July 2018
Company tax cuts: new analysis shows foreign investors big winners
New analysis by The Australia Institute shows that foreign investors will be the unambiguous winners of the big business company tax cut ($50+ million turnover). “If the remaining company tax cuts now before the Senate are implemented the gift to foreign shareholders will be $3.7 billion in 2026-27, the year the tax cuts are fully
April 2018
New record lows for foreign aid: report
Since the Coalition’s 2014 decision to cut foreign aid funding by $1.4 billion per year, Australia’s foreign aid record has not improved, with the 2017-18 Budget representing new lows for aid funding, a new report from policy think tank The Australia Institute finds. The reports suggest that Australia’s aid spending, already at record lows, could
October 2017
Hundreds of Adani-related documents from DFAT – FOI
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
June 2017
Trump leaves Paris Australia should step up climate action
If Donald Trump does renege on the US Paris climate commitments, it creates an opportunity for leadership from other countries, including Australia. A poll of 1420 Australians undertaken in March showed most believe domestic action would be only more important in the event of Donald Trump reneging on US climate action policies. “Trumps decision to
May 2017
African white elephant: Australian taxpayers could finance South African coal
African white elephant, a report released today by Jubilee Australia and The Australia Institute examines the proposal for Australia’s export credit agency to fund a coal mine in South Africa. The tax payer-backed Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, known as Efic, is considering a loan to develop the Boikarabelo coal project in Limpopo Province, South
April 2017
Trump election ‘negative for the world’: Poll
Ahead of an official visit by Vice President Mike Pence, Australia Institute polling of 1420 Australian residents* reveals that 60% feel Donald Trump becoming US President is a negative outcome for the world. 48% said Australia should be more independent from USA on military and security matters with only 15% of respondents supporting a closer
November 2016
Australians back Timor-Leste in maritime dispute
Australians favour international law to determine Timor maritime boundary between Timor-Leste and Australia, even if that delivers Timor-Leste a substantial share of the oil and gas in the Timor Sea. The poll of 10,271 residents across Australia showed 56.5% support for establishing a maritime boundary in accordance with current international law, with only 17% opposed
April 2016
South Australians remain opposed to nuclear waste dump: Poll
A ReachTEL poll of 1077 South Australian’s shows opposition to a nuclear waste dump at 48.5% and support at 37.2%. (Full results below) Final submissions to South Australia’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission closed on Friday. “A nuclear waste dump remains unpopular, despite some recent high profile support and renewed focus with the Royal Commission,”
March 2016
SA Taxpayers asked to front $145 billion for nuclear dump gamble
The Australia Institute has today publicly released its report on the economics of an international nuclear waste dump in South Australia. — Press Conference and Public Forum details — The report is in response to the tentative findings of South Australia’s nuclear royal commission, which claimed a net benefit of $51 billion to South Australia.
February 2016
Free nuclear power is a fantasy: Report
A new report from The Australia Institute shows that a proposal to establish a global nuclear waste industry in South Australia would fail to secure 90% of the imported waste, leaving an expensive and risky legacy for the state. The report was commissioned by the Conservation Council of South Australia to analyse the submission to
November 2015
The fact free debate on trade deals
Recent Australian Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) over promise and under deliver. Analysis by The Australia Institute of FTAs past and proposed reveals that claims of job creation and economic growth contradict available data. On Monday the Senate will debate the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA). On Friday last week the text of the Trans Pacific
September 2015
Former Ministers Smith and Street best foreign aid records over last 40 years
The new report Charity ends at home: The decline of foreign aid in Australia examines the history of Australia’s Official Development Assistance scheme – known as foreign aid. The research by The Australia Institute, in collaboration with Jubilee Australia Research Centre, outlines that the former Labor Minister, Stephen Smith, and Liberal Minister from the 70’s,
Shipwrecked: New laws to wipe out 93% of Australian coastal seafaring jobs
Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) of government bill estimates only 88 Australian seafarer jobs will remain under the Department’s preferred option for policy change (table below). This represents a loss of 1,089 Australian seafarer jobs, or 93 per cent of the current workforce. A submission to the inquiry into Shipping Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 by The
August 2015
SA’s Strange Love of a Nuclear Pipe Dream
The Australia Institute has submitted a report to the inquiry into nuclear power in South Australia has found major flaws in both economic and technological assumptions underpinning the pro-nuclear push. “Nuclear power is not a practical option for South Australia,” Chief Economist at The Australia Institute, Richard Denniss said. “There are some very strange assumptions
February 2014
MR: Consumers likely to lose out if Australia signs secretive trade deal
Australians hold serious concerns about a secretive trade deal which risks a blow-out in the cost of medicines, less Australian television content and relaxed labelling of genetically modified foods, according to a new report being released by The Australia Institute today. The report titled “A democracy deficit?” shows that only 11 per cent of people
December 2013
MR: Aussies in the dark about risky TPP trade deal
Most Australians aren’t aware of a trade deal which could risk environmental laws, increase the cost of medicines and enable corporations to sue Australian governments, according to a new survey by The Australia Institute. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is currently under negotiation and establishes a free trade area including Australia, the United States of America,
September 2013
Abbott risks health and environment for free trade
The Coalition’s newly announced trade policy leaves the federal government vulnerable to legal action from international companies, according to The Australia Institute. Hours before voters head to the polls, the opposition has announced it would use investor-state dispute settlement clauses in free trade agreements. The move would give foreign companies the right to take action
January 2011
Survey results – ‘Made in Australia’ labelling
In October 2010 the Australia Institute conducted an online survey of 1294 Australians. Survey respondents were asked questions about a range of social issues, including their views on the labelling of products made in Australia. A media release commenting on these findings is also available.
Meaning of ‘Made in Australia’ unclear to most Australians
Three in four Australians are confused about the meaning of the term ‘Made in Australia’, despite a new advertising campaign to encourage people to buy locally-produced goods. Survey results released by The Australia Institute show that people’s desire to buy Australian made is often not matched by their understanding of how to do so.
December 2010
Nuclear power stations from the Sunshine Coast to the Central Coast?
Proponents of a new debate about the role of nuclear power stations in Australia should start with a discussion about their location, said The Australia Institute.
July 2009
The Pacific needs action not words from Australia
Australia is at risk of failing its Pacific neighbours on climate change if the Rudd Government doesn’t move beyond rhetoric to concrete action on mitigation, adaptation and, ultimately, migration, according to a new report by The Australia Institute. The report, ‘A fair-weather friend? Australia’s relationship with a climate-changed Pacific’, finds that despite Labor’s strong commitments
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