Australian consumers are still spending more than $750 million per year on ATM fees despite attempts by the Reserve Bank to reform the ATM system, a new paper by The Australia Institute reveals. The price of disloyalty: Why competition has failed to lower ATM fees finds that while an overwhelming majority (82%) of Australians believe

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s half year report released today shows that interest expenses have increased but by substantially less than official interest rates, an analysis by The Australia Institute has found. This is in contrast to evidence the bank provided to the Senate Economics Committee in December that their interest expenses were increasing by

Confirmation today that Treasury has considered a banking super profits tax is further evidence of the need to discuss such a proposal at the Tax Summit to be held later this year, according to The Australia Institute. Recent polling by the Institute found 81 per cent of Australians want the idea of a bank super

In October 2010 the Australia Institute conducted an online survey of 1294 Australians. Survey respondents were asked questions about a range of social issues, including their views on the labelling of products made in Australia. A media release commenting on these findings is also available.

Three in four Australians are confused about the meaning of the term ‘Made in Australia’, despite a new advertising campaign to encourage people to buy locally-produced goods. Survey results released by The Australia Institute show that people’s desire to buy Australian made is often not matched by their understanding of how to do so.

For the past two or three decades we have been told that globalisation and free trade will speed up the pace of capitalism and deliver innovation and efficiency to the benefit of all. Now we have a classic case study unfolding before our eyes: the changing structure of the Australian retail industry. Change of course

Henry Rosenbloom, founder and publisher of Scribe, argues that while there are good political arguments for maintaining the $1000 threshold for imposing GST on imported goods, there are no reasons of “principle” for doing so. If that’s the strongest argument that can be mounted in defence of the big retailers, then their market share is

What a year it has been! We’ve witnessed the fall of a Prime Minister, the rise of a woman to the top job, a hung Parliament, a drawn AFL final, a visit from Oprah, the Wikileaks exposé and supposedly a ‘new paradigm’. 2010 has had something for everyone. For The Australia Institute it has been

This edition of the Institute’s newsletter looks at 2010 in review, the consequences of ongoing work-life imbalance, the recent mortgage rate rise, Christmas public holiday pay, poverty traps and an article by Georgia Miller from Friends of the Earth on why we should approach nanotechnology with circumspection.

Most people when they get back from a week at a tropical resort are usually inclined to want to lead a simpler life. For the planet’s sake, let’s hope the entourage getting back from the latest round of climate talks in Cancun are also in the mood for simplicity. What simpler way could there be

The Australia Institute today welcomed the Government’s shake up of the superannuation system. “Common sense has finally prevailed,” said the Institute’s Deputy Director Josh Fear. “The overwhelming majority of super fund members want more simplicity not more choice. Since the Howard Government introduced Choice of Fund in 2005, many people have been forced to make

Eighty-one per cent (81%) of Australians believe that the idea of a banking super profits tax should be discussed at next year’s Tax Summit, according to a new opinion poll conducted by The Australia Institute.

Last year six million, or one in three, Australians received one or more Christmas presents that they never used or later gave away, a new survey by The Australia Institute reveals. Asked about their Christmas gift habits, more than one in four respondents also expect that some of the presents they give this Christmas will

Between the Lines is the Institute’s selective analysis of the policies and politics affecting the wellbeing of Australians. This edition looks at reforming the banking sector and financial behaviour.

The Government’s announcement of its much anticipated banking reform package is only a small step on the long journey towards a better deal for the customers of Australia’s banks, according to The Australia Institute.

A new network of community groups has been launched calling for all stakeholder voices to be heard when it comes to reforms to banking and finance. The Australian Financial Integrity Network (AusFIN) has launched the following Charter that they say should guide the Government and the industry in implementing changes to banking and finance that

Today is national Go Home On Time Day – the day Australia bucks the trend of working the longest hours in the western world and says no to last-minute meetings and unpaid overtime.

There is nothing more profitable for the banks than confusion about what they do. As long as they keep talking about acronyms no one has heard of and financial theories that no one understands, they can continue the enormously profitable business of borrowing money at low rates and lending it at high rates. This year

The Australia Institute today welcomed the admission by the Australian Bankers Association that our analysis of banks’ funding costs and how they affect interest rates is accurate. An analysis by The Australia Institute of Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data shows that despite claims from the banks that their funding costs have been rising faster

The latest round of interest rate rises beyond the Reserve Bank has added $1.2 billion to the big four banks’ profits, according to analysis by The Australia Institute.

Only one in five Australians are working the hours they want to work, according to new research by The Australia Institute. A survey conducted for national Go Home On Time Day found that half of all survey respondents wanted to work fewer hours than they had worked in the previous week. For those working overtime,

Australia’s banks seem to have embraced the credo that if you are going to tell a lie, you might as well tell a big one. One of the biggest is that when the Reserve Bank lifts official interest rates, the banks have no choice but to pass on the rate rise in full to their

Half of all Australians are suffering from time pressure, with overwork preventing us from keeping healthy and spending time with family, according to new research by The Australia Institute. The research was conducted for this year’s national Go Home On Time Day, which will be held on November 24. Go Home On Time Day is

The Australia Institute welcomes the Federal Opposition’s recent statements about the behaviour of Australia’s banks. “This is a healthy debate to have about the super profits of the big banks and what we should do about them,” said Senior Research Fellow David Richardson.

Between the Lines is the Institute’s selective analysis of the policies and politics affecting the wellbeing of Australians. This edition looks at Anti-Poverty Week, in particular the number of people missing out on government assistance they’re entitled to, and the poverty traps that exist in Australia’s tax system. It also considers whether the self-regulation of

This edition of the Institute’s newsletter looks at the 2010 federal election, the market power of Australia’s big four banks, green jobs, income quarantining, the case for a carbon price and a review of Nobel-prize winning economist Jospeh Stiglitz lecture at the Sydney Opera House.

Today’s class action filed against ANZ is a welcome shot across the bow of the banking industry, which has been gouging customers through exorbitant fees for too long, according to The Australia Institute. Reserve Bank figures show banks charged $1.2 billion in penalty fees alone in 2009, at a cost of approximately $150 per household.

Don’t you just love the banks? They just give and give and give. In fact, they are so generous that, according to a recent survey by The Australia Institute, more than half of Australians who do not have a job received unsolicited offers of credit cards last year. Offering money to people in their time

The Coalition’s plan to cut 12,000 jobs from the Commonwealth public service will have a significant impact on regional economies, according to a new analysis released by The Australia Institute today. “Cutting the public service by 12,000 jobs as Tony Abbott has proposed to do via a hiring freeze will have a major impact on

Today’s announcement by the National Australia Bank that it made a cash profit for the June quarter of $1.1 billion, up from $0.9 billion in the same quarter of 2009, shows that the big banks were able to exploit the global financial crisis to increase their profits, according to The Australia Institute. “A 22 per