This edition of the Institute’s newsletter looks at the mining super profits tax, a charter of human rights, Australians missing out on government assistance, the war in Afghanistan, free trade agreements and the PBS, the Institute’s Measuring what Matters project, and peak oil.

Between the lines is the Institute’s selective analysis of the policies and politics affecting the wellbeing of Australians. This edition looks at the Budget with regard to climate-change policy, child care and superannuation.

Should Australia increase its population to 36 million? In this era of evidence-based policy, it seems strange that for all the government inquiries that have been held there is yet to be a major scientific, social and economic analysis of the impact of rapid population growth in Australia. While it might be hard to agree

Between the lines is the Institute’s selective analysis of the policies and politics affecting the wellbeing of Australians. This edition looks at a carbon tax; reforming the financial services industry and measuring what matters.

The retirement savings of millions of Australians could be boosted by up to $100,000 if the Government adopts the Cooper Review’s MySuper proposal, according to an analysis by The Australia Institute.

Between the lines is the Institute’s selective analysis of the policies and politics affecting the wellbeing of Australians. This edition looks at subsidising Lycra at the expense of knee surgery””private health insurance premiums rise again; is Barnaby right? Is there too much government debt?; measuring what matters; shaking up the super industry.

This edition of the Institute’s newsletter looks at bank profits, loyalty cards, the government’s My School website, barriers to women’s employment, population policy and the role of carers.

A lot of people in the superannuation industry are very worried at the moment. This is not because they see another market crash on the horizon; things are generally back on track in that sense. They’re worried because things are about to get much better for millions of ordinary working Australians at the expense of

The Australia Institute and Sustainable Population Australia will host a speech by Dick Smith on Wednesday, 10 March. Dick will discuss ‘Population: the elephant in the room we have ignored for too long’. 5.30 for 6pm start Molonglo Room Canberra Club 45 West Row Canberra City More details are provided in the attached flyer.

Originally printed in The Age.  Nearly 800 years after celebrated rogue Robin Hood and his entourage of bandits launched raids from their Sherwood Forest hide-out – redistributing wealth from a greedy and corrupt aristocracy to the starving peasantry – he has been recruited to a new campaign. This month, 350 prominent economists, including Nobel Prize-winner

Is Australia getting better or worse? The economy is growing but our greenhouse gas emissions are rising. More money is being spent on health and education but are we healthier and wiser because of it? The Australia Institute wants to develop a new series of indicators of Australia’s social, environmental and genuine economic wellbeing. We

According to the spin doctors, governments should never let a crisis go to waste. And of course the best crises are the ones you invent yourself. Done well, they ensure others spend a lot of time worrying about the wrong things. Of course the latest intergenerational report, like its predecessors, is full of doom and

The Commission’s final report reveals little inclination to seriously address excessive executive remuneration. While its recommendations aimed at reassuring shareholders have been watered down, there is a distinct lack of recommendations aimed at addressing the equity issue which the report so starkly highlights.

This edition of the Institute’s newsletter looks at the CPRS, indigenous affairs, food waste, the Disability Discrimination Act, homelessness, congestion charging, superannuation, unpaid overtime and national Go Home On Time Day, and emerging issues for Australia’s youth.

Between the lines is the Institute’s selective analysis of the policies and politics affecting the wellbeing of Australians. This edition looks at the Cooper Review into superannuation; the ‘quarantining’ of income support; the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme; bank profits and food waste.

Greater transparency and public engagement about the potential opportunities and risks presented by nanotechnology is required, according to a new report by The Australia Institute. While still an emerging field, nanoscale sciences and technologies (nanoST) are already present in our daily lives, with more than 1000 consumer products identified as containing nanomaterials.

The slight jump in the official unemployment rate to 5.8 per cent is just the tip of the iceberg, with the true figure likely to be around 12 per cent when the ‘hidden unemployed’ are taken into account.

The Government wants to allow meat from countries with Mad Cow disease into Australia. And our loose labelling rules mean you won’t know the difference, writes Hilary Bambrick.

Most of us like to complain about the banks from time to time, but compared to some parts of the superannuation industry the banks seem like the good guys. That’s because many commercial super funds are profiting enormously through excessive fees on the savings of ordinary workers.

Research Fellow and co-author of The case for a universal default superannuation fund, Josh Fear, talks to Life Matters about superannuation fees and how the system could be improved.

In August, women’s unemployment increased by 0.2 percentage points while men’s fell by 0.2 percentage points. The female underutilisation rate increased by 1.0 percentage points to 15.5 per cent while men’s actually fell 0.6 percentage points to 11.9 per cent

Richard Denniss examines the work of the Institute over his first year as the new executive director; Brian Walters looks at anomalies in the common law with regard to public and private interests; David Richardson dissects the benefits of the mining boom; Georgia Miller explains some of the problems inherent in the nanotechnology revolution.

Women account for up to 80 percent of Australia’s hidden unemployed, new research into the current economic downturn by The Australia Institute reveals. The report finds that not only are child-care responsibilities the most common reason why women struggle to rejoin the workforce, but those same responsibilities are a major reason that women are excluded

Denticare: making a mountain out of a molar. Dissent is a dirty word. A fair-weather friend: Australia’s relationship with a climate-changed Pacific. Extract from author Ben McNeil’s speech at the launch of ‘The Clean Industrial Revolution’.

Edited extract from Senator Christine Milne’s address to the National Press Club. Poverty and sustainability in developing countries: the impact of international trade in carbon. Australia’s Government debt: how does it stack up? Five disease outbreaks that are worse than swine flu.

Discusses how the July 2009 tax cuts are highly skewed towards the rich. High-income earners get $41 per week and low-income earners get nothing at all.

The national survey of 2000 adults found that the notion of paying blood donors does not have widespread community support. Seventy-one per cent (71%) of respondents did not think that donors should be paid for their time when they donate blood.

Dr Bill de Maria discusses the new whistleblowing proposals; David Ingles laments the exclusion of people on NewStart from either of the stimulus packages and explains the great superannuation tax concession rort; Reconciliation Australia looks at reconciliation a year after the Rudd apology; Tully Fletcher examines the current state of legal aid; Richard Denniss enumerates

Paid parental leave. Increasing GDP. The measurement of unemployment.