The preoccupation with money and consumption comes at an increasing cost. Many Australians consider that money-hunger conflicts with their deeper values and preferences and results in a society that is too materialistic. There is evidence that many people are deciding to accept lower incomes and consumption levels in order to have more balance in their

A recent Newspoll survey, commissioned by the Institute, reveals that 62 per cent of Australians believe that they cannot afford to buy everything they really need. Taking into consideration the fact that Australia is one of the richest countries in the world and that Australians today have income three times higher than in 1950, it

The structure of the tax system can play an important role in either protecting or causing harm to the natural environment. This report examines existing taxes, charges and related incentives that encourage either environmental protection or degradation in each of the areas of transport, stationary energy, land, water, forests and waste. The study also considers

Against the approximately $1.1 billion contribution koalas make to Australia’s tourism industry, this article proposes leveraging enduring international interest in koalas with proposed conservation efforts and koala culls on Kangaroo Island to create a koala hunting industry that would contribute further to the inbound tourism sector.

This article explains some of the ways in which regional communities benefit and could continue to benefit from a shift from non-renewable to renewable energy generation, based on the assumption that the decline of non-renewables is inevitable and therefore we should be proactive. Examples show how sustainable energy projects create long term job opportunities and

Climate change is expected to have severe adverse impacts on the majority of Commonwealth countries, especially developing country members. Australia has displayed a callous disregard for the future well-being of the poorest and most vulnerable members of the Commonwealth.

This paper looks back at the achievements and failures of Landcare after ten years. The authors put forward a set of proposals for the future that goes much further than anything previously suggested.

Submission No. 4 to the Senate Environment References Committee Inquiry into Australia’s Response to Global Warming

A submission to the Senate Environment References Committee Inquiry into Australia’s Response to Global Warming

Address to the Horizons of Science Forum, UTS

It has long been recognised that GDP growth does not correlate well with changes in social welfare, i.e. national well-being. The GPI adjusts GDP by 23 factors that reflect some of the social and environmental costs of economic growth to give a better measures of changes in national prosperity. This paper explores these issues in

Australia’s unique wildlife is a vital factor in attracting foreign tourists and the future of the tourism industry depends heavily on the protection of our natural environment. This study evaluates the economic contribution of the koala to the Australian tourism industry.

While there is firm public support for stronger environmental protection, action on these issues in the past has been seriously constrained by the belief by governments that protecting the environment will have large economic costs. Ecological tax reform shows this need not be the case by arguing that carefully devised measures can both protect the

This paper considers the implications for the proposed uranium mine at Jabiluka of the Resource Assessment Commission’s inquiry into mining at Coronation Hill, also within the boundaries of Kakadu National Park. There are some important parallels in the issues and the way they have been treated.

This paper considers the impacts of logging in forests on the quantity and quality of water available for users. It also considers the economic implications of the effect of logging on water yields and water quality and the lessons for policy makers.

This paper is designed for Landcare participants and policy-makers and outlines some economic approaches to land-use decision-making that could be used to evaluate Landcare.