August 2024
Forget everything you have heard – Australia does not have a gas shortage
Australia exports around 35 times more gas than would be needed to cover any potential “shortage” in South-East Australia. Australia does not need more gas
The billboard they didn’t want you to see
While the gas industry has been busy trying to tell you that we need more gas, we’ve been busy countering their spin with facts, especially in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. However, not everyone is as enthusiastic as we are for the message to get out. A billboard too far? We wanted to let
Fossil fuels are gobbling up construction capacity and it’s hurting at home
In the wake of the Reserve Bank’s latest forecasts, Treasurer Jim Chalmers is facing calls that government should cut back on infrastructure investment to relieve inflation pressures and free up workers and resources to build much-needed housing.
$41 billion of new fossil fuel projects are gobbling up construction supply chain
$41b of committed resource and energy infrastructure projects is soaking up construction capacity that could otherwise be used to build essential infrastructure, such as housing and roads.
NT motorists pay 32 times more in rego than the gas industry pays in royalties: New research
Motorists pay almost 32 times more in vehicle registration than the gas industry pays in royalties in the Northern Territory, according to new Australia Institute research.
July 2024
Should Australia ban fossil fuel advertising?
A tobacco-style ban on fossil fuel advertising would be a decisive win for Australia – and the climate.
Over 30 organisations urge the Rockliff government to release Tasmania’s decade-overdue State of the Environment Report
Tasmania’s Government has failed to publish a State of the Environment Report since 2009,
despite having a legal obligation to do so every five years.
Why Queensland is Miles ahead of the game
Canberra doesn’t really have a fossil fuel industry, which perhaps explains why we lead the country in decarbonising our economy.
June 2024
A nuclear nothingburger
The faux-debate over nuclear energy is a distraction from the main game – reducing our emissions to address the climate crisis, says Greg Jericho.
Don’t listen to this podcast
The Coalition’s nuclear ‘plan’ is a cynical, Trump-like distraction – so why does the media (and this podcast) fall for the trap?
The Minerals Council REALLY wants you to feel good about coal: Spin Bin | Video
The Minerals Council recently released an ad promoting the coal industry in Australia, which uses some figures that don’t stack up.
Bring out yer dead! Amid nuke hype Tanya Plibersek approves Gina Rinehart’s gas pipeline
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has just approved a new coal seam gas pipeline in Queensland.
The Seamless scheme and developing an Australian circular textiles industry
Every single year in Australia over 200,000 tonnes of textile waste go to landfill, and more than 100,000 tonnes are shipped overseas. Australia must somehow scale this 300,000-tonne mountain of clothing if the nation is to make the textile industry circular by 2030.
Momentous budget and planning decisions must be based on current environmental data
Leading environment and policy groups are calling on the Tasmanian Government to make the decade-long-delayed State of the Environment Report public before several key financial and planning decisions are made by the government and the parliament later this year.
Australians buy more clothes than any other country | Video
“We are recommending a tax on fast fashion to protect Australian businesses and also protect the environment.”
It is time to abolish the expensive Fuel Tax Credit that incentivises fossil fuel use.
The OECD has recently called for the end of Australia Fuel Tax Credits Scheme, which is growing in cost every year.
The fatal flaw in Australia’s renewable energy superpower plan | Video
Digging into details of the Future Made in Australia plan, does the Government’s actions match their rhetoric?
Zero royalties charged on $111 billion in WA gas sales
Australia Institute research has found that 73% of gas exported from WA attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational gas corporations for free.
May 2024
Majority of Offshore Gas Projects Paid ZERO Royalties | Video
“The Australian public thinks the gas industry should be paying for the gas.” “We can keep doing dumb things if we want to. But if this Government wants to have more money for schools, more money for hospitals…there is a simple tax reform opportunity here.” – Executive Director Richard Denniss on ABC The Business
Great Gas Giveaway Press Conference | David Pocock, Monique Ryan, Richard Denniss
Australia Institute research has found that 56% of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational gas corporations for free. Around 80% of Australia’s gas is exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Most of this gas is extracted from gas fields in Commonwealth waters, but the Australian Government
“Extraordinary” No royalties paid on 56% of gas exported from Australia | Video
Gas companies are meant to pay royalties for the right to extract and sell Australian gas. But no royalties are paid on 56% of gas exported from Australia. Report author Mark Ogge joined ABC News to discuss. A new report from the Australia Institute, Australia’s Great Gas Giveaway, shows that over the last four years,
Gas exports: 56% given to corporations royalty-free
Australia Institute research has found that 56% of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational gas corporations for free.
Australians revealed as world’s biggest fashion consumers, fuelling waste crisis
Australians buy more clothes per person than any other country which is fuelling a fast fashion waste crisis, according to new Australia Institute research.
Teachers pay more tax than the oil and gas industry
Oil and gas companies claim they pay the wages of teachers and other public sector services, but teachers actually pay twice the tax.
“Perverse Incentive” NSW Government Continues Native Forest Logging to Keep Carbon Credits Plan Alive
An investigative video report by the Australia Institute has found taxpayer subsidised native forest logging is destroying hundreds of hectares of the future Great Koala National Park each week, despite the NSW Government’s election commitment to put the land aside for protection.
Video Report: Native Logging continues in the Great Koala National Park
An on-the-ground video investigation into native forest logging and the people trying to protect the last refuges of some of Australia’s most iconic wildlife.
“Smash and Grab”: Backwards Carbon Credits Logic Incentivises Native Forest Logging
Ongoing logging within the boundaries of the proposed Great Koala National Park threatens the survival of endangered species and contradicts conservation efforts, writes Stephen Long.
WA Gas Royalties Set to Plummet: Budget Analysis
Australia Institute analysis of the 2024 WA Budget shows the meagre contribution of gas royalties to state government revenue will plumet to just 0.6% over the next 4 years.
The great greenwashing myth being sold to Australians
Nobody likes to be hoodwinked, but that’s what big companies are essentially doing when they engage in greenwashing – giving consumers the false impression they have business practices that help the environment instead of harming it.
5 Key Takeaways From The 2024 Budget
The Australia Institute’s analysis of the 2024 Federal Budget finds that while there some big numbers and good measures, there’s no meaningful solutions to issues such as inequality, housing or climate change.
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