by Richard Denniss[Originally published in The Australian Financial Review, 5 March 2019] Cultural symbols have replaced price signals at the heart of conservative politics. There’s now no better way for Australian conservatives to virtue signal than to support the construction of new coal mines. The Coalition is no longer neo, nor liberal – it simply

by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in the Canberra Times, 23 Febuary 2019] These last two weeks of Parliament may prove a turning point for the 2019 election, but only time will tell if they mark the moment the Coalition got back in the game or the point at which voters wrote them off entirely. At their

by Richard Denniss[Originally published on The Guardian Australia, 20 Feb 2019] It’s hard to believe that anyone who receives larges cheques from the government can call themselves a “self-funded” retiree, but hey, this is modern Australia and powerful groups get to call themselves whatever they want. Sure, the full age pension is only $23,823.80 per

by Richard Denniss[Originally published in the Financial Review, 19 Feb 2019] Millions of people in developing countries jumped straight from having no phone to having a mobile phone and so too will thousands of villages in developing countries jump from having no grid electricity to their own renewable energy. Leapfrogging old technologies can save billions.

by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in the Canberra Times, 8 Feb 2019] One of the first things you learn as a child is not to be greedy. It’s a fairly straightforward lesson. Yet, greed is the ultimate culprit identified by Justice Kenneth Haynes in his banking royal commission report. Worse still, the current hysteria surrounding franking

by Richard Denniss[Originally published on Guardian Australia, 6 Feb 2019] At a time when the number of people studying economics is at a record low, the number of politicians citing economics 101 seems to be at a record high. Take our current prime minister, Scott Morrison. When asked to provide evidence that closing tax loopholes

by Richard Denniss[Originally published in the Australian Financial Review, 4 Feb 2019] Few people think carbon pricing is as important as Tony Abbott does. Not only was repealing the carbon tax his biggest achievement as prime minister, nearly five years later, he still can’t stop talking about it. Nothing would excite him more than the

by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in The Canberra Times, 26.01.19] Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and forcing 537 councils to conduct citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day. And it’s stinking hot. What could be more Australian than a nationwide ban on shorts and thongs as we confer citizenship on our newest Aussies during

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its detailed biennial survey of employment arrangements this week (Catalogue 6306.0, “Employee Earnings and Hours“). Once every two years, it takes a deeper dive into various aspects of work life. Buried deep in the dozens of statistical tables was a very surprising breakdown of employment by size of workplace. 

by Richard Denniss[Originally published in the Australian Finacial Review] Some political parties are coping better with the social and technological transitions that are reshaping Australia than others. Just as Kodak couldn’t adapt to the digital era and Nokia couldn’t adapt to the smartphone era, it’s not obvious that all of Australia’s current political parties will

by Richard Denniss[Originally published on The Guardian Australia] It’s time we talked about tax. Bill Shorten wants to close tax loopholes and spend more on schools and hospitals. Prime minister Scott Morrison wants to scare voters about the perils of a high-taxing Labor government. And the business community still want the Liberal’s big cut in the company

ABC recently announced plans for a new 6-part television drama called “Diary of an Uber Driver.”  The Centre for Future Work’s Director Jim Stanford wonders if this drama will truly constitute insightful drama – or whether it will serve to whitewash the labour practices of a controversial, exploitive industry.

Workers produce more, but get paid less. Business invests less in real capital, but their profits grow. Technology advances at breakneck pace, but so many jobs are degraded and menial (not to mention horribly paid). What gives? Australia’s labour market truly seems “upside down.”

Workforce (a labour relations bulletin published by Thomson-Reuters) recently surveyed major IR figures in Australia on what they saw as the big issues in 2018, and what they expect as the major talking points for 2019. Jim Stanford, economist and Centre for Future Work director, was one of those surveyed, and here are his remarks.  What

In this commentary, Centre for Future Work Associate Dr. Anis Chowdhury discusses the economic benefits of industry-wide collective bargaining. In addition to supporting wage growth, industry-wide wage agreements generate significant efficiency benefits, by pressuring lagging firms to improve their innovation and productivity performance. The experience of other countries (such as Germany and Singapore) suggests that

by Richard Denniss [This article was originally published in the Australian Financial Review] It’s easier to develop long-run visions than solve short-term problems, which presumably explains why governments facing election defeat seem to care more about what future governments should do, than what their government isn’t doing. Once upon a time treasurers were responsible for

