After years of decline, Australia’s manufacturing industry is finally recovering – adding almost 50,000 jobs in the last year, one of the best job-creation records of any sector in the whole economy. But that recovery could be cut short by growing shortages of skilled workers, according to a new report on vocational training in manufacturing.

The Victorian Government is attempting to pass a bill through the Legislative Council that will further weaken Victoria’s corruption watchdog IBAC. A briefing paper released today by the Australia Institute outlines the flaws in IBAC’s design and summarises the impact the bill will have on IBAC’s ability to hold public hearings. IBAC is one of

The Australia Institute commissioned ReachTEL to poll the federal seats of Mayo (736 respondents) and Longman (727 respondents) on the evening of Thursday June 21.  Key Findings: 50/50 TPP in Longman 62/38 TPP favouring Centre Alliance candidate Rebekah Sharkie in Mayo Mayo: 24.9% support for cutting company tax rate for large business (71% want tax

A research report released today by The Australia Institute shows job claims of the Acland mine on the Darling Downs have been grossly exaggerated by owners New Hope and other coal lobbyists. The new report shows: 1. New Acland Coal and the Queensland Resource Council (QRC) are using inflated job figures up to triple what

New Australia Institute analysis of stage three of the government’s income tax plan show high-income earners will get 95% of the benefit, while three-quarters of taxpayers get no benefit at all. Today the Senate has rejected stage 3 of the government’s income tax plan, which removes the 37 per cent tax bracket completely, resulting in

New Australia Institute analysis of the long term impacts of bracket creep shows that taxpayers are being over compensated for bracket creep at all income levels. The government has used bracket creep as a key reason why it needs to implement its top-end income tax cuts as outlined in the 2018 Budget.  “There is no compelling case for an income tax cut to reduce

The Australia Institute commissioned ReachTEL to conduct a survey of 1,031 residents across the federal electorate of Mayo on the evening of 5 June 2018.  The poll included a question about funding for the ABC. The results are released today. Key results: 74% of respondents think funding for the ABC should be increased or stay the

On Monday 18 June, The Australia Institute, Australia21 and the former Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan MP, are jointly hosting a roundtable discussion in Parliament House on dealing with economic inequality in Australia. A new report from The Australia Institute, released as part of the Inequality Roundtable, shows inequality is getting worse in Australia with

New analysis from the Australia Institute shows that Queenslanders would receive below average benefits compared to the average Australian household from income tax cuts, outlined in the 2018 federal budget.  The figures represent the change in household disposable income (after tax income) as a percentage of change in the national average. Modelling also took into

New analysis from the Australia Institute shows regional Victoria would receive below average benefits compared to the average Australian household from income tax cuts, outlined in the 2018 federal budget. The figures represent the change in household disposable income (after tax income) as a percentage of change in the national average. Modelling also took into

The Australia Institute has analysed the average electorate household benefit* from the income tax cuts announced in the 2018 Budget, as a proportion of the National Average benefit.  The figures represent the change in household disposable income (after tax income) as a percentage of change in the national average. “It’s very visible in a state

New analysis from the Australia Institute shows that regional NSW would receive below average benefits compared to the average Australian household from income tax cuts, outlined in the 2018 federal budget. The figures represent the change in household disposable income (after tax income) as a percentage of change in the national average. Modelling also took

A new report from the Australia Institute shows that Tasmanian families living in the federal electorate of Braddon benefit less than most other Australian electorates from the income tax cuts outlined in the 2018 federal budget. The figures represent the change in household disposable income (after tax income) as a percentage of change in the

New analysis from the Australia Institute shows that South Australians are amongst those to benefit least from income tax cuts outlined in the 2018 federal budget, compared to the average Australian household. The figures represent the change in household disposable income (after tax income) as a percentage of change in the national average. Modelling also

The quarterly edition of the National Energy Emissions Audit, released today by The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program, shows Australian transport emissions are ramping up thanks to a significant increase in diesel usage. Key Findings: Transport sector emissions are rising due to a significant increase in diesel usage and this almost cancels out all

