The Democracy & Accountability Program has a significant body of work on voter engagement and participation in Australia and on the weaknesses in NSW’s political finance system that could undermine public confidence in democracy in the state.

The proposals highlighted in this submission provide prioritised measures that would make the use of public resources in parliamentary elections more democratic and ensure public money is better spent.

The cost of party and candidate campaigns in the 2022 South Australian election exceeded public funding by $3.3 million. The shortfall was covered with private funding, including political donations.

Inequality in Australia is growing and is driven by the rapid accumulation of wealth by the very wealthy.

Australia’s electoral participation is relatively good, though there is significant room for improvement, including doing better to count the votes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and making citizenship more accessible for Australian residents.

The Australian Government claims that green hydrogen is part of its vision for becoming a renewable energy ‘superpower’, but budget documents show this is not the case. Current industrial hydrogen use in Australia is 500,000 tonnes per year. The Commonwealth Government is budgeting for green hydrogen production of around 500,000 tonnes per year into the

The Electoral Disclosure and Funding Amendment Bill 2024 seeks to address shortcomings of existing electoral laws; however, further amendments are required to adequately account for fairness for new political entrants, allow community voices to engage in elections, and strengthen regulation of corporates and industry bodies seeking to influence elections as third parties.

For many years competition has been enshrined as a goal of economic policy.

The existing NSW Koala Strategy fails to recognise or address the immediate and systemic impacts of logging, fossil fuel production and climate change on koala populations.

Despite being named the “Net Zero Economy Authority” (NZEA), the proposed NZEA has no plan, no powers and no budget to deliver a “Net Zero Economy”.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the NSW Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Housing on the proposal to convert the defunct Redbank coal-fired power station to run on woodchips and other biomass. Redbank is located in the Hunter Valley, NSW.

The NSW education system is increasingly inequitable. Private schools receive public funding and tax concessions that have enabled multimillion dollar developments and salaries in excess of $1 million, while public schools struggle.

NSW political donations laws are opaque; truth in political advertising laws are missing; and donation caps, spending caps and public funding overwhelmingly favour incumbents over new entrants.

Submission to Senate Standing Committees on Economics inquiry into the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Accountability and Fairness) Bill 2023 [Provisions].

Lobbying can give vested interests unfair advantages, be unduly secretive and serve to exclude the public from negotiations over policy.

The Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program made a submission to the COVID-19 Response Inquiry. The Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program carried out significant research into topics that might be of interest to the panel. This submission outlines how these research papers come under each of the Inquiry’s terms of reference.

A submission made by The Australia Institute to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure regarding the Glendell Mine Modification 5. The Modification should be rejected on both economic and environmental grounds. At the very least, it should be subject to a comprehensive economic assessment before a planning decision is reached. The Australia Institute

The Australia Institute argued that the RBA review’s proposal to remove the Australian Parliament’s power to override the RBA on monetary policy is wrong.

The Administrative Review Tribunal Bill represents a dramatic improvement on the politicised appointments process that undermined trust in and the operations of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Offshore gas must not bypass genuine consultation with traditional owners or the wider community. Adequate consultation will always challenge the crumbling social license of fossil fuel operations – perhaps that is why there are proposals to “clarify and improve” consultation and approvals?

The Fair Work Commission’s Review of Modern Awards 2023-24 is considering the impact of workplace relations settings on work and care. This submission argues for good quality, secure part-time jobs to achieve more gender-equitable sharing of care and to support women’s full economic participation.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the NSW Planning system and the impacts of climate change on the environment and communities.

FOI is a crucial part of the beneficial information feedback loop between the government and the people.

This joint submission by the Centre for Future Work and the Nordic Policy Centre argues for immediate further reform to bring Australia’s Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme up to international best practice standards.

There is no evidence that self-regulation and/or voluntary environmental certification schemes result in better outcomes for the environment or consumers. In fact, the opposite is often true, with these initiatives facilitating misleading claims by the private sector.

The Australia Institute is grateful for the opportunity to make a submission to the review of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2023. The ACT Government and Minister for Human Rights Tara Cheyne should be commended for introducing this bill.

The Tasmanian Government’s draft Emissions Reduction and Resilience Plan (ERRP) for transport lacks all ambition. It introduces no new targets, actions or timelines to decarbonise the sector, and in its current form, is unlikely to lead to a reduction in transport emissions. Without significant revision, the ERRP will leave Tasmania with some of the weakest transport emissions reduction commitments in Australia. The Australia Institute recommends that the final ERRP adopts a range of targets and actions that demonstrate a commitment to climate action.

The impacts of climate change on young people and future generations are enormous, approaching unfathomable.

Australia’s public broadcasters (the ABC and SBS) should remain independent and free from political interference.

The Bill is unlikely to facilitate actions that would result in genuine emissions reductions in NSW, including elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, a moratorium on coal and gas development and decarbonisation of industry and transport. While the goals of the Bill are laudable, fiscal responsibility is a subjective guiding principle and open to creative interpretation