Media Releases
March 2025
60 jobs: The salmon industry finally comes clean
Ever since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s letter pledging to protect the foreign-owned salmon industry at the expense of world heritage wilderness, an ecological disaster has unfolded in Tasmania.
Poll: Trump a greater threat to world peace than Putin or Xi
More Australians consider US President Donald Trump a greater threat to world peace than Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping.
February 2025
Australian gas for Australians first
Exporting most of Australia’s gas has led to higher prices for Australian households and businesses.
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.
Woodside’s North West Shelf gas export project: a disaster on five fronts
Australia Institute analysis reveals Woodside’s North West Shelf gas export project is driving up WA energy prices, threatening the state’s domestic gas reserves, paying even fewer royalties, corroding one of the world’s greatest artistic treasures, and wrecking the climate.
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.
Fake fight over nuclear a distraction from real climate issues
A new report which reveals the coalition’s nuclear plan would send an additional two billion tonnes of emissions into the atmosphere and send power bills even higher is yet another distraction from the real issues in Australia’s energy debate.
Giving our consumer watchdog more teeth to tackle companies gouging shoppers
Australians know they’re being ripped off at the supermarket checkout.
Secrecy, Prime Ministerial promises, now mass deaths – time to clean up Tasmania’s salmon industry
Australia’s Administrative Review Tribunal has ordered the federal government to release a ministerial brief on the prospective extinction of the Maugean skate, recognised for its World Heritage value, in a win for government transparency over a culture of secrecy.
Dutton’s divesture plan good for retail companies, but it’s climate change which is driving insurance costs up
The Coalition’s proposed divestiture powers to break up major hardware and grocery retailers could help keep inflation down and assist with cost-of-living pressures.
PM’s move to protect foreign companies undermines democratic process
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s letter to the Tasmanian salmon industry, promising new federal environmental laws to protect the foreign-owned businesses, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines government process.
Interest rate cut a good start
Today’s long-overdue decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates is a good start.
Climate crisis escalates cost-of-living pressures
A new report has found direct connections between the climate crisis and rising cost-of-living pressures. Failure to lower emissions now will only aggravate the crisis, with each moment of inaction compounding the pressure on households.
Something fishy about PM’s reported pledge to salmon industry
There are reports today that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has written to the Tasmanian salmon industry, assuring its future in Macquarie Harbour.
Australian Government urged to release response to UNESCO concerns about Maugean Skate
The Australia Institute and 13 other organisations have written to UNESCO, the World Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, to highlight the plight of the endangered Maugean skate and request their assistance to prevent its extinction.
Rushed, secretive and dismissive – the dirty deal which degrades our democracy
Last night the federal Liberal Party announced it had done a deal with the Albanese Labor Government on electoral laws – and, this morning, it became law, having been rushed through both houses of Parliament.
A Blueprint for Democratic Reform
Crossbench MPs have joined The Australia Institute to launch a new report outlining potential democratic reforms for the next Parliament.
Private sector demands ‘real zero’ policies and an end to fossil fuels
Some of Australia’s best-known and most respected industry, business and community leaders have written an open letter to state and federal MPs calling for an end to the “net zero smokescreen” to “secure Australia’s prosperity”.
Integrity 2.0 – whatever happened to the fourth arm of government?
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came to office in 2022 promising a new era of integrity in government.
Australia’s biggest companies turn their backs on flawed carbon offset scheme
The revelation that many of Australia’s biggest companies have quit a government-run carbon offset scheme is real-world, real-time proof that carbon credits don’t work.
Australia Must Support Palestinian Self-Determination and Facilitate Long-Term Peacebuilding in the Middle East
In the aftermath of the January 2025 ceasefire, the outlook for Palestinians remains dire.
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.
Legislation requiring real-time disclosure of political donations could pass this week
The Australia Institute is calling for transparency and real-time disclosure of political donations ahead of the Australian Electoral Commission’s annual release of political contributions data for 2023-24.
January 2025
Political Candidates Urged to Pledge Support for Protecting Endangered Maugean Skate in Macquarie Harbour
The Australia Institute is inviting politicians and candidates to show they are willing to listen to the science and pledge their support for protecting the critically endangered Maugean skate. Several politicians and federal election candidates have publicly endorsed the petition, including: Andrew Wilkie MP, Independent Member for Clark Senator Nick McKim, Australian Greens Peter George,
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
Youth Cultural Passes Could Revive Australian Live Music Industry
With ticket prices rising and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, a youth cultural pass could make live music more accessible, providing young people with opportunities to support local artists and foster a lifelong love of the arts.
“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.
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