In Denmark, the bicycle has been recognised as a fast, efficient, and sustainable mode of transportation for decades, and the key to more liveable cities and happy, healthy people – supported by a network of safe cycling infrastructure and a positive cycle culture as part of healthy urban design which also means fewer food deserts. In

Norway is number one the World Press Freedom Index, while Australia dropped 14 places in 2022 due in part to its highly concentrated media landscape. This webinar, the second of our special Nordic Talks webinar series, will explore how Norway’s targeted ‘press support’ subsidies could help Australia to achieve greater diversity in its highly concentrated

More than a decade after the Gonski review into Australia’s school funding aimed to reduce the impact of social disadvantage on educational outcomes, educational outcomes for Australian schoolchildren are getting worse. The success of Finnish educational outcomes shows that equity drives excellence for all students. This is one of a five-part special series of Follow

The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and acclaimed journalist Kerry O’Brien is a clear, concise and simple guide for the millions of Australians who have expressed support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, but who want to better understand what a Voice to Parliament actually means. This was recorded on

Australians have been experiencing a dramatic rise in the cost of living thanks to inflation. While the business sector was quick to blame wages for rising inflation, the Australia Institute and the Center for Future Work took a look at the data, and it told a very different story. This was recorded on Monday 5th

From Narendra Modi’s recent visit, to the cancelled Quad summit meeting, to new developments in the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, it’s been a busy few weeks in international relations for Australia. This was recorded on Wednesday 25th May 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Guest: Allan Behm, Director,

The Australian government spends a billion dollars or more each year on consulting firms to complete necessary work, often involving confidential information. But a recent scandal at PricewaterhouseCooper has racked the consulting industry, undermining public trust in the system. This was recorded on Tuesday 16th May 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The

The Albanese Government has handed down its 2023-24 Federal Budget, and it contains positive measures like a 15% pay rise for aged care workers, the minimal increases to welfare, and deferral of any change to the Stage 3 tax cuts, confirm that change is going to be incremental and slow. This was recorded on Wednesday

Despite fossil fuel usage contributing to the destruction of our climate, the Australian government still hands out billions every year in fossil fuel subsidies. But where is the money going, and how much is being spent exactly? This was recorded on Tuesday 2nd May 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute

Australia’s housing crisis is only getting worse, and our social housing shortfall has ballooned to 500,000 and rent is skyrocketing. So how did we get here, and what can be done? This episode is a live recording from the Australia Institute’s Politics in the Pub series. This was recorded on Wednesday 19th April 2023 and

The PRRT, or Petroleum Resource Rent Tax, is a tax on profits of petroleum products, including crude oil and petroleum gas. But through accounting tricks and loopholes, gas corporations are avoiding paying their fair share of tax. Research mentioned: https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/reforming-the-petroleum-resource-rent-tax/ This was recorded on Monday 19th April 2023 and things may have changed since recording.

No, it’s not just inflation. Since the GFC, there has been a radical reversal in who benefits from economic growth. Back in the 1950s, the bottom 90% of income earners enjoyed around 90% of the benefits of the economic growth, but not anymore. So what has happened? This was recorded on Tuesday 11th April 2023 and things may

The recent by-election in Aston was historic, with Labor candidate Mary Doyle claiming victory. But what can we learn from these results? Political analyst Kos Samaras joins the podcast to explain. This was recorded on Tuesday 4th March 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Guest: Kos Samaras, Political

On Monday, Greens leader Adam Bandt announced that a deal had been reached with the government to pass Safeguard Mechanism with some key amendments. Richard Denniss is just back from Parliament House to help explain the deal and what it means for Australia’s emissions. This was recorded on Monday 27th March 2023 and things may

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, just released a report with a a very clear message; there is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all. One of the key messages in the report is that new fossil fuel projects are incompatible with a net zero

The Federal Government’s recent announcement that the AUKUS deal will cost an eye-watering $368 billion sent the media into a spin, with former PM Paul Keating calling it ‘the worst deal in all history.” The deal to acquire nuclear submarines from the United States has been a bumpy process, to say the least. But what

Superannuation is supposed to help us save for our retirement, and tax concessions on super are meant to reduce the burden on the government to fund our retirement through the age pension. But what are these concessions, and are they really working in the way they are intended to? To help explain, we’re talking to

Australians are doing it tough at the moment, with cost of living soaring, real wages falling at a record pace, and the RBA’s nine back-to-back interest rate rises only making things harder, all in the name of reducing inflation. Some commentators are warning of a ‘wage price spiral’. But what is really driving inflation? This

The Climate Integrity Summit 2023 brought together leading experts to discuss and address integrity risks that could jeopardise Australia’s emissions reduction policies. The Australia Institute’s Polly Hemming unpacked what climate integrity really is, and why it is the antidote to the Australian government’s state-sponsored greenwash. This was recorded on Wednesday 15th February 2023 and things

The RBA recently raised interest rates again for the ninth time in a row, in an effort to reduce inflation. But is the pain the interest rate rises causing worth it? And could they do anything else instead? This was recorded on Wednesday 8th February 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia

The new ‘Build Your Own Budget’ tool released by the Parliamentary Budget Office reveals that despite how all-or-nothing the debate about the Stage 3 tax cuts has become, the $300bn cost of the tax cuts over 9 years provides an opportunity for the Albanese government to amend the tax cuts and also increase support for

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. Australian governments have committed to tackling the twin climate and biodiversity crises but continue to subsidise and approve fossil fuels and habitat destruction. While simple policy solutions exist, governments are instead relying on over-complicated market-based solutions to conceal the

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. Last year, the Greens introduced a bill to establish a ‘climate trigger’ in Australia’s environment laws which would force the government to take into account the climate impacts of fossil fuel projects. This was recorded on Wednesday 21st September

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. Andrew Quilty was one of a handful of Western journalists who stayed in Kabul as the city fell. His new book August in Kabul his first-hand account of those dramatic final days. This was recorded on Wednesday 3rd August 2022

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. Pacific Island nations are on the front line of climate change, and as Australia celebrates the passage of the 43% climate bill, Pacific leaders want to know that the new Australian Government’s improved rhetoric on climate is matched by

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. The Federal Election earlier this year was considered by many to be the Integrity Election, with many including the Teal independents campaigning on integrity issues, including a federal anti-corruption commission. In retrospect, these issues won many new seats, and

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invitation to the Australian people to walk with First Nations people to create a better future. It is a gift: a strategic roadmap to peace, where all Australians can come together

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. Earlier in the year the Australia Institute hosted Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz for a speaking tour of Australia. In this episode he, Richard, and Ebony discussed the need to expand the role of governments, unions, and civil society.

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. A prime minister in the making, and a nation on the move. In Lone Wolf, Katharine Murphy offers a new portrait of Anthony Albanese. She reveals a leaderwho has always had to think three steps ahead, who was an insurgent for

It goes without saying, but 2022 was a hell of a year, from war in Europe, to a federal election, two state elections, two budgets, and the death of Queen Elizbeth. To refresh your memories, Ebony is taking a look back at the year, and all the chaos and progress it brought. This was recorded