The Australia Institute welcomes the WA Government’s decision to end native forest logging and calls for independent inquiries into native forestry in other states. “The end of native forest logging represents not just good environmental policy, but good economic policy,” said Rod Campbell, economist and Research Director at The Australia Institute. “Australia Institute research has

Correspondence between Resource Minister Keith Pitt and civil society groups involved in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) shows that the Australian Government is walking away from its promise to join the tax transparency initiative for the mining, oil and gas industry. The move comes despite major mining companies and civil society groups supporting Australia’s

New research from The Australia Institute shows that South Australians rank health, the economy and climate change as the three most important political issues in South Australia ahead of the next state election. The Australia Institute’s survey of a representative sample of 599 South Australians also found the vast majority of voters would prefer it

An unlikely group of 12 companies and organisations, including car manufacturers, automotive groups and environmental organisations have come together to publish an open letter to the South Australian Parliament, calling on them to abolish stamp duty on electric vehicles. The letter, which appears as a full-page advertisement in The Advertiser newspaper today, comes as the

New Australia Institute analysis of the Doherty Modelling shows that while vaccination rates of 80% are essential to protect the community, so are other measures such as the ability to contact trace effectively and other little-analysed assumptions and outcomes of the model. Key Findings: While high vaccination rates lead to a significant reduction in the

While the effectiveness of ‘test, trace, isolate, quarantine’ (TTIQ) is dependent upon case numbers, new analysis from the Australia Institute shows the Doherty Modelling does not adequately take this into account. Key findings: While most discussion is around vaccine rates and COVID cases at the time of transition to Phase B (‘opening up’) a significant

The wealth of Australians has grown by an extraordinary $9.5 trillion or 302% in the past 33 years according to a new report released by the Australia Institute. However, despite this enormous increase in wealth, which primarily takes the form of housing and shares, the rapid growth in the assets of Australian households has been

A new discussion paper published by The Australia Institute makes a case for major reforms to how livelihood and work programs operate in remote Australia. The paper was developed by eight leading researchers with decades of research experience on remote Indigenous unemployment. “We welcome the Federal Government’s acknowledgement that the Abbott-era Community Development Program (CDP)

New research released today by the Australia Institute outlines five sets of principles that will help evaluate the merits of different taxes. Taxation is the price we pay to live in a civilisation, however, with such a great number of tax possibilities, it is increasingly important to evaluate our taxation choices. The new report sets

The 15th National Coast to Coast Conference delegates have called for the Australian Government to adopt a National Sustainable Oceans and Coasts Strategy. The strategy provides a blueprint for change that Australia’s oceans and coasts need, and outlines the steps needed to transform how we govern and protect oceans and coasts across Australia. Among the

New research from the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, written by Senior Economist Alison Pennington and Monash University’s Ben Eltham, reveals the ongoing, devastating impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s arts and entertainment sector and provides a series of recommendations to government that would reboot the creative sector following the crisis. Key Findings: The arts

New research from the Australia Institute Tasmania finds that one in two Australians support a moratorium on the expansion of the salmon farming industry in Tasmania, while only 15% oppose.

More than seven in ten (72%) Australians support UNESCO’s recommendation to add the Great Barrier Reef to the World Heritage ‘in danger’ list, just 11% oppose. Furthermore, Queenslanders are most likely (50%) to think that climate change is the largest threat to the Great Barrier Reef and least likely (4%) to think that the health of the Great Barrier Reef is not threatened.

New analysis of the Intergenerational Report reveals Treasury does not believe that any of the policies introduced by the Coalition Government in the last six years will have any measurable impact on Australia’s productivity growth in the coming decades. Key Findings: The latest Intergenerational Report (IGR 2021) reveals that the Treasury Department is more pessimistic

New research from the Australia Institute finds that one in two Australians would prefer the funds budgeted for the expansion of the Australian War Memorial to be spent on services such as health and education, a further one quarter (26%) of Australians would prefer the money to be spent on veterans’ support services. Just 13% of Australians prefer the funds to be spent on the redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial.

The South Australian Treasurer’s plan to import Victoria’s electric vehicle tax will cause the state to fall behind other jurisdictions with better EV policies, such as New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, The Australia Institute has said. “The Treasurer may say he’s not in the business of importing taxes from Victoria, but that’s

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Australians about their attitudes towards making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for workers in contact with vulnerable demographics. Key Findings: More than three-quarters of Australians (77%) agree with making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for workers in contact with vulnerable demographics, such as aged care workers. Only

“It is disappointing the National Farmers Federation has chosen to interpret the Australia Institute’s report Banking on Australia’s Emissions as a criticism of the agriculture sector,” said Richie Merzian, climate & energy program director at the Australia Institute. “The Australia Institute recognises that Australia’s farmers are experiencing first-hand the impacts of climate change, and similarly

Statement from The Australia Institute regarding Minister Pitt’s claims that the 1200 Bridges Too Far report by Kate McBride, Australia Institute fellow and fifth generation farmer, into the Murray Darling Basin Plan is ‘full of claims based on false assertions.’ “The Australia Institute stands by its 1200 Bridges Too Far report by Kate McBride, Australia

New research from The Australia Institute and Conservation SA shows that money previously earmarked to return 450 gigalitres (GL) of water to the environment in South Australia may be used to upgrade over 1200 bridges and increase water storage capacity in New South Wales irrigation districts. The report investigates the current project proposals under the

New research by the Australia Institute shows that the Prime Minister’s ‘gas led recovery’ led to a loss of 3,800 jobs between May 2020 and February 2021, while employment across the economy grew by 863,000. The report shows that if the $2.9 billion allocated to new gas and oil refinery support measures, announced in and

New research from the Australia Institute shows that, per dollar invested, the arts and entertainment sector employs twice as many men and 10 times as many women as the building construction industry. The research is being released after this week’s Federal Budget which revealed just $223 million for the jobs intensive Art and Entertainment sector,

“The budget has failed to deliver any meaningful tax reform,” said Ben Oquist, executive director of the Australia Institute. “21 years into the 21st century we still have a tax system that looks more at home in the 19th century. “For too long treasurers have ruled out new taxes. It is time to open up

New research undertaken in the lead-up to the Budget shows Australians have a more sophisticated approach to taxation than is often understood. The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Australians between 5th-7th May 2021 about their attitudes towards tax and budget priorities. The results show that most Australians agree with positive statements

Implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety will require additional Commonwealth funding of at least $10 billion per year, and there are several revenue tools which the government could use to raise those funds, according to a new report on funding high-quality aged care released by the Australia Institute’s

New research from The Australia Institute shows more than 4 in 5 South Australians (83%) want the state to legislate Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) laws based on the model that has already been implemented in Victoria.

The resilience of Australia’s electricity infrastructure is being undermined by a chronic pattern of underinvestment in maintenance and upkeep, the result of rent-seeking by private electricity producers and a deeply flawed regulatory system. That is the conclusion of a detailed review of empirical and qualitative data on the transmission and distribution system contained in a

Childcare Funding 20x More Effective at Creating Jobs than Tax Cuts

The Budget has traditionally advantaged men over women. The Australia Institute has today released a paper which explores how the Budget is currently biased in favour of men, and makes seven recommendations on how to improve women’s economic security and use the Budget as a tool to reduce gender inequality. The recommendations in this paper

Fossil fuel subsidies cost Australians a staggering $10.3 billion in FY 2020-21 with one Commonwealth tax break alone ($7.84 billion) exceeding the $7.82 billion spent on the Australian Army, according to research released today by The Australia Institute. In fact, $10.3 billion in Government subsidies means that in 2020, every minute of every day $19,686