Media Releases

March 2022

New Research: Australia’s Skills System Continues to Crumble After COVID

Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) system shows growing signs of erosion, fragmentation and dysfunction, according to new research from the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work. The research reveals a grim picture of a VET system starved of consistent funding or focus, fragmenting into scattered offerings of non-accredited and ‘micro-credential’ courses, mostly provided by

Time to Scrap SA’s EV Tax as Petrol Prices Surge

The new South Australian Labor Government has been encouraged to move ahead with its promised scrapping of the state based EV Tax sooner rather than later, due to the rapidly increasing cost of petrol and confirmation that the Federal Government is considering options for a national tax on electric cars. Background: Laws introducing a South

Disinformation is Our Burning Platform – Government Action Urgently Required

Today’s report from the government’s media regulator ACMA shows once and for all that the digital platforms can not be trusted to manage the safety of their own information flows. “The report and Minister Fletcher’s announcement the government will increase ACMA’s powers to hold big tech to account for harmful content is well overdue,” said

False Climate Solutions Expand Demand for Gas and Coal

A new tv advertisement will begin airing nationally from Sunday featuring research from the Australia Institute that exposes the false solutions to climate change currently perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry. The initiative builds on research by the Australia Institute showing that dodgy carbon credits and dirty hydrogen are actually expanding the demand for gas

Tassie Corruption Body a Toothless Tiger: Research

New research has found the Integrity Commission Tasmania is one of the weakest anti-corruption bodies in Australia, with polling revealing nearly one in two Tasmanians distrust the current Commission’s ability to uncover and prevent misconduct in politics and public administration. The report reveals that Tasmania’s anti-corruption body is one of the lowest funded in Australia,

Research Finds No Evidence of China Interference Campaign on #AusPol Twitter

New research has found no evidence of a major China-backed campaign to influence Australian political discourse on social media, according to the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology. The research analysed more than 69,000 tweets from two low-points in Australia-China relations in 2020 and found no evidence the CCP was using bots to shape political

Goldstein Polling Research

New research reveals that the Coalition MP for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, is under serious pressure to retain his seat according to a uComms opinion poll conducted on the 27th of April. The poll was conducted with a sample size of 855 people via telephone, with a margin of error of 3.34%. The poll is Australian

SA Survey: Ministerial Name Recognition, Satisfaction Ratings Revealed as Close Election Looms

New research from The Australia Institute shows that the leaders of the South Australian Liberal and Labor parties have similar overall satisfaction ratings ahead of the March state election. The Australia Institute surveyed of a representative sample of 602 South Australians in February, asking about their level of satisfaction with the job being done by

‘The science is clear. It’s over to you now’: IPCC Report

“The new IPCC report on climate Impacts paints a dire picture of the reality of climate change now and the limits available to adapt to a warming world. The best response remains rapid emissions reductions while cushioning the impacts through greater research and spending on adaptation. “It’s unbelievable and irresponsible that after all the devastating

February 2022

Basic carbon price makes Narrabri coal mine uneconomic: research

New research reveals the economic benefits of the proposed Narrabri Whitehaven Coal Mine would be reduced to zero in the event a basic carbon price was included in its assessment. In a submission to the NSW Independent Planning Commission, the Australia Institute details how Whitehaven corporation have overstated the economic benefits of the proposed mine,

Welcome Result to Economically and Ecologically Irresponsible NSW Floodplain Harvesting Farce

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

SA Survey: Labor Hold Narrow Lead, State Not Adequately Prepared for Open Borders

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

Facebook’s news-takedown anniversary a reminder to invest in journalism

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

Closure of Eraring Coal Power Station Underscores Uneconomic Reality of Coal Power

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

Coalition Budget Cuts Cost ABC Half a Billion Dollars, 640 Jobs

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

January 2022

Polling: Vast Majority of Wentworth & North Sydney Voters Want More Funding for ABC

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

Banning Political Donations a Positive Step for Democracy in SA: Australia Institute

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

Resource Investors Back Electrification Over Fossil Fuels

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

72% say government should provide free RAT tests: Polling

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

Covid threat overshadows Japan pact

“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

General Enquiries

Emily Bird Office Manager

02 6130 0530

mail@australiainstitute.org.au

Media Enquiries

Glenn Connley Senior Media Advisor

0457 974 636

glenn.connley@australiainstitute.org.au

RSS Feed

Media Releases