-
Economics
- Banking & Finance
- Employment & Unemployment
- Future of Work
- Gender at Work
- Gig Economy
- Industry & Sector Policies
- Inequality
- Infrastructure & Construction
- Insecure & Precarious Work
- Labour Standards & Workers' Rights
- Macroeconomics
- Population & Migration
- Public Sector, Procurement & Privatisation
- Retirement
- Science & Technology
- Social Security & Welfare
- Tax, Spending & the Budget
- Unions & Collective Bargaining
- Wages & Entitlements
- Young Workers
- Climate & Energy
- Democracy & Accountability
- Environment
- International & Security Affairs
- Law, Society & Culture
April 2019
April Holiday Cluster Highlights Income Losses From Reduced Penalty Rates
Many Australians are eagerly anticipating a unique concentration of public holidays in coming days. There is a ten-day period (stretching from Good Friday through Sunday, 28 April) during which many employees only have to work three days. Many Australians are now arranging to take those three days off: creating an extended 10-day holiday for the “price” of just three days leave.
Driving Norse: Electric Vehicle policies in Norway
Norway has implemented a suite of policies to boost electric vehicle uptake. These policies should be considered in Australia’s electric vehicle debate.
Regressing on tax
The tax cuts announced in the budget will make Australia’s income tax system less progressive, hand billions to high income earners and for every dollar in tax cuts to females, males will get two dollars
Wages, Taxes and the Budget: How to Genuinely Improve Living Standards
This week’s pre-election Commonwealth budget will feature reductions in personal income taxes, as the Coalition government tries to overcome a disadvantage in the polls in the coming federal election. Public debate in recent weeks has been focused on the economic and social hardship caused by the unprecedented slowdown since 2013 in Australian wage growth. It is likely that the government will portray its personal tax cuts as a form of “compensation” for slower wage growth.
March 2019
Polling – Regulation of fish farming
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,536 Australians about fish farm regulation. The survey told respondents that large scale fish farms are currently assessed and regulated by state governments, not the federal government. They were then asked who should assess and regulate fish farms.
Polling – South Australia Policies for Jobs and Investment
New polling from The Australia Institute shows South Australians overwhelmingly think increasing funding for public services is a far more effective policy for encouraging jobs and economic growth than the SA Government’s land tax cut for property investors.
Workplace Policy Reform in New Zealand
Australia can learn much from the policy leadership of the Ardern Government in New Zealand and its reforms to address stagnant wages and rebuild a more inclusive workplace relations framework, according to new research from the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute.
Australia’s Economy Heads Into Election on a Weak Note
The ABS has released what is likely the last quarterly GDP report before a Commonwealth election expected in May. Coalition leaders were hoping a strong report would underline their standard talking points about being the best “economic managers.” But they were badly disappointed.
February 2019
Turning ‘Gigs’ Into Decent Jobs
What’s a ‘gig’ job, anyway? There’s lots of media hype about how people won’t have jobs in the future (they’re so old-fashioned). Instead they’ll work a never-ending series of gigs. Will they love the supposed ‘freedom’ and ‘flexibility’? Or will they yearn for the good old days when a job provided regular hours … and a regular paycheque?
Joint Submission: Draft floodplain harvesting monitoring and auditing strategy
The NSW Draft Floodplain harvesting monitoring and auditing strategy (draft strategy) is entirely inadequate for managing floodplain harvesting in New South Wales. It is inconsistent with numerous legislative and other government commitments and is likely unlawful. It should be withdrawn and heavily revised. [Read the full submission]
Inquiry submission: Abolish the cashing out of franking credits
Dividend imputation was introduced by the then Treasurer Paul Keating in 1987 with the aim of eliminating the so-called double taxation of company income. Under dividend imputation the individual who receives dividend income is taxed but receives credit for company tax paid by the company. Company tax paid by the company is imputed to the
January 2019
What’s a Million, Anyway?
In the lead-up to the 2013 federal election, then-Opposition Leader Tony Abbott made a high-profile pledge that a Coalition government, if elected, would create 1 million new jobs over the next five years. Abbott was elected (although later ousted by his own party), and total employment in Australia did indeed grow by over 1 million positions between 2013 and 2018. Current Prime Minister Scott Morrison hopes that this success can resuscitate his party’s flagging fortunes: he has pledged, if elected, to create even more jobs (1.25 million) over the next five years.
Trolls and polls: the economic costs of online harassment and cyberhate
The Australia Institute was commissioned by independent journalist and researcher Ginger Gorman to estimate the economic costs of online harassment and cyberhate. This report is part of a wider research by Ms Gorman on cyberhate. In April 2018, a nationally representative sample of 1,557 Australians were surveyed about online harassment and cyberhate. The poll was
The Costs of Market Experiments
December 2018
A Fair Go for All Australians
On the Brink
Australia’s enterprise bargaining system is crumbling rapidly in private sector workplaces, according to dramatic findings from the Centre for Future Work.
Private Sector Wage Growth Still in Doldrums
New data on private-sector business conditions confirm that wage increases paid in the private sector of Australia’s economy continue to plumb record lows. The ABS’s quarterly Business Indicators report, released yesterday, indicates total wages and salaries paid out by private businesses grew 4.3 percent in the September quarter, compared to year-earlier levels. This only slightly
November 2018
Under the Employer’s Eye: Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance in Australian Workplaces
Each year the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute conducts a public survey of Australian working hours, as part of our annual “Go Home on Time Day” (GHOTD) initiative. Findings from the survey regarding hours worked, preferences for more or less hours, and the incidence of unpaid overtime are reported in a companion study.
Excessive Hours and Unpaid Overtime: 2018 Update
2018 marks the tenth annual Go Home on Time Day (GHOTD), an initiative of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute that shines a spotlight on overwork among Australians, including excessive overtime that is often unpaid. Over many years, the Centre for Future Work and the Australia Institute have commissioned regular annual opinion polls
Submission to Senate inquiry into the indicators of, and impact of, regional inequality in Australia
The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate inquiry into the indicators of, and impact of, regional inequality in Australia.
Who really benefits from negative gearing?
Key Findings: High-income households and Liberal held electorates are the biggest beneficiaries of negative gearing. Key Findings:Negative gearing primarily benefits high income households Young are the biggest losers from negative gearing Liberal held electorates the biggest winners fromnegative gearing [READ REPORT]
A Secret Weapon in the Fight Against Financial Misconduct
The Royal Commission into the financial services industry has heard tens of thousands of incidents of financial misconduct. The problem is clearly not just a “few bad apples”; the problem is clearly rooted in the core structure and practice of this industry.
October 2018
Fishing for compliments: Fishing in the Tasmanian economy
Tasmania’s shellfish aquaculture and commercial wild-catch fisheries are responsible for 8,400 tonnes of production each year, with a gross value of $209 million. Between them, these sectors employ between 1,091 and 1,310 people across all four of Tasmania’s regions. The distribution of fishing and aquaculture jobs varies across Tasmania’s four regions. Offshore caged aquaculture (the