The recent Victorian election results showed Australian voters want governments to play a pro-active role delivering public services, infrastructure, improved labour standards, and sustainability. They showed that in a time of deep cynicism with federal politics, States (and Territories) can play an important role filling the democratic void left by dysfunction and policy paralysis at

Recent legal decisions are starting to challenge the right of employers to deploy workers in “casual” positions on an essentially permanent basis. For example, the Federal Court recently ruled that a labour-hire mine driver who worked regular shifts for years was still entitled to annual leave, even though he was supposedly hired as a “casual.” This decision has alarmed business lobbyists who reject any limit on their ability to deploy casual labour, while avoiding traditional entitlements (like sick pay, annual leave, severance rights, and more). For them, a “casual worker” is anyone who they deem to be casual; but that open door obviously violates the intent of Australia’s rules regarding casual loading.

by Richard Denniss, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute. [Originally published in the Guardian Australia 03.10.18] Greed is good. Or so said Michael Douglas’ character Gordon Gekko in the 1980s hit film Wall Street. Gekko went further, stating “Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward

by Richard Denniss, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute. [Published in the Australian Financial Review 02.10.18] Was the campaign by the banks to prevent a royal commission into their behaviour “political” in nature? Was the campaign by the Catholic Church to oppose same-sex marriage “political” in nature? And was the campaign by the mining industry to repeal

by Richard Denniss. [This article originally appeared on The Guardian Australia 19.09.2018] The royal commission Australia really needs is one into the spectacular – almost complete – failure of our regulators to protect the vulnerable from the greedy. While it is clear that many of our so-called watchdogs are little more than lap dogs, what

by Richard Denniss [This article originally appeared in the Australian Financial Review 18.09.18] As the Wentworth byelection will show, the desire of Coalition MPs to micro-target their “base” is a terrible way to develop national policy or win federal elections. Take energy policy: should the Coalition compete with Pauline Hanson for the climate sceptic vote in

by Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director of The Australia Institute. [This article originally appeared in the Canberra Times 08.09.18] Watching Brazil’s National Museum burn this week was a tragic reminder that, if we don’t take care, we can snap the threads that bind us to our history forever. Over a matter of hours, tens of millions

by Ben Oquist, Executive Director of The Australia Institute. [This article originally appeared in the Australian Financial Review 28.08.18] Scott Morrison is set to make the same mistake as the Business Council of Australia on energy and climate policy. Equating emission reductions with higher prices gets the politics and economics wrong. Australia’s climate and energy debates

by Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director of The Australia Institute. [This article originally appeard in The Canberra Times 24.08.18] I really enjoy the blood sport of Australian federal politics but I consider it a benign vice on my part, to be discussed only among consenting adults, mostly fellow Canberrans and people on Twitter. I confess I

By Richard Denniss – Chief Economist at The Australia Institute.   [This article originally appeared in the Australian Financial Review on 24 September 2018] Wars are expensive and culture wars are no different. Indeed, the opportunity cost of Australia’s culture war is enormous as it comes at the expense of developing meaningful energy, broadband and tax

By Richard Denniss, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute. [Read in The Australian Financial Reiew here] Confidence is silent and insecurities are loud. How else could you explain Sky TV commentator Rowan Dean’s need to credit “Western values” for the Thai junior soccer team’s successful rescue? In case you missed Dean’s comments – because, like most

By Richard Denniss, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute [View article in the Canberra Times here] Confidence is silent and insecurities are loud. How else could you explain Sky TV commentator Rowan Dean’s need to credit ‘‘Western values’’ for the Thai junior soccer team’s successful rescue? In case you missed Dean’s comments – because, like

By Richie Merzian, Director of The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program.  [Read article in the New Matilda Here] Private and public investment in a safe climate future is growing, despite the best and worst efforts of some of the world’s leading polluters, writes Richie Merzian. On a reclaimed swamp fringing the outskirts of the industrial

By Richard Denniss, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute. [View this article in the Australian Financial Review] Having abandoned the principles of small government, the right of Australian politics are now urging Australia to embrace Donald Trump’s attack on international agreements. Is there any institution these so-called “conservatives” aren’t willing to wreck in pursuit of