The informal work practices of the so-called “gig” economy are widening existing cracks in Australia’s system of labour regulations, and should be repaired through active measures to strengthen labour standards in digital businesses. That is the conclusion of newly-published research from a special symposium on “Work in the Gig Economy,” organised by the Centre for Future Work.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Economic Committee’s Inquiry into the governance and operation of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). Over the past year The Australia Institute has investigated the governance and operations of the NAIF. NAIF is entrusted with $5 billion of public funds and has an important role in

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee regarding the Regional Investment Corporation Bill 2017. The Australia Institute acknowledges the merit of government financing, including on a concessional basis, to address areas of public good, promote sustainable economic development, to address market gaps, and to help with managing risk. However,

The Palaszczuk government’s special royalty deal with Adani remains secret after Treasury blocked a Right to Information request. 2000 pages relating to the ‘clear’ and ‘transparent’ royalty framework were almost entirely redacted. Public servants expressed concerns about analysing the deal after it has been offered. The Queensland Treasury has refused to release the royalty subsidy

Australian governments have been trying to develop northern Australia for a long time, with the latest policy papers and Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility just the most recent in a long tradition of generally unsuccessful attempts to entice more people to the continent’s north with the promise of jobs and prosperity. The Ord River irrigation scheme

The Australia Institute released a report today that exposes the systemic failure of the ACT’s primary education system and offers recommendations on how to rejuvenate the sector. The Australia Institute report, released today compared the NAPLAN results of twenty-four high socio-economic primary schools in the ACT between 2008 and 2016 and found the government schools

A new report released today from The Australia Institute’s Senior Research Fellow, David Richardson shows that, according to ATO data, the equivalent of 21.6 per cent of Australia’s national income was run through a trust. The latest ATO figures show there are 823,448 trusts with assets of $3.1 trillion, and total business income of $349.2

The Australia Institute Tasmania commissioned a survey, conducted by ReachTEL, of 927 residents in the federal electorate of Lyons on the night of the 17th July 2017. Less than one in five (16.9%) voters saying the industry has a positive effect on other fishing industries, while around one third (33.5%) say it has a negative effect

As Fiji prepares to chair climate talks in late 2017, Pacific leaders are gathering in Suva to consider what policies to push for. One should be a moratorium on new coal mines. Australian government ministers are actively promoting subsidies to the world’s largest new coal mine, Adani’s Carmichael project. When Pacific leaders have called for

State governments are universally supportive of resource development. They provide considerable financial support to the sector, yet receive relatively little in return. We are unaware of any example of states using the HFE system to argue against resource development.

A new report from The Australia Institute’s Senior Economist, Matt Grudnoff, reviews the economic impact of the South Australian government’s proposed bank levy. The research finds that the banks are not only very capable of paying the 0.0036% levy on the same liabilities that the federal government levy is based on, but also that the

The Jubilee Australia Research Centre and The Australia Institute welcome the opportunity to make a submission on the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Support for Commonwealth Entities) Bill 2016. The primary purpose of Efic under the original Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act 1991 is to “assist the development of Australian export trade.” Efic

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to a submission to the Inquiry into the Major Bank Levy Bill 2017 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Major Bank Levy) Bill 2017. This submission should be read in conjunction with some earlier submissions to Senate Inquiries. In particular we refer to our submission to the Senate Economics Committee

Successful Homeshare programs in the balance as NDIS roll-out offers new risks and opportunities. A new report from The Australia Institute, released today at the Council on the Ageing national housing policy forum, identifies semi-formal shared living opportunities for older Australians and people with disabilities. —Full report available in PDF below— Homeshare models provide free

In conjunction with the National Manufacturing Summit, titled “From Opportunity to Action,” at Parliament House in Canberra on June 21, 2017, the Centre for Future Work has released a new research paper on the opportunities to sustain and expand manufacturing jobs in Australia. Our new report, Manufacturing: A Moment of Opportunity, by Jim Stanford and

Development of unconventional gas in the NT risks connecting the NT to the chaos in wider Australian gas markets. As the nation becomes a major gas exporter with record production there have been no winners.

A new report models the impact of an increased Medicare Levy in comparison to a progressive Medicare Levy, more like income tax, on the spread of Australian income earners.  The Government proposes to increase the Medicare levy to 2.5 per cent of income from July 2019. That would mean a gradual switch in the tax

Amidst increasing concerns among economists and budget forecasters about the historic stagnation of Australian wages, the latest GDP statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have confirmed that the proportion of national economic output that is paid to workers has reached an all-time low.

The Fair Work Commission released two major decisions this week: its order regarding the timing for the implementation of reductions in penalty rates for Sunday and public holiday work in four major retail and hospitality awards, followed by its annual review of the general minimum wage. Both decisions will take effect on July 1. It

The Australian government’s surprising decision to impose a new tax targeted precisely at the biggest financial institutions in the country continues to generate public debate.  We have reviewed the structure, likely effects, and economic and regulatory context of the proposed 0.06% levy on selected liabilities of the 5 largest financial institutions in Australia. The loud

The Australia Institute has tested two claims made in response to the bank levy announced in the Federal Budget: that the impact of the levy will be passed onto customers, and that it will be borne by shareholders, affecting Australian superannuation savings. —For paper see PDF below— In either scenario, the research finds that the

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) is a $5 billion government fund for concessional financing to build infrastructure in northern Qld, NT and WA. The default financing mechanism is a loan. Adani has applied for a concessional loan of nearly $1 billion from the NAIF for a rail line so that it can export coal

A new ReachTEL poll of 1,618 Queenslanders shows strong opposition to state and federal subsidies for the Adani coal proposal, including among LNP and One Nation voters. -Polling results in attachment below- 59% of Queenslanders oppose Federal and State taxpayers’ money being used to fund Adani’s project. 37% said they were strongly opposed and just

Australia’s export credit agency, Efic, is a government-owned, taxpayer-backed organisation that aims to assist Australian exporters with financial services. Efic is currently considering a loan to a South African coal project. The Boikarabelo coal project has approval to produce 32 million tonnes of raw coal each year. The development of this project would likely contribute

The Labor party has announced a policy to limit the deduction that can be claimed for managing your tax affairs to $3,000. The complexity of the tax system means that some people are spending large amounts of money on accounting advice to take advantage of tax loopholes to significantly reduce their taxable income. They can then reduce their disposable

New polling from The Australia Institute shows almost two thirds (64%) of Australians oppose a taxpayer-funded subsidised loan to the Adani coal mine project, as reports emerge the Queensland Government is considering an additional $320 million subsidy to Adani in the form of a ‘royalty holiday’. —For polling brief see attachement below— “Providing a billion

New polling from The Australia Institute shows the majority of Australians think US President Donald Trump will not honour a deal to take refugees from Manus Island and Nauru to be resettled in the United States. Half of respondents (51%) disagreed with the statement ‘Donald Trump will follow through on the agreement’ while 28% agreed

New research from The Australia Institute has found that the Prime Minister’s electorate is the biggest reaps the greatest benefit from capital gains tax discount, by a large margin. CGT discount expected to cost the budget $9.6 billion dollars this year (2016-17) $44 billion over the next four years. Historical data also shows that, in