-
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
May 2006
Competitiveness and Carbon Pricing: Border adjustments for greenhouse policies
This paper outlines a radical new proposal to pay rebates to export industries adversely affected by greenhouse gas emission taxes thereby preserving the international competitiveness of energy-intensive exporters whilst maintaining the carbon price signal with the domestic economy. Implementation of the proposal would thus effectively remove the main argument used against the ratification of the
April 2006
Child Care Quality in Australia
Recent public debate about the child care system in Australia has focused primarily on the availability and affordability of child care. This paper considers an aspect of child care that has received much less attention, that of the quality of the care provided. Results from a national survey of long day care centre staff suggest
Equality of Opportunity in Australia: Myth and reality
Public policy debate about equality of opportunity in Australia currently centres around the distribution of disposable incomes and the role played by taxes and transfers. In contrast, this paper presents the available evidence on underlying structural inequalities of education, health, employment, housing and location. Based on international evidence, the paper argues that governments which address
March 2006
Drug Law Reform: Beyond Prohibition
Prohibition has failed to significantly reduce illicit drug markets and has caused greater harm to society than it has saved. The evidence shows that a treatment-orientated approach to drug issues would be far more effective in reducing drug-related harm.
February 2006
December 2005
Unwanted Christmas Presents: Getting the Most out of Christmas
Over half of all Australians will not use, or give away Christmas presents. 21% of Australians will give a present to someone they don’t like. Because of this the piece recommends that the important social act of present giving should be replaced with giving to charity, as 73% of Australians would prefer a charitable contribution.
September 2005
July 2005
Why Australians Will Never Be Prosperous
While many Australians are prosperous, few feel prosperous. Only 1 in 5 millionaires consider themselves prosperous¸ and only 1.6 of the entire Australian population. This piece claims that the pressure on growth of net worth and income forces people to perceive themselves as not prosperous.
June 2005
Who is Better at Managing the Australian Economy: Labor or the Coalition?
A new analysis of the economic performance of the Hawke-Keating Labor Government and the Howard Government concludes that, in a reversal of what would be expected, Labor did better at controlling inflation and the real rate of interest, while the Coalition did better at reducing unemployment and cutting the current account deficit.
May 2005
Can humans survive automation?: Speech to the Manning Clark House conference Science and Ethics: Can Homo Sapiens Survive?
The European Enlightenment through the Cartesian division and dualism split our inner and outer perceptions of knowledge. This made humanity view themselves as divisible from their environment. This has fostered an overreliance on technology and science, without the need to see ourselves as connected to materials.
How big should Canberra Be?
The belief that Canberra should grow is not supported by 72% of Canberrans. The belief that Canberra does not have culture is also false, as Canberra has the more artists and intellectuals per hectare than any other city in Australia. Due to the false perception of Canberra’s cultural impoverishment, and the wide support for no
April 2005
Off to Work: Commuting in Australia
Compares commuting times by city, occupation and socio-economic group and considers the effects of long commuting times on family relationships and social life.
March 2005
Wasteful Consumption in Australia
This report estimates that Australians spend more than $10.5 billion each year on goods and services from which they derive no benefit. The paper examines the phenomenon of wasteful consumption and explores its implications.
Who benefits from private health insurance in Australia?
The private health care rebate of 30% costs the government $2.5b per year. Only 24% of households under $25,000 per year have private health care, this increases to 69% for household over $100,000 per year. Single parents, young people and poor families are the least likely to have private health care. Due to this the
February 2005
Mapping Loneliness in Australia
Using national survey data, this paper outlines patters of loneliness, support and friendship and assesses who is most at risk of emotional and social isolation and who is socially supported and connected.
Demographic trends in private health insurance membership
The Howard government promised to rise in the private health care rebate from 30% to 35% for people over 65 and 40% for people over 70. However between 2001 and 2004 there has been a decrease in private health insurance for people under 55 by 4.8%, while people over 55 have increased 13.7%. Prices for
January 2005
Making Fines Fairer
A speeding fine of $125 represent one third of the weekly pay for those who make $20,000 per annum, while it only makes up 6% for someone making $100,000 per annum. This applies to the cost of a parking ticket or any other flat fine. The recommendation of this piece is to make the fine
November 2004
Property Rights and the Environment: Should farmers have a right to compensation?
This paper examines the claim that farmers require a statutory compensation scheme to protect them from legislation designed to improve environmental outcomes.
20th November: Take-the-rest-of-the-year-off day
New Studies have shown that Australia works the longest hours per year than any other industrialised country, and 500 hours more than Norway. This has been linked to less productivity and less time to buy luxury goods. The recommendation is to significantly reduce the working hours per week.
October 2004
Trading in Food Safety? The impact of trade agreements on quarantine in Australia
Australia has always enjoyed rigorous national food standards that were applied equally to both domestically produced and imported food. The capacity to maintain and apply these standards, however, is now being undermined by international trade agreements and procedures for settling trade disputes with a result that challenges to public health are being significantly increased.
September 2004
Geosequestration: What is it and how much can it contribute to a sustainable energy policy for Australia?
Examines how much emissions abatement geosequestration may be able to deliver, how soon it may be able to do so, what the cost of such abatement may be and how it compares with other energy policy options to reduce emissions. Geosequestration: Supporting on-line material
August 2004
Work and family futures: How young Australians plan to work and care
A study of the attitudes of teenagers showing that the gender wars are set to continue into the next generation with boys and girls making conflicting plans about who will do the housework and look after the children.
The Accountability of Private Schools to Public Values
Considers some of the failings of private schools to protect public values and argues that the receipt of government funding should be contingent upon upholding them.
May 2004
Lost children: Condemning children to long-term disadvantage
Unpublished ABS data shows that 23,000 Australian children from low and middle income families are being priced out of child care:12,000 children from low income families and 11,000 children from middle income families miss out on child care because of cost, and they are more likely to experience developmental disabilities as a result.
Carpe Diem? The Deferred Happiness Syndrome
Deferred Happiness Syndrome affects 30% of Australians and occurs when employees are not satisfied with work but do it to achieve happiness later on, often through money and material interests. This often results in downshifters that voluntarily reduce working hours to ensure better lifestyles.
March 2004
The benefits of an ageing population
Examines the benefits that an ageing population will bring to many areas of Australian life and concludes that there is a silver lining to the fog of pessimism currently clouding the perceptions of policy makers and governments.