New report shows Australia’s Paris target of 26 percent is nowhere near a fair share of the world’s emission reduction task. Australia will come under increasing pressure to increase its target as UN negotiations escalate.  The report Advance Australia’s Fair Share, by The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program, provides a first of its kind assessment

New polling in Mayo shows majority support for World Heritage Protection for Great Australian Bight. Key results: An overwhelming majority of Mayo respondents (73.9%) supported World Heritage Protection for the Great Australian Bight. Majority support for World Heritage Protection for the Great Australian Bight was measured across supporters of all political parties: Centre Alliance (86.5%

New polling released by The Australia Institute today shows that a majority of voters support key recommendations put forward in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It has been one year since the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a declaration by the 2017 First Nations national Constitutional Convention. The Australia Institute surveyed 1417 Australians in

The Australia Institute commissioned ReachTEL to conduct a survey of 1031 residents across the federal electorate of Mayo on the evening of 5 June 2018. Key results: 2-Party Preferred: Centre Alliance 58% Liberal 42% Two thirds (65%) of respondents think the Senate should oppose the top end income tax cuts When given a list of

The Australia Institute has analysed the average electorate household benefit* from the income tax cuts announced in the 2018 Budget, as a proportion of the National Average benefit. The figures represent the change in household disposable income (after tax income) as a percentage of change in the national average. “This tax cut is highly selective.

The Senate will continue to have a large and diverse crossbench for the foreseeable future, shows new research by The Australia Institute. Analysis by The Australia Institute of its regular Senate voting preference polling shows that the next government will have to negotiate with crossbenchers that are not their natural allies. “Minor parties will have

For the first time on record, less than half of employed Australians hold a ‘standard job’: that is, a permanent full-time paid job with leave entitlements.

Port Augusta Mayor Sam Johnson is visiting Canberra to call on politicians to stop undermining certainty with coal closures. Following Port Augusta’s own experience of coal closure and its rapid transition to a renewable energy hub, Mayor Sam Johnson welcomes AGL’s decision to reject Alinta’s offer to buy Liddell power station. In 2015 Alinta Energy

Australia’s state and federal governments could help solve the problem of stagnant wages by better leveraging their own spending power.

New analysis by The Australia Institute shows the Liddell Power Station broke down four times this year. These breakdowns were on high-demand Summer days when reliability is most important for electricity supply. This follows Liddell’s failure in the 2017 heatwave, which saw half (1000 MW) of the power station’s capacity out of service on the

A new report from The Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program shows that a Federal Government policy to prevent energy consumers being tricked onto expensive ‘discount’ contracts is unlikely to work. In his budget speech last week, Treasurer Scott Morrison said, ‘We will keep the pressure on the big energy companies to give you a better

Budget proposes Australia’s progressive tax system be overhauled to put majority of workers on the same tax rate. [Report – see PDF below] The Australia Institute has issued a briefing paper which modelled the distributionary effects of the proposal, showing the benefits flow overwhelmingly to the highest income earners who get 62%, while just 7%

A report released today by The Australia Institute reveals New Hope Coal’s spending on advertising and astroturfing for its controversial New Acland mine expansion. The mine in Queensland’s Darling Downs agricultural region has been fought by local farmers for a decade due to concerns over water and social impacts. The local community won an epic

Reported moves to expanded the under-utilised Pension Loan Scheme (PLS) to allow pensioners access to the scheme would be a welcome budget breakthrough. “This is sensible economic reform which will allow those on the aged pension to effectively access some of the value of their home without having to sell it,” said Ben Oquist, Australia

The Australia Institute has written to the Australian Auditor General and to the South Australian Royal Commission on the proposed amendment to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The amendment is scheduled to be voted in the Senate this coming Tuesday, 8 May 2018. “The proposed amendment is based on 36 projects worth $1.6 billion dollars,” said