The Australia Institute today called for the release of Treasury modelling on the relative cost of the age pension and tax concessions for superannuation over the coming decade. Speaking today at the National Press Club Executive Director Dr Richard Denniss said that until the Treasury releases this modelling neither the government nor the opposition can

Today’s announcement by Treasurer Wayne Swan will not fundamentally alter the incredible inequity that lies at the heart of the tax treatment of superannuation, according to The Australia Institute. The Institute’s Executive Director, Dr Richard Denniss, said not only did the government fail to go after the top one per cent of income earners, his

Facts Fight Back Dr Richard Denniss Foreign aid works Tim Costello Getting the research that matters to the people who matter Mark Ogge The truth about the gender pay gap Anne Summers A culture of resistance Kerrie Tucker Trouble with childcare David Baker Paid to pollute Matt Grudnoff Big business in Australia David Richardson Early

More than one in three families experience difficulties affording childcare despite increased government assistance over the past decade, a new study by The Australia Institute has found. While the government’s two recent announcements have sought to address availability of childcare through more flexible hours and quality through better wages for childcare workers, the Institute’s analysis

Last week, CSR closed a Sydney factory and made 150 people redundant. This was not caused by the carbon price, the mining tax or our industrial relations laws. The simple fact is that the high exchange rate that accompanies our mining boom has made many manufacturers uncompetitive. How much income support should they receive? How

The fact that Gina Rinehart inherited billions of dollars apparently means that people earning $150,000 a year are entitled to feel average. The average income for an employed person in Australia is $58,375.20 a year. The median is $50,076. $150,000 a year is a lot of money. It is not average, it is not middle,

Twenty years of government inaction could lead to curable illnesses like tonsillitis again becoming a massive threat to human health, as the rise of anti-microbial resistant bacteria (aka “the superbug”) threatens to take us back to our pre-antibiotic era, a new paper by The Australia Institute reveals. Culture of Resistance: Australia’s response to the inappropriate

A new analysis by The Australia Institute, a public policy think tank, reveals that over the past decade tourism to Far North Queensland has slumped on the back of the mining boom driving up the Australian dollar. The Institute’s Public Engagement Officer Mark Ogge said the analysis shows that over the past ten years global

It’s very difficult to determine what the right rate of population growth should be, but it’s very easy to determine the wrong one. If there are no spare seats on the trains, no spare beds in the hospitals and no room on the roads then we aren’t ready for the anticipated net migration of 1

Conservative politicians usually work hard to ensure they are seen as “tough on law and order”. Respect for the law is obviously essential in a democracy and there is usually no shortage of politicians lining up to call for more police and tougher sentences to discourage or punish those who transgress. But this enthusiasm for

Traditional retailers are happy to pay a premium for high visibility locations and the same is true online. In the online marketplace, high visibility means featuring prominently in search engine results. Google is by far the most used search engine in the world with more than 85 per cent of global search engine revenue. It’s

This edition of The Australia Institute’s newsletter features: All I want for Christmas …. David Baker The clash between coal and conservation Paola Cassoni Beating around the bush Matt Grudnoff Income and wealth distribution in Australia David Richardson 10th Henry Parkes Oration Prof George Williams And homelessness marches on …. Alison Laird The one early

Our two-speed economy has a two-tiered tax system, with capital-intensive mining companies paying among the lowest rates of corporate tax and the labour-intensive service sector paying among the highest. All companies face the same nominal 30 per cent tax on income but the existence of accelerated depreciation and other tax concessions deliver disproportionately for the

Economic growth is a very strange thing. In 1949 when our gross domestic product was about a tenth of what it is today, Australia set out to build 145 kilometres of tunnels, 16 major dams and nine power stations as part of the Snowy Hydro scheme. But 60 years later, when GDP is $1.3 trillion

Launch of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility Despite the fact that Australians have more than one trillion dollars invested in superannuation most have virtually no idea where that money is invested or how those responsible for managing investments are voting at company AGMs. Speaking ahead of the inaugural meeting of the Australasian Centre for

