Research
December 2020
2020 Year-End Labour Market Review: Insecure Work and the Covid-19 Pandemic
Australia’s labour market experienced unprecedented volatility during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting recession. In the first part of the year, employment declined faster and more deeply than in any previous economic downturn, as workplaces were closed to control the spread of infection. Then, after May, employment rebounded strongly. The subsequent recovery has
- NSW
Polling – Assisted dying in NSW
The Australia Institute surveyed a sample of 1,038 New South Wales residents about their position on whether voluntary assisted dying (VAD) should be available to people with terminal illnesses who are experiencing unrelievable suffering and who ask to die.
Polling: National Political Issues
The Australia Institute surveyed nationally representative samples of over 1,000 Australians each month from August about what they think the most important national political issue is right now. In every month, more Australians identified the economy as the most important national political issue than any other issue (between 37% and 48%). Health was second-most likely
November 2020
A comparison of the economic impacts of income tax cuts and childcare spending
A comparison of the impact on employment of child care expenditure and income tax cuts of an equivalent net cost to the budget. The clear superiority of childcare expenditure in stimulating economic activity reflects the concentration of the benefit on a cohort with much greater capacity for labour supply response.
October 2020
Tax cuts or spending: What is the most effective stimulus?
Bringing forward stage 2 of the tax cuts is ineffective stimulus. Up to 12 times as many jobs could be created if an equivalent amount of money was spent on labour intensive industries.
- QLD
Public Service in Challenging Times
Tax and Wellbeing: The impact of taxation on economic wellbeing
It has been claimed that higher levels of taxation weaken the economy but a comparative study of 188 economies shows that higher levels of taxation are correlated with higher average income. The positive correlation also exists with other measures of economic wellbeing. Please note: this report was updated on 8th December 2020, correcting an error
September 2020
Proposed amendments to the Poisons Standard
The Australia Institute and FearLess support the rescheduling of psilocybin and MDMA from Schedule 9 to Schedule 8 of the Poisons Standard. The potential risks from this change are small while the benefits are potentially large. Academic studies recognise the low level of harm caused by these substances. Despite researchers finding “easy to very easy”
Early tax cuts as stimulus – gender analysis
The benefit from bringing forward personal income tax cuts would mostly go to high income men. Despite recession job losses affecting women more than men, $2.19–$2.28 of the tax cut will go to men for every $1 that goes to women.
- TAS
Reforming Tasmania’s state tax system – Some options
There hasn’t been any wide-ranging public discussion concerning the need for reform of the Tasmanian state taxation system, or what such reform might look like, since the State Tax Review Panel process initiated by then-Treasurer Michael Aird in 2010, and which was abruptly terminated in November 2011. Tasmania’s state tax system contributes a smaller proportion
Polling: Voters Want JobSeeker Boost, Government Spending over Tax Cuts
New research from The Australia Institute has shown more voters want to see Government spending going towards supporting those looking for work and spending on infrastructure and services than for it to be used to hand out income tax cuts.
Pay Equity in Community Services
The failure of the Commonwealth to confirm that it will maintain funding for community service organisations could threaten up to 12,000 jobs in that sector, at a moment when those services are critical to Australia’s pandemic-damaged economy. That’s the conclusion of new research on the economic importance of Commonwealth pay equity funding, conducted by the
Early tax cuts as stimulus
Bringing forward personal income tax cuts would see more than 50% of benefits go to the highest 10% of income earners and 79%-91% of benefits to the top 20% of earners. Just 3%-4% of the benefit would go to the lower half of all income earners. High income earners would save some or all of
August 2020
Workplace surveillance
Submission to the Select Committee on the Impact of Technological Change on the Future of Work
July 2020
JobKeeper: A proposal for clawing back unnecessary spending
Rather than dumping JobKeeper, we can reform it in such a way that more of the payment is clawed back by the government and that can be done by making it taxable at a much higher rate than other business income. This can be achieved very quickly, merely by increasing the rate at which JobKeeper
- NSW
- QLD
- SA
- VIC
- WA
Poverty in the age of coronavirus: State Breakdowns
The Australia Institute modelled the impacts that removing the coronavirus supplement would have on the number of people in poverty. The national results and an explanation of the modelling are available in Poverty in the age of coronavirus. State specific figures can be found in the following reports: Poverty in the age of coronavirus –
Poverty in the age of coronavirus: The impact of the JobSeeker coronavirus supplement on poverty
Removing the coronavirus supplement in September will push over 600,000 people into poverty including 120,000 children and half a million people who rent or have a mortgage. This will have a profound impact on the lives of many children for the rest of their lives and significantly impact housing and banking in Australia.
Dirty Big Secret: Financial performance of fossil fuel companies
Fossil fuels were the worst performing sector in the ASX 300 over the last decade. $100 invested in the fossil fuel dominated S&P ASX 300 Energy index in 2010 was worth just $104 by January 2020, dropping to $51 with COVID. $100 in the wider market peaked at $237, falling to $169 with COVID. Excluding