Polling conducted by Research Now for The Australia Institute reveals continued popularity of renewable energy

Despite overseeing $5 billion in subsidised loans, the NAIF has limited staffing and internal documentation. Secrecy around Adani proposal Handful of staff to assess $5 billion worth of projects Lack of guidance documents for Investment Decisions No detailed Application and Assessment process Limited governance policies which they refused to release Secrecy about NAIF Board decisions

Despite widespread coverage, little is known about the NAIF or the $1bn NAIF loan proposal for Adani’s coal rail. Lacking robust governance policies, including some required by its legislation, and poorly resourced, NAIF should reject the immense political pressure to fast-track the loan. The Australia Institute also lodged FOI requests with the NAIF. The FOI

Report on what we do and don’t know about mines, closures and rehabilitation in New South Wales. Little data is available to the public on the clean-up from the mining boom. State government agencies often lack basic information on how many mines are in operation, with still less published on closures and abandonments.

The Prime Minister and Energy Minister ignored advice from AEMO that renewables were not to blame for the SA blackout. In the afternoon of 28 September 2016, a huge storm raged through South Australia, knocking over multiple power lines and triggering a stage-wide blackout. Almost immediately, politicians blamed the blackout on the relatively high concentration

The Forest Products Commission (FPC) is a statutory body wholly owned by the Western Australian government. Its primary function is to conduct forestry activities on a commercial basis in state-owned forests, including softwood plantations, sandalwood and native forests. The FPC is responsible for most of Western Australia’s (WA) native forestry, which occurs in the state’s

The NAIF will spend $5 billion of public funds in Northern Australia on infrastructure that is unable to attract commercial financing, which could include subsidising the controversial Adani Carmichael coal mine.  Australians don’t want their money funding infrastructure for coal and gas companies under the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), national polling released

The focus of this year’s Go Home on Time Day is the threat to the “Great Aussie Holiday.”  Thanks to the rise of precarious work in all its forms, a growing share of Australian workers (about one-third, according to our research) have no access to something we once took for granted: a paid annual holiday.

A new report by the Australia Institute shows that employment and jobs growth fell in regional Queensland during the mining construction boom. Despite an unprecedented 400 percent increase in mining investment from 2010 to 2013, by 2015 employment in regional Queensland fell to below 2010 levels. While employment increased in a few mining intensive regions

Australia has a long history of prioritising fossil fuels over renewables in research and development (R&D) funding. ARENA turned this around, making Australia a world leader in renewables. Government plans to cut ARENA’s funding while providing new funds for fossil fuel R&D risks putting Australia back decades in energy R&D.

Research released today by The Australia Institute estimates the tourism industry impacts if severe coral bleaching continues on the Great Barrier Reef. — Full report in attachment below — Based on surveys of Chinese, UK, American and domestic tourists, results show that tourism areas adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef risk losing over 1 million

A new report analysing findings from across several corporate regulatory bodies and related agencies finds widespread wrong-doing in the Australian private sector.  Meanwhile the six major regulatory bodies and other agencies have seen 3,926 staff cut (or 14.9%) between the 2013-14 and 2015-16 budgets – meaning there are less cops on the corporate beat. The

The ACT government has set leading policies for clean energy and fossil fuel divestment. Public polling reported here shows high levels of support, both within the ACT and around the country. 

This paper outlines the recent employment trends and future prospects of Queensland’s industries and regions, and explores the state’s changing economic context.

The Australian government has recently approved Adani’s Carmichael coal project. If built, it would be the biggest coal mine in Australia. This briefing note puts the vast scale of Carmichael into context.

In July 2015 The Australia Institute conducted a national opinion poll of 1408 people through Research Now. Respondents were selected to produce a representative sample based on gender, age and state. Questions relating to the performance, pay and position of the Vice Chancellors of Australia’s Universities are compiled in a polling brief available here. The

The mining and forestry lobby campaign to remove tax-deductibility for certain non-for-profit organisations they deem contrary to their business interests, does not have the support of the Australian public, according to new polling.  Hearings recommence tomorrow in the Government’s inquiry into the administration, transparency and effectiveness of the Register of Environmental Organisations.  Many Coalition politicians

A Renewable Energy Target (RET) of 50 per cent by 2030 is likely to put downward pressure on electricity prices. There is a large body of research, using a number of different methods, that has looked at the effect of the RET’s 2020 target on electricity prices. They have broadly come to same conclusion. Higher

Donations to environment organisations in Australia are tax deductible as long as the organisation in question is listed on the Commonwealth Register of Environmental Organisations. This listing gives an organisation Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status. A parliamentary inquiry is looking into the Register, largely at the behest of the mining industry. Parts of the mining

This report begins by outlining the fast growing campus divestment movement, globally and in Australia, and explores the debate about the ‘moral university’ and fossil fuels. It then explores the first national poll to assess public attitudes towards universities’ ethics and investments, conducted following the national controversy around the ANU divestment decision. The survey data

Submission to Senate Inquiries on the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014 The debate about how high fees could go under deregulation has largely missed a more important question. When students pay more, what will they be paying for? If the HELP system is a way to pay for a service, shouldn’t higher HELP

The Victorian Liberals’ announcement of $3.9 billion for new trams and trains over the next 10 years appears unlikely to meet growing demand, according to analysis of the announcement from the Australia Institute. 

The Australian government is currently willing to boost the retirement incomes of wealthy Australians by providing low cost ‘reverse mortgages’ through Centrelink. The Pension Loan Scheme (PLS) allows eligible Australians to receive payments equivalent to the full age pension paid into their bank account on a fortnightly basis, borrowed from the government and secured against

Investments in coal, oil, and gas increase financial risk without increasing returns, according to the new report Climate proofing your investments: Moving funds out of fossil fuels published by The Australia Institute. To meet the internationally-agreed two degree global warming limit, fossil fuel businesses must leave in the ground two-thirds of the reserves currently on their books.