Millions of Australians afraid to talk about mental health with their boss One in two Australians would feel uncomfortable discussing issues about mental health with their manager, according to new research by The Australia Institute. An unhealthy obsession? The impact of work hours and workplace culture on Australia’s health reveals that there is an epidemic

The Australia Institute conducted an online survey of 1,422 Australians in March 2013. Survey respondents were representative by sex, age and state/territory. The survey included questions about survey respondents’ awareness of employment practices that may be used by private schools. Respondents who had children (n=306) at school were also asked what they looked for in

New survey shows majority support for voluntary euthanasia The overwhelming majority of Australians support voluntary euthanasia, according to new research to be released at today’s Dying with Dignity NSW 2012 Parliamentary Forum in Sydney. The nationally representative survey of 1,422 people found that 71 per cent of Australians support the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia for

Job ads and corporate websites are often littered with claims that particular companies are “employers of choice” or committed to the wellbeing of staff. But according to a recent survey by the Australia Institute, around one third of the workforce reports experiencing stress and anxiety as a result of their work. About 2.2 million workers

John Howard’s description of work/life balance as a ”barbecue stopper” was more accurate than he realised. Not only does it continue to stop conversation among the ”working families” of such interest to political strategists, but the length and unpredictability of working hours makes it increasingly difficult for friends and families to make plans and keep

Media release Do you know what time you will go home from work today? More than 2.2 million Australians head out to work each morning with very little idea what time they will knock off that night, according to new research by The Australia Institute. In estimating the time that they will knock off, more

Put it in your diary – Wednesday November 21 is this year’s national Go Home On Time Day – the day Australians are encouraged to say ‘no’ to last-minute meetings, avoid out-of-hours emails and calls, and claim back some work/life balance.

Alan Jones tried to link the backlash against his insult of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s late father to the issue of free speech but, in reality, it is the free market that is causing him grief. The problem for the dinosaur of radio is that national brands such as Woolworths and Mercedes-Benz increasingly want their

This edition of The Australia Institute’s newsletter features: Productivity – lazy workers or lazy analysis? David Richardson Gina’s call a bit rich Dr Richard Denniss Exposing the great sunscreen cover-up Dr Gregory Crocetti Measuring fugitive emissions Matt Grudnoff Could you live on $245 per week? Ben Irvine Infographics The economy and social justice Senator Doug

Media release 14 September 2012 Press reports today suggest the Coalition has plans to scrap the superannuation rebate for low income earners. A recent publication by The Australia Institute ‘Can the taxpayer afford ‘self-funded retirement’?’ has drawn attention to the super rorts benefiting high income earners in Australia. ‘When in government the Coalition turned superannuation

There are two fiscal elephants in the Gillard government’s cabinet room. The first and better known elephant is the fact that the government’s wafer-thin surplus has been crushed under the weight of a slowdown in revenue forecasts and a speed-up in new spending announcements. The second elephant is that the cost of so-called “self-funded” retirement

Imagine if a company lost money selling something that it never paid for. Now imagine that company was owned by a state government. In an environment in which state governments and oppositions are either crying poor or crying waste you might imagine that such expensive mismanagement would create a bit of political heat. But the

Canberrans pay more for petrol than residents in other capital cities. In fact, we pay more for petrol than people in nearby regional towns like Albury. While I don’t have too much sympathy for the oil companies, we shouldn’t single them out for too much criticism as the simple truth is that Canberrans pay more

The budget papers mask some public spending by classifying it as ‘tax expenditures’ The amount the federal government spends on superannuation subsidies is forecast to hit $45 billion in 2015-16. Yes: $45 billion! That’s well over 10 per cent of the government’s total projected outlays and bigger than the amount spent on the age pension.

It is rare to read about the dangers of fluoride in the opinion pages of Australia’s mainstream newspapers, even though a small group of “fluoride sceptics” are convinced of the dangers to our health. It is also rare to hear about the Rothschild banking conspiracy on radio, even though a committed group of people around