“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

New research from the Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program shows that for each voter who was marked as voting more than once (accurately or otherwise), there were over 1,000 Australians who were entitled to vote but whose votes were not counted. New voter ID laws risk disenfranchising even more voters, for the sake of

The Australia Institute welcomes the decision by Victorian State Minister for Planning Richard Wynne to reject the Fingerboards Mineral Sands project proposed by Kalbar Resources. Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute, was an expert witness in the planning hearings that led to the rejection. He was called by community group Mine-Free Glenaladale. “We

The number of hours stolen from Australians by employers has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the average employee now providing eight full-time weeks of free work per year. 17 November 2021 marks Go Home on Time Day, run by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, and now in its thirteenth year. Key findings

Today’s announcement by Google of a $200 million per year technology fund is a great headline, but it is important to look behind the big numbers. Key Details: Google pays less than one per cent tax on annual earnings of about $5 billion. Simply paying tax on Australian earnings would deliver far more money to

New analysis shows that buried in the heart of the modelling for Scott Morrison’s ‘net zero plan’ is a carbon price that drives changes in new business investment, consumer behaviour and technological change. While the Morrison Government is adamant that it will not collect any revenue from this ‘phantom tax’, it will not protect consumers

Seven in 10 Australians want more legal protections for whistleblowers and say that whistleblowers make Australia a better place, finds new research by The Australia Institute and the Human Rights Law Centre. Key Findings: Over 7 in 10 Australians (71%) agree that whistleblower protections for public servants should be strengthened The vast majority of Australians

“If COP26 is judged on its ability to advance emissions reductions, then Glasgow has already moved the dial forward,” said Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Program Director at the Australia Institute, from Glasgow. “Attempts to name and shame fossil fuels have been blocked for major fossil fuel producers in the UN, but finally a line

The Fossil Fuelled 5 examines five wealthy nations – the US, Canada, Norway, Australia and the UK – that have a widening gap between their rhetoric on climate action and their plans to expand the production of fossil fuels. The paper gives a snapshot of how each is undermining global efforts to address the climate

The Australia Institute has reviewed the Federal Government’s newly released Long-term emissions reduction plan: Modelling and Analysis. “The Federal Government’s climate modelling is like economic science fiction,” said Dr Richard Denniss, chief economist at The Australia Institute. “The claimed economic benefits come not from avoiding catastrophic climate change, that is ignored, but from a speculative $50 billion

The Morrison Government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with ‘technology not taxes’ is neither plausible nor original. New Australia Institute analysis shows that back in 1997 the Howard Government announced a similar plan, with no carbon price and no regulatory restrictions on fossil fuels, that failed to deliver more than 400 MT CO2-e of

The annual Climate Change Performance Index released today has ranked Australia last on climate policy, ranking in 64th place. Furthermore, Australia dropped four places to 58th out of 64 places overall in the index, ahead of only Korea, Chinese Taipei, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan. Australia received very low ratings for its performance across

“The Federal Government’s new Future Fuels Strategy will struggle to drive up electric vehicles sales and drive down transport emissions. Norway, the global leader on EVs, has driven the transition to cheaper, faster, and cleaner vehicles through credible policies and regulations,” said Richie Merzian, climate & energy program director at the Australia Institute. “The Prime

The COP26 Presidency has stated Monday 8 November in Glasgow will focus on the theme of adaptation, to ensure all countries enhance their resilience in the face of unavoidable climate impacts. Despite updating its National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy ahead of Glasgow, Australia remains especially at risk and lagging significantly behind other countries in

Independent think tank The Australia Institute has welcomed SA Labor’s commitment to repealing the state’s recently legislated EV Tax, if they win the next election. Key points: An EV Tax will come into force in South Australia in 2027, or when EVs make up 30% of new car sales, after government legislation passed the SA

Key Points: Overnight was a big ‘anti-coal’ day at Glasgow COP26. The UK has launched a new ‘Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement’, signed by 75 countries and non-state actors, including 44 countries. 21 countries are committing for the first time to phase out and not build or invest in new coal power, including