Research from the Australia Institute shows that a majority of Australians support governments changing economic policy to suit the current circumstances, even if that means breaking an election promise.

Research conducted by the Australia Institute has found the desire for action on climate change and corruption in politics remains high in the federal electorate of Kooyong.

In June, a joint Parliamentary Committee published recommendations that would significantly reform Australian electoral law.

Research released today by the Australia Institute shows overwhelming national support for a ban on political donations from any organisation that receives funding from government contracts

The Australia Institute welcomes independent MP for Curtin Kate Chaney’s Electoral Legislation Amendment (Restoring Trust) Bill, a private member’s bill that would implement key electoral reforms.

An Open Letter to the Australian Public

An eminent group of retired judges have published an open letter to the people of Australia in support of a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum on the Voice.

Australia’s leading civil society organisations have today published a full-page ad in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Australian Financial Review and Canberra Times newspapers, calling for long overdue political finance reforms to make politics fairer and more transparent.

The Australia Institute has identified five key questions incoming Governor of the Reserve Bank, Michele Bullock must answer – questions that will ultimately measure her success in the role.

Australia may finally have a national anti-corruption watchdog, but we still have a long way to go to reach genuine accountability and transparency in our system of government.

The latest redundancies at the ABC are a cruel blow to public interest journalism and its role in holding the powerful to account.

Four-in-five Australians (79%) want consulting firm PwC banned from receiving new government work, including nearly half who back a permanent ban, according to new research from the Australia Institute. Just 2% did not think PwC should be banned from government work, while 19% did not know or were not sure, according to the nationally representative

The Australia Institute welcomes the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters’ interim report for its inquiry into the conduct of the 2022 election, in which Australia Institute research and recommendations are cited often. The committee recommends: A lower donation disclosure threshold ($1,000, down from over $15,000) and real-time disclosure of donations. Caps on political donations

While campaign finance reform can, if done well, reduce the role of money in elections, poorly-designed changes to campaign finance rules risk providing yet more power to incumbents.

Campaign finance reforms risk hurting democracy by entrenching massive financial advantages enjoyed by sitting MPs and senators unless the right balance is struck, think tank The Australia Institute warns. New research finds that MPs are entitled to nearly $3 million, and senators more than $2.6 million, in pay, resources and perks over a three-year election

Australia needs legislation outlawing the public display of Nazi symbols in the service of white supremacist ideology, but it is critical that we get the free speech balance right.

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy has been urged to review potential conflicts of interests at Australia’s key climate change agency in light of the integrity scandal at PwC and the consulting services sector.

As the PwC scandal continues, new research shows significant public concern about the relationship between the consulting industry and government, with an overwhelming majority of Australians (80%) supporting a ban on government contracts for companies that leak information and breach public trust; greater parliamentary scrutiny of the industry; and reduced outsourcing for core public sector

The Australia Institute Tasmania has called for stronger measures to address depleted fish stocks and prevent future overfishing in a detailed submission on the Tasmanian Government’s Draft Harvest Strategy for Wild Fisheries. The recommendation of ensuring fish levels stay at 48% of unfished biomass is in line with CSIRO recommendations that guide Commonwealth fisheries strategies.

Consulting firms who leak confidential information and breach public trust should be barred from winning Government contracts, according to a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the integrity of consulting services. Appearing today at the Senate Inquiry into consulting services, experts from the Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability program will warn that the over-use of

Tasmania’s coastal waters are in trouble and Tasmanians know it. Recently published research in the journal Nature, the world’s leading science journal, found that more than 500 common species of marine life have declined around Australia in the past decade. These declines are most marked in the rocky kelp-dominated reefs around Tasmania. We know that

Public opinion backs science, as Government continues to side with salmon industry

Elections in New South Wales are always interesting, and this year’s has given us a week of suspense over whether the Minns Labor government would be a minority or majority government.