To combat persistently low wages growth, the Government has put forward its Secure Jobs Better Pay Bill, currently before the Senate. The most contentious reform within the Bill is ‘multi-employer bargaining’. We’ve heard employer groups call it a ‘seismic shift that will increase strikes’. On the other hand, unions are calling the reforms moderate. What

The October Budget delivers on a range of welcome bread & butter commitments, but has deferred solving Australia’s meat and potatoes revenue problems. So who are the winners and losers, and what are the missed opportunities? This was recorded on Thursday 27th October 2022 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute //

Gas companies in Australia made up to $40 billion in windfall profits in the last year due to the war in Ukraine, and global price spikes. There are growing calls for a windfall profits tax to claw back some of these war profits, to fund essential services in Australia. This was recorded on Tuesday 18th

As pressure builds for the Albanese government to scrap the promised Stage Three tax cuts, discussion has shifted around who would lose out. The Australian said it would mean “2.5 million middle income Australians will pay thousands of dollars in additional tax,” but describes middle income Australians as individuals earning between $120,000 and $160,000 a

The $240 billion Stage 3 Tax Cuts, originally legislated by the Coalition government, have been described by the Labor government as an election promise they won’t break. But calls are growing for the cuts to be scrapped, having been labelled tax cuts for the wealthy amid a cost of living crisis. This was recorded on

Labor’s climate bill cleared the Senate last week. It’s a pretty modest bill, and doesn’t include any measures to actually reduce emissions in the private sector. That’s where the Safeguard Mechanism comes in – which is a voluntary scheme that affects the nation’s biggest industrial emitters, and is the Government’s main policy it will use

This week on Follow the Money Ebony is sitting down with Greg Jericho to discuss the Jobs Summit: what happened, why was it needed, and are we going to get any jobs out of it? This was recorded on Tuesday 6th September 2022 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute

When you think about Australia’s entire economy, what share of that pie do you think goes to workers (via wages) compared to business (via profits)? The Business Council of Australia is making some bold claims that the profit share of income has fallen, but does the data back that up? In this episode we unpack

Join First Nations leaders Pat Anderson AO and Professor Megan Davis for a conversation about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its three objectives: a Voice to Parliament, Treaty, and Truth. A webinar in partnership with the Sydney Peace Foundation. This was recorded on Wednesday 3rd August 2022 and things may have changed since

We are nearly at the end of the first sitting fortnight of the 47th Parliament, and it has been a packed agenda. This week we’re unpacking quick recap of how much things have changed in this new Parliament, and what changes are likely on the horizon. This was recorded live on Wednesday 3rd August 2022

Why is everything so expensive? And will a wage increase just make it worse? New research shows that only a trivial portion of Australia’s inflation has come from wages this year, while rising prices continue to drive not just inflation, but profits to record highs. This was recorded on Tuesday 26th July 2022 and things

For this special live episode of Follow the Money, the panel will be discussing: A New Agenda for a New Parliament: Climate Action, International Affairs & Integrity – Yes Please! bringing together diverse knowledge on all fronts of climate & energy, international & security affairs, and integrity issues. This was recorded on Wednesday 13th July

Join Nobel Laureate, former World Bank Chief Economist, and best-selling author Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz, in conversation with Australia Institute chief economist Dr Richard Denniss, about the need to expand the role of governments, unions, and civil society. Professor Stiglitz is visiting Australia as a guest of the Australia Institute. This was recorded on 11th

The Parliaments of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory have been banned from legislating voluntary assisted dying laws, but the new government and members of the new Parliament are seeking to restore Territory Rights as a matter of priority. This was recorded on Tuesday 5th July 2022 and things may have changed since

Australia cannot solve the climate crisis while we keep opening new gas fields and coal mines. In this episode we’re listening back to our webinar with Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP for a discussion about how Australia can rapidly transition to a clean energy economy and move beyond fossil fuels. This was recorded on Thursday

Australia’s housing affordability crisis results from over- reliance on just two options – private home ownership and private renting. To tackle it, a wider repertoire of policies is required. Nordic nations’ widespread provision of public housing and housing co-operatives, priority for homes to live in rather than invest in, and effective reduction of homelessness, show

It’s not that long since the Royal Commission into aged care quality and safety handed down its findings Describing Australia’s aged care system as a shocking tale of neglect that needs a complete overhaul and not mere patching up. This is the third episode of a special series we are doing with our chief economist

This week on Follow the Money we’re unpacking the 2022 Federal Budget. Who are the winners and losers, and what does it all mean with an election looming? Recorded live on 31st March 2022 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett

Australia has committed to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The United Nations Secretary General has said that it’s time to end fossil fuel subsidies, so are fossil fuel subsidies in Australia ending or accelerating? The Australia Institute has crunched the numbers. This episode was recorded on Tuesday 29 March 2022, prior to the federal

Today we bring you another conversation from the Australia Institute’s webinar series. The Coalition Government’s ninth Federal Budget on 29 March will be an election Budget. Against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis, ACTU President Michele O’Neil looks beneath the likely hype to talk about what will really matter for workers. This was

The budget is come soon and, because it’s an election year, income tax cuts are squarely on the agenda. In today’s episode we ask, who really benefits from the government’s legislated tax cuts? New research from the Australia Institute suggests anyone earning under $90k could be worse off. Recorded live on 22 February 2022 and

Rebuilding Vehicle Manufacturing in Australia

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. Everyone knows that children do best when they are supported, nurtured and loved. But across Australia, children as young as 10 can be arrested by police, charged with an offence, hauled before a court and locked away in a

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work was an essential element of the promise of Australia. The last 30 years have seen a dramatic shift of the share of Australia’s prosperity going to profit and away from

Our summer series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we’re bringing you a conversation with our chief economist Richard Denniss about the merits and flaws in the government’s fiscal response to the pandemic and the long terms effects on the Australian economy. This was recorded live on

Our summer series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we’re bringing you a conversation with award-winning journalist Marian Wilkinson and the Australia Institute’s chief economist Richard Denniss and Allan Behm, International & Security Affairs program director, about the growing pressure on Australia, as global and regional powers

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode you’ll hear from the Prime Minister of Samoa, the Hon. Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa on climate change and the Pacific, as part of the Australia Institute’s Regional Climate Diplomacy Forum, with youth climate activist and UNICEF Pacific Ambassador

Our summer series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we’re bringing you a conversation about coal, climate change and conservatives and why NSW needs a moratorium on new coal mines with former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, who was in conversation with the Australia Institute’s chief

New research reveals most major Australian superannuation funds have holdings in nuclear weapons companies

Grants with ministerial discretion skew towards Coalition seats