The Australian government’s settlement with the owners of a coal ship represents another subsidy to the coal industry. With the government settling for $39.3 million while estimating clean up costs of $140 million, the difference represents a cost to taxpayers and or our environment of over $100 million. It’s not clear whether the Australian government

Queenslanders resounding oppose government moves to cut the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which invests in renewable energy projects and innovation. ReachTEL conducted a survey of 1,701 residents across Queensland during the evening of 30th August 2016. Question: The Australian Renewable Energy Agency funds new renewable energy construction and research in Australia. Should the Senate pass

The Victorian Government’s decision to ban fracking is based on sound economic and energy policy.   Queensland’s experiment in unconventional gas has demonstrated that the economic benefits promised by the gas industry largely failed to materialise, and there has been an enormous downside to other industries.   Arguments that the gas is needed have rung hollow as Australian domestic gas demand

The coal industry has always been a minor employer in Queensland. At its peak it employed fewer people than the arts and recreation industry, but in recent years has shrunk further, shedding 10,000 jobs in Queensland and now representing less than 1 percent of the state’s workforce. “Our Research shows that the coal industry makes

New report shows service industry jobs growth outstripping mining job losses. Despite record job losses in the mining sector, employment in Queensland is growing strongly with service industries leading the way, according to a new report released today by The Australia Institute. Queensland’s service industries were standout performers in recent years, and are expected to

A ReachTEL poll of 1217 Queenslanders and 1077 South Australians shows respondents resoundingly rejected conventional political wisdom – that income tax cuts are even more popular than government investment in health, education and infrastructure. (See full results below)  Just over half (53.0%) of voters in South Australia and half (49.2%) of Queenslanders would prefer to

Polling in key Liberal and National Party seats shows strong opposition to reducing Sunday penalty rates for retail workers, according to new ReachTEL polling commissioned by The Australia Institute. Polling conducted across the electorates of Page, New England, Warringah and Dickson on 17th December shows that between 65% and 79% of people in these electorates

A new report by The Australia Institute outlines a solution to the twin problems of incentives for retirement of coal fired generation and funding rehabilitation liabilities.  The report, Two Birds, One Little Black Rock, by Rod Campbell and Richard Denniss will be co-launched by The Australia Institute and Australian Greens Leader, Senator Richard Di Natale

With the Queensland Labor Government still to make a decision on the controversial Acland coal mine expansion, as well as finalising the terms of reference for the inquiry into political donations which the Annastacia Palaszczuk promised to Peter Wellington in order to form government, a report released today paints a disturbing picture of the lack

As new Resources and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg announces that the $5 billion Northern Australia fund could be used to subsidise coal projects, including the Adani mine in the Galilee, research shows support ranging from 65% to 78% for a policy shift.  According to a series of polls, commissioned by The Australia Institute as part

The Queensland Treasurer, Curtis Pitt, has brought a welcome reality check to discussion about the Adani coal mine, pointing out the danger of overstating the importance of the mine to the state’s economy. Queensland has workforce of 2.3 million people. Adani’s own economic expert has said the mine will create around 1400 jobs, or a

Since Tony Abbott took office, 101,900 more Australians are unemployed, but the Prime Minister is determined to create a new scapegoat – that of environmental legal victories – rather than face up to fundamental issues in the economy. “We’re seeing a deliberate effort from the Government to blame environmental law for job losses, despite all

Today’s call by the President of the Republic of The Kiribati for a coal moratorium is a wake-up call for the Australian Government who, only last week, was publicly expressing support for the construction of the enormous Adani – Carmichael mine in Queensland.  No New Coal Mines website “As the world prepares to meet in

Queensland spends less on social services than the rest of Australia in per capita terms, a new report from The Australia Institute has revealed. (Table 1 below) The state is the nation’s biggest spender of public funds in one area though; subsidies for mining projects.  Currently public schools face a $268 million maintenance backlog, and

The Guardian reported this morning International Monetary Fund calculations that world fossil fuel subsidies are running at $5.3 trillion dollars annually, or $10m per minute. In Australia, successive state and federal governments have given subsidies in the form of diesel fuel rebates, infrastructure funding and royalties discounts worth billions. TAI director of research, Rod Campbell,

Executive Director of The Australia Institute, Richard Denniss, today delivered expert witness testimony to a court challenge of the approval of a major coal mine in the Galilee Basin.  Summary: Adani have long claimed in public that the Carmichael mine project will create 10,000 jobs. In court, Adani’s own economist testified that the project would

Leading anti-corruption experts say that the lack of proper regulation of lobbying is a major corruption risk. They called on whoever forms government in Queensland to ensure that all lobbyists are included in the lobbying register, and for full disclosure of lobbying meetings.  Corruption fighting heavyweight, former ICAC Commissioner the Hon David Ipp AO QC,

Indian mining company Adani says its Carmichael coal project in Queensland’s Galilee Basin does hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds promised to it by the Queensland LNP, raising questions over why such a subsidy was offered in the first place. The $450 million rail subsidy, along with the offer to waive royalty payments

Twenty two prominent QLD legal and civil society organisations have taken out a full page add in today’s Courier Mail newspaper calling on all parties elected to the new parliament to their election commitment to honour their the principles of accountability and good governance put forward by The Honourable Tony Fitzgerald AC QC. The letter

Job creation claims relating to coal projects in the Galilee Basin have been inflated by 300%, from 9,000 to 27,000, according to a report by economists at The Australia Institute. The Australia Institute’s Executive Director, Dr Richard Denniss, said the use of input/output modelling used by those championing the Galilee coal projects has been described by the

Richard debated Stephen Galilee, the head of the NSW Minerals Council on 7.30 NSW regarding their recent attack on our research into mining subsidies. This material sheds light both on our approach to our research and the disingenuous approach taken by the NSW Minerals Council.

The Australian Institute says the Minerals Council members – the large, mostly foreign-owned, mining companies – should explain the attacks on The Australia Institute. The Minerals Council has claimed that The Australia Institute is being directed by a political party. This is untrue and defamatory. The Minerals Council should immediately desist from making such claims

Last week was another big week for The Australia Institute. You might have seen that we launched another major research report, Mining the Age of Entitlement, this time on the $17.6 billion worth of  taxpayer support that State governments have given the mining industry. You might have seen Ben Oquist’s name mentioned in relation to

Age of entitlement lives on: Report exposes billions in government handouts to mining State governments are providing billions of dollars in subsidies to the minerals and fossil fuel industries, a new report by The Australia Institute (TAI) has revealed. The report exposes the massive scale of state government assistance, totalling $17.6 billion over a six-year

The New Acland coal mine is applying to expand its operations in one of Australia’s most productive agricultural regions, the Darling Downs.  The mine has been controversial since it began, in its impact on the agricultural economy, and in clearing out the town of Acland where now only one resident remains.  The New Acland Mine

The North Galilee Basin Rail project is not in the best economic or environmental interests of Queensland and should not be approved according to The Australia Institute’s submission to the Queensland Government today. It is inexcusable that a cost-benefit analysis has not been demanded by the Newman government before looking to approve the 300 kilometre

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