To Premier Will Hodgman and Opposition Leader Rebecca White, Public trust in government is at an all-time low around Australia. We are working together to improve accountability and trust in public administration at a state and federal level. After the long-standing allegations about the role of the gambling industry in the fall of the Tasmanian

New polling released today by The Australia Institute Tasmania shows that even Liberal voters in the state do not believe that company tax cuts will increase workers’ pay. The poll of 925 Tasmanians, conducted by ReachTEL for The Australia Institute, found only 10.8% believed that giving large companies a tax cut would increase workers’ pay,

A report released today by The Australia Institute Tasmania written by Dr Charles Livingstone from Monash University has found that The Farrell Group’s share of EGM revenue (47.8%) far exceeds that of the clubs that house many of the poker machines, with the Farrell family reaping fifty-four times more than that derived by clubs which

Transparency and accountability of politicians and the public service may be one of the sleeper issues of the upcoming state election.  A recent poll of 781 voters in Bass undertaken by ReachTEL on the night of January 16th for The Australia Institute found that 85% of respondents wanted more powers and resources available to Tasmania’s

The Australia Institute Tasmania today released a new report Salmon stakes: Risks for the Tasmanian salmon industry, outlining the serious risks Tasmania’s salmon industry faces if its environmental and social impacts are not managed. “The salmon industry is important to Tasmania and has tripled in size over a decade. Rapid growth is always brings problems,

Modelling by The Australia Institute has found any impact to the state budget from phasing out poker machines in pubs and clubs could be negated through increasing taxes on poker machines in casinos.  New polling released today shows strong support for phasing out poker machines in pubs and clubs in Tasmania, even among Liberal voters.

The results of the combined Australia Institute Tasmania and Unions Tasmania’s jobs survey are in and they spotlight underemployment and unpaid work as key issues for respondents. While Tasmania’s unemployment rate sits at around the national average at 5.6% the survey results have revealed that underemployment is a critical issue for many Tasmanian workers. The

TASMANIA’S Integrity Commission must become more transparent if it is to fulfil its purpose of exposing and tackling corruption. [Full article on The Mercury website]

A high profile community campaign on fish farming has put economic and employment issues in the spotlight. New polling release today asked residents of Lyons about the industry’s performance on modernising in order to protect jobs into the future. “It is clear from these results that even those who back the industry believe that fish

Report questions estimates of the impact on employment and revenue if Electronic Gaming Machines were phased out of Tasmania.  A new report from Hobart-based think tank The Australia Institute Tasmania has found that previous estimates of the impact of phasing out Poker machines on employment are inconsistent with recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.   

This week’s budget was full of good news about good economic times. The combination of favourable economic conditions and some good economic management could have been a once in a generation opportunity to build for the state’s future. Built on the back of our clean and green image, a boom in revenues has been fuelled

Today’s State budget has reflected our strengthening economy, built on the back of our clean and green image. The boom, fuelled by growth in tourism and the property market, has increased revenue, delivering a surplus of $54 million dollars. The Australia Institute Tasmania have warned that if investment is not made in vital long-term prosperity

Statewide polling shows Tasmanians want the fast growing industry of intensive fish farming to be better monitored and regulated. New polling of 1,310 Tasmanians conducted by ReachTEL for The Australia Institute shows 70% support for establishing an independent watchdog on intensive fish farms and 61% support for an independent investigation into the impacts of the

New polling shows very low support for Government policy to cut welfare benefits by removing the clean energy supplement. The poll of 1,310 residents across Tasmania showed 60% opposed cutting Newstart, while just 25% supported the move. (see poll below) “There has been mounting evidence of the inadequacy of the unemployment benefits.  To cut them

Extreme price spikes in the South Australian electricity market sees gas generators taking advantage of a market failure at the expense of businesses and households. The Australia Institute’s report from 2013, Cooking up a price rise, accurately predicted that export parity pricing would drive up domestic gas prices. Meanwhile, South Australia has one of the

A ReachTEL poll of 1,139 Tasmanians showed 61% of residents were opposed to an increase in the GST rate and just 26% supportive. (See Question 1 below) Respondents also indicated where they would like additional revenue from a GST increase to go. 52.2% wanted more money for health, education and government services. Only 3.4% wanted

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,

The Renewable Energy Target is a big win for Tasmania, drawing in a net benefit of more than $100 million per year, according to a new report from the Australia Institute. But unscrutinised and unfounded claims from Tasmania’s largest industrial firms, who vocally oppose the scheme, have skewed public perceptions, the report finds. Released today, 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 Opposition’s pledge to create jobs in Tasmania could be undermined by its plan to reduce the size of the public service, a new analysis by The Australia Institute reveals. The analysis shows Tasmania could lose more than 200 jobs under the Opposition’s planned public service job cuts. The Australia Institute used historic separation rates

Fred Gale’s article, Tasmanian Forests Agreement: deeply flawed, worth backing, provides interesting insights into the views of one segment of the Tasmanian community that supports the Tasmanian Forest Agreement. However, he fails to fully grasp many of the fundamental reasons for continuing opposition to the deal and its associated legislation. Most notably, there is no

Passage of the Tasmanian Forest Agreement Bill in the state’s lower house effectively ended three years of negotiations between the forestry industry and environment groups. The deal is being celebrated by many as a resolution to the 30-year conflict over native forests in Tasmania and a win for the environment and economy. Nothing could be

The Australian native forest sector has been in decline for the past two decades and all but fallen off a cliff since the onset of the global financial crisis in late 2008. The forestry lobby has tried to lay the lion’s share of the blame for its predicament at the feet of the environmental movement,

Census reveals forestry and logging one of Tasmania’s smallest employers New census data reveals that forestry and logging in Tasmania employed only 975 workers in 2011 making it one of the smallest employers in the state, according to analysis by The Australia Institute. The health care industry, on the other hand, employed 24,151 in 2011.

In July 2012 The Australia Institute conducted an online survey of 542 Tasmanians regarding their perceptions of the forestry industry and its contribution to the state’s economy.

In our latest TAI newsletter Andrew Macintosh and Deb Wilkinson from the ANU’s Australian Centre for Environmental Law explain the likely threat of the mining boom on the Tarkine. For eight years conservationists have fought to have the Tarkine rainforest in Tasmania included on the National Heritage List. Yet despite its eligibility it is under