Key Liberal and National party electorates back a switch to 100% renewables by 2030 and a global moratorium on new coal mines, according to new ReachTEL polling commissioned by The Australia Institute.  A moratorium on new coal mines received between 50-57% support with opposition to the proposition ranging between 23-33% by voters in the seats

Polling in key Liberal and National Party seats shows strong opposition to reducing Sunday penalty rates for retail workers, according to new ReachTEL polling commissioned by The Australia Institute. Polling conducted across the electorates of Page, New England, Warringah and Dickson on 17th December shows that between 65% and 79% of people in these electorates

Conservative electorates back a switch to 100% renewables by 2030 and a global moratorium on new coal mines, according to new ReachTEL polling commissioned by The Australia Institute. A moratorium on new coal mines is backed by voters in heartland conservative Liberal and National party seats. “Proposals to control the expansion of coal mining were

Most voters in former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s electorate want him to retire at the next election, according to new polling conducted by ReachTEL for The Australia Institute as part of research about tax and climate change issues. “The polling indicates that the electorate is quickly moving on from the Tony Abbott era,” said Ben Oquist,

A new report by The Australia Institute outlines a solution to the twin problems of incentives for retirement of coal fired generation and funding rehabilitation liabilities.  The report, Two Birds, One Little Black Rock, by Rod Campbell and Richard Denniss will be co-launched by The Australia Institute and Australian Greens Leader, Senator Richard Di Natale

New research by The Australia Institute examines proposals to cut company tax rates.  A report from The Australia’s Institute’s senior research fellow David Richardson analyses the effect of cutting the company tax rate from 30% to 25% and finds that:  Federal Government revenue would be down almost $27 billion over the next decade Australia’s four

World renowned scientists and economists back Kiribati President’s call for No New Coal Mines in open letters published in Saturday’s Guardian UK and this month’s global edition of New Scientist magazine.  Former NASA Goddard Institute Director Dr. James E. Hansen, Dr. David Suzuki, Nobel Laureate in economics Professor Kenneth Arrow, Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, and

New costings from the Parliamentary Budget Office show the government could help retirees boost their own incomes at nearly no cost to the budget by making the Pension Loans Scheme (PLS) available to all who wish to use it.  The costings complement research by The Australia Institute which made the economic case for expanding the

Go Home On Time Day is a national initiative which encourages employers and employees to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy work-life balance.

A new report by The Australia Institute shows that local businesses in unconventional gas regions in Queensland believe that gas development led to deterioration in their finances, local infrastructure, social connections and labor force skills.  The analysis of mostly gas industry funded research also highlights survey results by the CSIRO that found less than a

The proposed Adani Carmichael mine would produce carbon emissions comparable or greater than major world cities and whole nations.  The data reveals that The Carmichael Adani mine would single-handily produce almost twice the emission of Tokyo – a city with a bigger population than Australia.  The report from The Australia Institute also reveals the coal

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

Australians are getting older and almost all of us want to live in our homes for as long as we can. But can we afford the services that will keep us living at home? Research released today by The Australia Institute shows that around 80 per cent of Australians are worried that they won’t be

61 prominent Australians have signed an open letter backing the President of Kiribati’s call for a moratorium on new coal mines. The letter, published in today’s Sydney Morning Herald, calls on French President, Francois Hollande and world leaders to put coal exports on the agenda at the 2015 Paris COP21 climate summit. Signatories include former

With the Queensland Labor Government still to make a decision on the controversial Acland coal mine expansion, as well as finalising the terms of reference for the inquiry into political donations which the Annastacia Palaszczuk promised to Peter Wellington in order to form government, a report released today paints a disturbing picture of the lack

The mining and forestry lobby campaign to remove tax-deductibility for certain non-for-profit organisations they deem contrary to their business interests, does not have the support of the Australian public, according to new polling. Hearings are ongoing in the Government’s inquiry into the administration, transparency and effectiveness of the Register of Environmental Organisations. Many Coalition politicians

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,

As new Resources and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg announces that the $5 billion Northern Australia fund could be used to subsidise coal projects, including the Adani mine in the Galilee, research shows support ranging from 65% to 78% for a policy shift.  According to a series of polls, commissioned by The Australia Institute as part

Polling conducted over the weekend shows strong local support for the Newcastle City Council’s decision to include environmental and socially responsible factors together with financial returns in their investments.  47.3% of Novocastrians supported the council’s decision, while 24.8% were opposed.  Additionally, the majority (51.9%) of respondents to the ReachTEL polling thought that coal investments were

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

The Queensland Treasurer, Curtis Pitt, has brought a welcome reality check to discussion about the Adani coal mine, pointing out the danger of overstating the importance of the mine to the state’s economy. Queensland has workforce of 2.3 million people. Adani’s own economic expert has said the mine will create around 1400 jobs, or a

The latest economic report from gas lobby group APPEA adds to an already enormous amount of industry-commissioned ‘research’ which overstates the value of the gas industry to Australia and the Territory and downplays its environmental impacts and costs to other services.  The assumptions behind the economic modelling are unrealistic and the results have been put

The Abbott Government’s move against environmental law is an unjustified overreaction according to a review of legal action under the EPBC act by The Australia Institute. 3rd party appeals to the Federal Court have only affected 0.4% of all projects referred under the legislation.  — Download briefing paper available below — “Proper third party appeals

Since Tony Abbott took office, 101,900 more Australians are unemployed, but the Prime Minister is determined to create a new scapegoat – that of environmental legal victories – rather than face up to fundamental issues in the economy. “We’re seeing a deliberate effort from the Government to blame environmental law for job losses, despite all

Today’s call by the President of the Republic of The Kiribati for a coal moratorium is a wake-up call for the Australian Government who, only last week, was publicly expressing support for the construction of the enormous Adani – Carmichael mine in Queensland.  No New Coal Mines website “As the world prepares to meet in

The Australia Institute has called for a code of conduct for economic modelling. Today saw the Liberal Government produce modelling suggesting a $660 million economic cost for their climate target a day after the Environment Minister said the Labor climate policy would cost the economy $600 billion. A code would require assumptions to be revealed,

A report from The Australia Institute shows that the Australian public understands and supports what economists have been saying: that increasing the Renewable Energy Target (RET) puts downward pressure on electricity prices.  The polling conducted prior to Labor’s 50% 2030 RET announcement showed that more than half of respondents wanted a target of 50% or

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

A new report has exposed Australia’s wine tax system as corporate welfare, with Australians paying a billion dollars a year to subsidise the wine industry. Unlike beer and spirits, which are taxed based on their alcohol content, wine is taxed on its wholesale value. As a result, cheap wine attracts far less tax than beer

The Abbott regulations to cut ‘red-tape’ are restricting regulators ability to progress energy saving standards which have delivered big saving to Australian household electricity bills. Australia used less electricity in 2014 than in 2013, or in any year since 2006, despite constant population and economic growth, a new report from The Australia Institute reveals. Households