Supply measure projects that purport to save water in the Yanco Creek System will lead to environmental damage and “greater diversions” for irrigation in the Murrumbidgee according to water agencies. They are likely to be unlawful, with no way of properly assessing environmental equivalence as defined in the Basin Plan.

Coal mined in NSW causes more emissions than the UK or France and nearly four times more than directly emitted from NSW itself. NSW climate policy aims for net zero emissions by 2050. Yet in the midst of a bushfire crisis, under coal lobby pressure, the NSW Government seeks to abolish the legal requirement to

Recently released documents show that the vendors in an $80 million water sale had repeatedly offered far lower prices to the Commonwealth but these offers were rejected as ‘not value for money’. The documents mention a company linked to Energy Minister Angus Taylor seven years after it says it ended work with the vendors. The

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the South Australian Select Committee on the findings of the South Australian Murray Darling Basin Royal Commission and the Productivity Commission’s five-year assessment of the Plan. Public commentary frequently blames the Basin Plan for the economic, social and environmental demise of much of the

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s inquiry into nationhood, national identity and democracy. The submission outlines how the Australia Institute’s existing research applies to each of the committee’s terms of reference.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Economics References Committee’s inquiry into Australia’s oil and gas reserves. The submission highlights our existing research on Australia’s oil and gas and how they relate to the inquiry’s terms of reference. Update Read our second submission to the Senate Economics References Committee’s inquiry into Australia’s oil and

If Norwegian company Equinor is given permission to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight, it will likely pay the Norwegian Government more than it will pay in Australian Government taxes and up to 27 times more than they will pay to the South Australian Government, a new report from The Australia Institute has

The Australian National Audit Office is investigating so-called strategic water purchases in the Murray Darling Basin. These purchases were counter to government policy on reducing consumptive use, have not brought balance to the Commonwealth’s water portfolio, were not value for money and did not meet guidelines on transparency, accountability and ethical procurement. The Australia Institute

New coal mine proposals in Tasmania appear to be aimed more at increasing the value of the company and extracting government subsidy than at developing a mine that could deliver value for the Tasmanian community.

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. The Committee’s Report on the conduct of the 2016 federal election recognised compulsory voting as a cornerstone of Australia’s democracy and recommended a review of the penalty for not voting. This review appears not to have been

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to comment on proposed conditions of the United Wambo coal mine project relating to climate change. The Independent Planning Commission is to be commended for raising the elephant in the room of Australia’s climate policy – our coal exports and the scope three emissions that they create.  In the

The annual Climate of the Nation report has tracked Australian attitudes on climate change for over a decade. Climate of the Nation 2019 is the second report produced by The Australia Institute, continuing the work of The Climate Institute (2007-2017). Key findings include: 81% of Australians are concerned that climate change will result in more

The Australia Institute made a submission to the National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) regarding national ambient air quality standards for ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. The economic assessment of the proposed standards is not fit for purpose. The benefit-cost analysis underestimates the benefits of improved air quality while overstating the costs of improvements. In

Norwegian oil company Equinor is planning exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight beginning in late 2020. Modelling commissioned by the oil and gas lobby shows that South Australia is unlikely to receive any noticeable benefit from tax payments as a result of oil and gas production in the Great Australian

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Independent Assessment of Social and Economic Conditions in the Murray-Darling Basin. The socio-economic conditions of the Murray Darling Basin share many characteristics with other areas of regional Australia – lower incomes and difficult access to important services. These should be addressed as well as the mismanagement of

The Australia Institute supports the Murray-Darling Basin Commission of Inquiry Bill 2019. This submission considers the implementation of the Basin Plan from a financial auditing perspective.

The Australia Institute made a submission on the Galilee Gas Pipeline proposed by Jemena. The Pipeline Project should be considered a controlled action under the EPBC Act as it would impact on matters of national environmental significance.

We thank the Natural Resource Commissioner for the thorough and forthright Draft Review of the Barwon-Darling Water Sharing Plan. We support all of the Commission’s recommendations.We raise two additional matters for the Commission’s consideration: Legality of the 2012 Barwon-Darling Water Sharing Plan Cap compliance

As Queensland’s Government and Opposition compete to sweeten deals for the coal industry, open-cut coal mines in Queensland already get up to 17% of their coal for free compared with similar mines in NSW. At average export prices over the past decade, the benefit to Adani’s mine would have been $223 million and $1.3bn to

The Australia Institute made a submission to Commonwealth Treasury’s Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Gas Transfer Pricing Review. Australians are being short changed by the LNG industry and the way it is taxed. A shift in the way the PRRT estimates transfer prices between a project’s upstream extraction and downstream liquefaction to ‘netback only’ pricing, could

The Australia Institute made a submission on the proposed modification to the Ulan coal mine. Assessment of the proposal does not meet NSW guidelines and overstates potential benefits. It should be rejected on economic and climate grounds.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the NSW Independent Planning Commission’s May 2019 consideration of the United Wambo coal project. The latest assessment by Deloitte, commissioned by the mine proponents, confirms Australia Institute analysis that mine voids can be filled leaving a $139 million surplus, based on EIS figures. This submission follows from The