Research
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May 2022
An Environmental Fig Leaf
Emissions have increased under Australia’s only climate policy, the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).
Polling: Goldstein Research
uComms conducted a survey of 855 residents in the federal seat of Goldstein on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evening of 27 April 2022 using self-completed automated voice polling methodologies. The poll was conducted with a sample size of 855 people via telephone, with a margin of error of 3.34%. The poll is
April 2022
Polling – Political messaging
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Australians about their attitudes towards six political messages, three from the Labor Party and three from the Liberal Party. The two messages with highest total agreement were Labor messages: that “Scott Morrison is all announcement, no delivery” (53% agree, 31% disagree) and “Labor will put
Homes for People
Australia’s housing affordability crisis results from over- reliance on just two options – private home ownership and private renting. To tackle it, a wider repertoire of policies is required.
At the Crossroads
If the federal government lifts annual higher education spending to 1% of GDP, it could repair the destruction inflicted by the COVID pandemic and make universities more accessible and affordable for all Australians, according to new research from the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute.
Over a Barrel
Australia is precariously dependent on imported fuel. Demand-side solutions, particularly electrifying transport, should be adopted to improve Australia’s fuel security and increase energy independence.
Dam bad ideas
The Coalition government has committed $7.4 billion to the construction of new dams and water infrastructure in Australia, the vast majority of which will be spent in North Queensland even though only 1.1% percent of Australians live in that region and 97 percent of agricultural production occurs outside of that region.
An Easter Reflection
A nation can only be as secure as its citizens. The death of a young Warlpiri man in the Northern Territory in 2019, and the recent trial of a police officer who, in the performance of his duties, shot and killed the young Warlpiri man is yet another affront to Australia’s First Peoples. It should
Police Offences Amendment (Workplace Protection) Bill 2022: Submission
The Tasmanian Government’s attempt to restrict citizens’ right to protest with the Police Offences Amendment (Workplace Protection) Bill 2022 is unnecessary and anti-democratic.
Polling – Integrity Commission
Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Australians about the introduction and role of a Commonwealth Integrity Commission or a National Anti-Corruption Commission. Three in four Australians (75%) support setting up a Commonwealth Integrity Commission, compared to 7% who oppose it. Support for setting up a Commonwealth Integrity Commission is
Youth unemployment and the pandemic
Young Australians have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people make up just 14% of the workforce but bore 55% of the job losses during the 2021 lockdowns. This crisis has compounded decades of high youth unemployment and underemployment. Now is the time for long-term policies to help and protect young people in
Bearing the Brunt
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated labour market problems for young people in NSW. By several measures, young people in NSW have been the hardest hit in Australia. There are a range of policies available to the NSW Government to address this crisis.
Waratah Coal v Youth Verdict court case
The Australia Institute’s Research Director Rod Campbell was an expert witness in the precedent-setting case against Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal Project in the Galilee Basin. The case was brought by Indigenous-led Queensland group Youth Verdict, who were represented by the Environmental Defenders’ Office (EDO).
Hot air won’t stop global warming
The Australian Government has identified carbon trading as a means to “work together to bring down emissions” across the Indo-Pacific region and to “help countries meet and report against their NDCs” through the use of carbon markets. It is unclear how Australia’s plans for fossil fuel expansion and pursuit of cheap abatement overseas will bring down emissions or help countries meet their climate targets.
The Economic Benefits of High-Quality Universal Early Child Education
Expanded ECEC services would provide a badly-needed boost to Australia’s economic recovery from COVID-19.
Braddon Polling – March 2022
uComms conducted a survey of 829 residents in the federal electorate of Braddon on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evenings of 17 & 21 March 2022 using self-completed automated voice polling methodologies.
Boothby Polling – April 2022
uComms conducted a survey of 801 residents in the SA Federal seat of Boothby on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evening of 30 March 2022 using self-completed automated voice polling methodologies.
Sturt Polling – April 2022
uComms conducted a survey of 809 residents in the SA Federal seat of Sturt on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evening of 30 March 2022 using self-completed automated voice polling methodologies.
Bad impressions
Last year, the Morrison Government spent $145.3 million on campaign advertising, a sum that exceeds the normal annual advertising spend of companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Amazon, Pepsi and Qantas.
March 2022
Review of Tasmania’s Living Marine Resource Management Act 1995
Tasmania hosts some of the highest marine diversity and endemism on Earth, world’s best practice expertise in marine science and governance, and punches above its weight in economic contributions, thanks to our ocean.
Democracy Agenda for the 47th Parliament of Australia
The 43rd Parliament of Australia, which was the first minority parliament since 1940, was a time of renewed interest in parliamentary reform to enhance our democratic accountability and processes. With the potential for the 2022 federal election to grow the crossbench or result in another hung parliament, what further reforms could be on the horizon?
Polling – Truth in politics and social media in Victoria
In September 2021, the multi-party Electoral Matters Committee of the Parliament of Victoria released an extensive report, the findings of its inquiry into the impact of social media on elections and electoral administration. The Australia Institute surveyed a representative sample of 600 Victorians with questions about truth in politics and social media in Victoria, based
Budget Analysis 2022-23
The Commonwealth Government has tabled its budget for the 2022-23 financial year. As the nation emerges from two years of lockdowns and border closures, with less than two months until a federal election, this budget is focused on getting the government re-elected – rather than addressing the challenges of public health, stagnant wages, and sustainability facing Australia.
Give Me Money
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is again proposing a cut in company tax rates. There is little that is new: the BCA has been advocating this proposal or a similar one ever since it came into existence in the early 1980s. Currently, the BCA proposes to cut by way of increasing the threshold below
Glendell Continued Operations Project
The economic assessments of the Glendell proposal overstate its benefits and understate its costs. Applying current carbon prices to only its direct emissions gives a net present value of between negative $460 and negative $570 million. This excludes consideration of the potential heritage and biodiversity impacts.
Impacts of beer excise rate cut
Proposals to halve the beer excise would cost around a billion dollars over the next five years and undermine policies to reduce the abuse of alcohol.
Fossil fuel subsidies in Australia (2021-22)
In 2021-22, Australian Federal and state governments provided a total of $11.6 billion worth of spending and tax breaks to assist fossil fuel industries. This is a 12% increase on last year’s figure and 56 times the budget of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency. Over the longer term, $55.3 billion is committed to subsidising gas and oil extraction, coal-fired power, coal railways, ports, carbon capture and storage, and other measures.
Come clean
Freedom of Information documents show that when designing the ERF CCS method, the Clean Energy Regulator consulted almost exclusively with fossil fuel companies and big emitters, while actively excluding independent researchers.
Fragmentation & Photo-Ops
Strong vocational education and training (VET) systems are vital to the success of dynamic, innovative economies and inclusive labour markets. Australia’s VET system once provided well-established and dependable education-to-jobs pathways, but a combination of policy vandalism and fiscal mismanagement plunged the VET system into a lasting and multidimensional crisis.
Fair Go Gone: Stage 3 tax cuts and LMITO by occupation
The stage 3 tax cuts will give occupations like CEOs of large corporations, surgeons, and federal politicians a $9,075 a year tax cut. While aged care workers, hairdressers, and café workers will get nothing. When the LMITO ends teachers, nurses and chefs will pay $1080 more in tax.