal at a national level. According to Origin Energy, “the reality is the economics of coal-fired power stations are being put under increasing, unsustainable pressure by cleaner and lower cost generation, including solar, wind and batteries.” “The Eraring power

Extreme heat days over 35 degrees are projected to increase five-fold in Western Sydney, where areas such as Penrith could experience up to 58 days (almost two months) of extreme heat per year. This landmark HeatWatch report is by the Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program is in partnership with Sweltering Cities. HeatWatch uses CSRIO-BoM

New research from the Australia Institute reveals that the largest part of the Federal Government’s tax plan will overwhelmingly benefit older, high-income men – despite the Government’s attempt to highlight how much young women have to gain. The Stage 3 tax cuts due to come into effect 2024-2025 will see men get twice as much

An electorate analysis of the Federal Government’s current plan to scrap the LMITO (Low and Middle Income Tax Offset) after 2021-22, shows most taxpayers will be worse off when the legislated Stage 3 tax cuts to high income earners comes into effect in 2024-25. Key Findings: Scrapping the LMITO will see 90% of taxpayers pay

A unique combination of advantages has handed Australia a historic chance to become a sustainable global manufacturer of electric vehicles – provided the federal government acts swiftly and decisively, according to new research by the Australia Institute’s Carmichael Centre.

“The Morrison Government announcement today that there will be no further cuts to the ABC and the indexation freeze on funding will be removed is a welcome one, however, this announcement does nothing to restore the more than half a billion dollars in cumulative funding cuts the ABC has endured since Tony Abbott’s ‘no cuts

New figures reveal ABC funding has been cut by $526 million since the Coalition took office, with 640 jobs lost. The figures were obtained from the ABC which was asked to provide details on ‘budget reductions’ since the Coalition Government’s first budget in 2013/14, in a QoN at Senate Estimates. Polling from the Australia Institute’s

New Australia Institute polling in the federal seats of Wentworth and North Sydney show strong support for the ABC. The polling in the blue-ribbon Liberal seats in NSW shows overwhelming support for increasing ABC funding and for a more independent ABC board appointments process. 853 residents of NSW federal seat of Wentworth and 850 residents

The South Australian Labor Party’s commitment to abolishing political donations after the upcoming state election is a positive step for SA that would help to restore trust in politics at a critical time, the Australia Institute has said. “If implemented well, these reforms could revolutionise politics in South Australia and become a template for other

New research released by The Australia Institute shows that new investment in the resource sector is overwhelmingly focused on electrification minerals rather than fossil fuels. Key Findings: In the last year, 42 companies targeting electrification minerals listed on the ASX compared to just one fossil fuel company. The newly listed resource companies look to produce

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Australians between 11-14 January 2021, about whether government should provide free Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) and why some parts of Australia are experiencing problems like pressure on the public health system, supply chain issues and staffing shortages. Key findings:  Almost three quarters (72%) of Australians

New research from The Australia Institute shows that virtually no tax or royalty is paid on two thirds of the gas exported from Western Australia. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) worth $27 billion was exported from WA last year, while only $430m went to the State Government, just 1% of state budget revenue. Twice as much

“That the Australian and Japanese Prime Ministers will meet to discuss matters of mutual interest, such as enhanced defence cooperation, is welcome news. However, the two Prime Ministers should be conducting such talks that include all Asian leaders, especially Indonesia and China,” said Allan Behm, director of the international & security affairs program at the Australia Institute. “Prime

New research on international collective bargaining systems, released today in a special issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Labour and Industry, finds that Australia’s industrial relations system is rapidly losing its ability to support wages in the face of numerous challenges (now including the Omicron outbreak).

New Australia Institute polling in the South Australian seat of Mayo shows strong support for a federal anti-corruption watchdog with teeth, truth in political advertising laws for Australia and greater integrity in the process of awarding government grants. Over 800 people were polled in the seat of Mayo on the evening of the 13th December

New Australia Institute Tasmania polling in critical Tasmanian seats shows strong support for key integrity and accountability measures. The polling in Liberal and Labor marginal seats in Tasmania shows overwhelming support for federal anti-corruption watchdog with teeth, and truth in political advertising laws for Australia. Over 800 people were polled in each of the seats

The Victorian State Government’s policy to cap the rates of local government has cost the Victorian economy 7,425 direct and indirect jobs in 2021-22, and has reduced GDP by up to $890 million in 2021-22, according to new research from the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work. Key Findings The Victorian Government’s rate caps have

A new initiative to protect charities advocacy has been launched today as new polling finds the majority of Australians agree advocacy is a key part of charity work. The initiative calls for the Parliament to repeal these laws, which have been imposed on the charity sector – a sector which makes an estimated $129 billion

Statement in response to draft Integrated System Plan 2022 from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) “The energy market operator has finally mapped out an ambitious energy future aligned with the Paris Agreement. The plan aims to rapidly phase out coal power while increasing energy supply to help electrify everything like our cars, homes and industries.

An unprecedented alliance of irrigation representatives and environment peak bodies have called on the NSW Premier, Treasurer and Environment Minister to oversee changes to Murray Darling water rules. The groups include representatives of a majority of NSW irrigators and the environmental peak bodies of all Basin states. The practice of diverting floodwater, known as floodplain

New research from the Australia Institute and Quit Nukes reveals most major Australian superannuation funds have holdings in nuclear weapons companies, such as Airbus, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. While many exclude so-called ‘controversial weapons’, they do not include nuclear weapons in the definition and continue to invest in nuclear weapons companies. Nearly one year into

A new Australia Institute report details how fossil fuel producer Santos intends to use the Federal Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) to increase oil and gas production. Key findings: Santos company documents show that its Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project will be used for ‘Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)’, where captured CO2 is used

Labor has announced its climate platform which includes setting a 43% by 2030 emissions target. It has committed to gradually tightening Safeguard baselines from Australia’s biggest polluters, but has not clarified whether these baselines will lead to absolute reductions or reductions in emissions intensity. “An increased 2030 target is a good first step, however the

“The reported deal between the Government and the Opposition to pass the political campaigner bill with amendments is a terrible democratic outcome,” said Ben Oquist, executive director of the Australia Institute. “In a bad day for Australian democracy, this deal to pass legislation will only serve to strangle charities with red tape. “This legislation represents

A new book from the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology, published by MUP and released today, The Public Square Project: Reimagining Our Digital Future explores a new blueprint for a more democratic digital space, and re-examines the idea of a public space where people gather to share ideas, mediate difference and make sense of

New analysis from the Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program reveals that $3.9 billion spent by federal grants programs with ministerial discretion has clearly skewed towards marginal Coalition seats in particular, at the expense of safe Labor seats and, to a lesser extent, safe Coalition seats. Marginal Coalition seats received on average $184 per person

The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible technology today called on Amazon to mark its global marketing day, Black Friday, by ditching patents to increase the surveillance of its workers. According to an analysis by UNI Global, Amazon currently have patents on a range of technologies that will erode workplace privacy including: Augmented reality headsets that