Factsheets
It’s time to reduce the cost of university
Today’s students are finishing their degrees with much larger debts that take longer to pay off, and some young people are now paying close to $50,000 for a three-year bachelor’s degree.
Fossil fuel subsidies
When governments subsidise fossil fuels—coal, gas, diesel, petrol—they not only waste public money, they also make climate change worse. Subsidies and tax breaks make fossil fuels cheaper, making it harder to switch to renewable energy and cleaner technologies. Ending fossil fuel subsidies is common sense and good policy.
Gas in Western Australia
Is WA heading for a gas shortage? Hardly! In fact, if Western Australia were a country, it would be the world’s third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after the USA and Qatar.
Gas in the Northern Territory
Gas exporters in the NT, Inpex and Santos, pay no royalties, pay little tax, receive taxpayer subsidies, and employ few people. They are also significant polluters.
Truth in political advertising laws
In most of Australia it is perfectly legal to lie in political advertising. Unlike commercial advertising laws, Australia’s political advertising laws do not prohibit misleading or deceptive claims.
Jobseeker payments are too low
No-one in Australia should have to live on $56 a day. The current Jobseeker payment is inadequate by every metric, and the majority of families that rely on it live below the poverty line.
Corporate profits increase inflation
The prices of many goods and services have increased dramatically across Australia since 2021. This has resulted in hardship for many households—along with $100 billion in increased profits for major companies. These corporate profits have been a key factor driving inflation.
Australia’s gas policy mess
Gas companies and the Australian government claim that Australia faces gas shortages, while multinational exporters are shipping record volumes of gas out of Australia. The prices that Australians pay for gas have gone up, while government revenue from gas production has gone down.
Australia is a low-tax country
Australia is one of the lowest-taxing countries in the developed world. Australia raises very little tax revenue compared to similar countries.
Australia’s small mining industry
Despite its claims to the contrary, the mining industry is a relatively small and unimportant part of Australia’s economy. It pays very little tax, receives considerable subsidies, employs few people, and is largely foreign-owned.
There is no such thing as a safe seat
A notable trend in Australian politics has been the decline of the share of the vote won by both major parties at federal elections. There are no longer any safe seats in Australian politics: minor parties and independents win more “safe” seats than they do “marginal” ones.
Parliaments are made to share power
Some people are worried that the next election could lead to a “hung parliament”, requiring power sharing arrangements between parties and independents. But Parliaments always involve power-sharing: between interest groups, communities and political movements; across the upper and lower houses; within parties (via factions); and between parties.