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

A strong majority (83%) of Hunter Valley residents do not want to see the coal industry expand, while 41 per cent would like to see it decrease or be phased out, a new research paper by The Australia Institute finds.  Seeing through the dust: Coal in the Hunter Valley economy will be launched at 10.30am,

Today’s Supreme Court judgement reinforces the view that the economics of Rio Tinto’s Warkworth project have never stacked up for NSW or the people of Bulga, according to The Australia Institute.   Two economists from The Australia Institute, Dr Richard Denniss and Rod Campbell, gave evidence in Bulga’s successful Land and Environment Court case against the

The NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure has censored parts of The Australia Institute’s submission on the Terminal 4 coal project. The Institute’s submission focuses on the economic assessment of the project and highlights a number of flaws in the economic modelling. Almost a page of text showing the relationship between an “independent” reviewer of

In the old Chinese proverb, the frog in the well thinks he knows everything about the world, based on the little patch of sky he can see. The view from the bottom of an open-cut coalmine might be a little wider than that of a well, but NSW Minerals Council chief executive  Stephen Galilee’s discussion of the role

Chinese mining company Shenhua has quite a battle on its hands.  It has loudly and proudly promised employment, investment, and royalties for the Gunnedah region, if its Watermark coal project goes ahead, but locals are publicly calling “foul” on Shenhua’s claims. Residents have managed to stuff the NSW government’s letterbox full of appeals against the

Mining industry lobby group the NSW Minerals Council this week released yet another report on mining’s importance to the NSW and regional economies.  Not surprisingly, the report contains lots of big numbers.   But this report, like many before it, is a case of ‘‘what’s true isn’t surprising and what’s surprising isn’t true’’. Let’s start

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Last week, Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) chief executive Hennie du Plooy said in the Newcastle Herald that the proposed Terminal 4 project (T4) would “inject $770million a year into the regional economy during construction and another $418million a year” when operating. I don’t

Nearly one in two Australian adults cannot identify their State or Territory flag, according to new survey results released by The Australia Institute. The Australia Institute’s Deputy Director Josh Fear said the survey results add an extra dimension to the recent push by Former Australians of the Year to change the national flag. While 52