Research
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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
August 2024
How the North West Shelf Extension threatens WA’s domestic gas market
Woodside’s North West Shelf Extension has not identified sufficient gas supply for its export capacity. This is already resulting in applications to divert domestic gas to the export terminal. This will permanently destabilise WA’s domestic gas market.
July 2024
Luxury Car Tax and the Ute Loophole
Even though the transport sector is the third largest source of Australian emissions and accounted for 21% of national emissions in 2023, the Australian Government continues to incentivise the sale of big utility vehicles (utes) relative to other car options. Over the last twenty years, the number of utes on our roads has grown much
Hope and hydrogen – Australia’s hydrogen export charade
The Australian Government claims that green hydrogen is part of its vision for becoming a renewable energy ‘superpower’, but budget documents show this is not the case. Current industrial hydrogen use in Australia is 500,000 tonnes per year. The Commonwealth Government is budgeting for green hydrogen production of around 500,000 tonnes per year into the
Money and power in Tasmanian elections
The Electoral Disclosure and Funding Amendment Bill 2024 seeks to address shortcomings of existing electoral laws; however, further amendments are required to adequately account for fairness for new political entrants, allow community voices to engage in elections, and strengthen regulation of corporates and industry bodies seeking to influence elections as third parties.
Power sharing in Australian parliaments
Parliaments exist to share power, and power sharing has been a feature of Australian parliaments for as long as they have existed: between different interest groups, different communities and different political movements; across the upper and lower houses; within parties (via factions); and between parties (including coalition agreements like those between the Liberals and the Nationals).
The oil and gas industry in South Australia
Oil and gas extraction in South Australia employs just 833 people, 0.1% of SA jobs. Petroleum royalties make up 0.4% of the state budget. On oil and gas production worth $1.7 billion in 2021-22, the industry paid at most $99 million in federal tax, of which Santos paid zero. Despite this, the industry has significant
Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training Inquiry into the Digital Transformation of Workplaces
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we work and the jobs we do. AI innovations in workplaces can have positive benefits, including through productivity gains. However, AI applications can also have significant risks for workers and for job quality. AI applications, including automated decision making, are not neutral processes. Software can be designed and
Employee voice and new rights for workplace union delegates
A workplace delegate is a worker chosen to represent workers who are union members in dealings with management. Delegates are volunteers who perform their union duties on an unpaid basis in addition to their normal job at work. Delegates spend their time undertaking vital tasks for workplace representation.
June 2024
Ending child poverty in Australia
One in six Australian children live in poverty, yet there is no official poverty line or monitoring of poverty in place.
Polling – Willingness to pay for nuclear
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Australians about their willingness to pay for nuclear energy.
Housing cooperatives: an answer to Australia’s housing shortage?
Housing cooperatives run on a non-profit, collective ownership model in which the costs of buying or building a dwelling are shared, and decisions about how it is run are made based on a ‘one member, one vote’ system. This means that tenants who buy into a cooperative get the right to have a say in the housing they pay for.
Polling – Prosecution of Assange
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Australians about the prosecution of Julian Assange. Respondents were asked if they think the Federal Government is doing too much or too little to secure the release of Australian citizen Julian Assange. One in three Australians (34%) think that the Federal Government is doing too
Who benefits?
Super tax concessions exacerbate income and gender inequality.
Polling – Anti-siphoning laws
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Australians about Australia’s anti-siphoning laws.
Gas industry claims debunked
War in Ukraine has seen oil and gas export revenue out of Australia increase from $40 billion in 2020-21 to $107 billion in 2022-23. Lobby group forecasts of $17 billion in 2023-24 payments to government should be considered in this context.
Privatised Failure
For many years competition has been enshrined as a goal of economic policy.
May 2024
Australia’s great gas giveaway
According to the Australian Government’s Future Gas Strategy, gas is “critical” to the nation’s economy.
Textiles waste in Australia
Every year, over 300,000 tonnes of clothing is either sent to landfill or exported from Australia. To respond to the growing textiles waste problem, the Commonwealth has proposed policies intended to create a ‘circular economy.’ However, a genuinely circular economy depends on drastically reducing the rate at which textiles are produced and consumed, banning the
Polling – Australian attitudes to ACT policies
In 2019, the Australia Institute published Canberra: Laboratory of democracy, which described innovative, politically controversial policies from the Australian Capital Territory that were popular across the country.
Budget revenue from WA gas exports
Royalty revenue from WA gas exports has halved in the past two years and now makes up just 1.5% of budget revenue.
No delay, no excuses, no carbon offsets
The existing NSW Koala Strategy fails to recognise or address the immediate and systemic impacts of logging, fossil fuel production and climate change on koala populations.
Budget 2024-25: Resists Austerity, Reduces Inflation, Targets Wage Gains
Commonwealth Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered his 2024-25 budget to Parliament. While it booked a surplus for 2023-24 (the second consecutive surplus), it increased total spending for future years, and forecasts continued small deficits. In the wake of the economic slowdown resulting from RBA interest rate hikes, this new spending is needed and appropriate.
Democracy Agenda for the 51st Tasmanian Parliament
This discussion paper describes the evolution of key democratic reforms in Tasmania, principles for a healthy democracy, and details 16 reforms that Tasmanian parliamentarians
– Liberal, Labor, Independent and minor party – could pursue in the 51st Tasmanian Parliament.
Fossil fuel subsidies in Australia 2024
Australia’s subsidies to fossil fuel producers and major users from all governments totalled $14.5 billion in 2023–24, increase of 31% on the $11.1 billion recorded in 2022–23.
Australia’s Fuel Tax Credits and the debate over fossil fuel subsidies
The Fuel Tax Credits Scheme costs the Federal Budget nearly $10 billion per year and largely benefits iron ore and coal miners.
A stronger PRRT cap
Even though Australia needs to transition to a net zero emissions economy as a matter of urgency, the tax system continues to encourage fossil fuel investment.
Gas in WA: the economy
WA is a globally significant gas exporter, but gas is insignificant in the WA economy.
April 2024
No Jobs on a Dead Planet
Despite being named the “Net Zero Economy Authority” (NZEA), the proposed NZEA has no plan, no powers and no budget to deliver a “Net Zero Economy”.
Income tax in Australia’s tax system
One of the most common misconceptions about Australia’s tax system is that it is over-reliant on income tax.
Buildings as batteries
If buildings shifted one third of their peak electricity consumption to the middle of the day, this would save $1.7 billion annually and add additional peak capacity equivalent to 52% of Australia’s existing coal generation fleet. It would reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity by 1.9% (2,780,000 tonnes) per year and accelerate decarbonisation by