The Australia Institute made a submission on the consultation paper for the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources’ Enhanced offshore oil and gas decommissioning framework.

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media.

Submission made to the Energy Security Board’s proposed framework for the planning of renewable energy zones (REZ) within state jurisdictions in the National Electricity Market (NEM). This form part an ongoing research project titled Rural Communities and Renewable Energy: A Socio-economic Study in NSW, conducted by thte University of Sydney Environment Institute, Australian National University and the

The regulatory framework surrounding political advertising on social media is almost non-existent, in contrast to the strict rules for election advertising on other media. Partly because social media ads can be “micro-targeted” to small audiences, it can be hard to identify what political parties and candidates claim in ads or who they have made that claim to. Existing “Internet ad libraries” on some platforms do not fully address this problem.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Consultation on the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) 2050 Strategy.

The Centre for Responsible Technology made a submission to the consultation process on a digital industry code on disinformation, run by industry group DIGI.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade regarding the Defence Legislation Amendment (Enhancement of Defence Force Response to Emergencies) Bill 2020.

COAG Energy Council consulted on a proposed new national regulation that would mandate air conditioning and other consumer devices to have ‘smart’ demand response capabilities. This requirement would only apply to new appliances. The Australia Institute made a submission arguing that the economic modelling in the Regulatory Impact Statement justified making the decision as it

We made an independent submission to the Australian Energy Market Commission on the second draft rule and draft determination for the Wholesale Demand Response rule change. We supported the Commission’s more preferable rule on the basis that it contains a considerable number of changes to the mechanism which increase the effectiveness of the reform. We

The Australian Energy Market Commission is considering a rule change that would allow distribution networks to charge households with solar PV for the energy they export. Our submission argues that it would be unfair to bring in a new system of charges to cover the supposed costs of DER before DER can also earn fair

The Australia Institute and FearLess support the rescheduling of psilocybin and MDMA from Schedule 9 to Schedule 8 of the Poisons Standard. The potential risks from this change are small while the benefits are potentially large. Academic studies recognise the low level of harm caused by these substances. Despite researchers finding “easy to very easy”

Workers in most industries and occupations worry about the effects of accelerating technological change on their employment security and prospects. New digital technologies are being applied to an increasingly diverse and complex array of tasks and jobs – including artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies which can exercise judgment and decision-making powers. Some studies suggest that as many as half of all jobs may be highly vulnerable to automation and computerisation in coming decades. The NSW Legislative Council has established a Select Committee to examine the impact of technological and other change on the future of work in NSW. The Centre for Future Work has lodged a submission.

Submission to the Select Committee on the Impact of Technological Change on the Future of Work

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Northern Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission, highlighting research on fiscal stimulus design and the minimal stimulus that would be created from government subsidisation or other assistance to the fossil gas industry.

Between May – July 2020 Helen Haines MP, the member for Indi, Victoria, ran a national co-design process to formulate a Community Energy Plan for Regional Australia. The Australia Institute has made a submission that references our prior research including two publications by Dan Cass on community renewable energy and regional renewable energy development. Our key recommendations

This submission presents preliminary findings from a research project titled Rural Communities and Renewable Energy: A Socio-economic Study in NSW, conducted by The Australia Institute and University of Sydney Environment Institute. The key preliminary finding is that the lack of a national process for local engagement and planning of energy infrastructure reduces the benefits of

The Australia Institute made a submission on the Federal Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap Discussion Paper.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Climate Change Authority’s review of the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF). The ERF includes the ‘safeguard mechanism’ which is failing by allowing emissions to rise, undoing the modest abatement purchased under the ERF and abatement achieved in the electricity sector.

The Australia institute is pleased to make the present submission to the Senate Economics Committee Inquiry into foreign investment proposals. This submission begins with some general thoughts based on earlier work at The Australia Institute. We note that Australia’s history has included rigorous debates about foreign ownership of the Australian economy. Sometimes that debate has taken

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Australian National Audit Office endorsing proposed audits of the Underwriting New Generation Investment program (UNGI) and Snowy 2.0, and recommending close audit of the National COVID19 Coordination Commission (NCCC).

The Federal Government is expected to move in 2020 to pass legislation to start an offshore renewable energy sector. Wind is currently the sole commercially viable offshore renewable energy generation technology and it has considerable potential to contribute to the Australian and global energy mix. If the Federal Government draws on lessons learned in Europe’s

The Centre for Future Work has made a submission to the 2020 annual wage review conducted by the Fair Work Commission. The submission compiles evidence showing that the annual minimum wage adjustments (which flow through into wages specified in the Modern Awards, as well as some enterprise agreements and individual contracts) have played a more important role in recent years in supporting the overall level of wage growth in Australia’s labour market. Without relatively strong minimum wage increases since 2017 (of 3% or higher for three consecutive years), Australian wage growth would still be languishing at all-time record lows of under 2% per year.

In this context, the Centre argued it is vital the Commission proceed with a normal, healthy minimum wage increase for 1 July, 2020, with full flow-through into Award wages. Otherwise wage growth will slump significantly (to an estimated 0.7%, or even lower), heightening the risk of economy-wide deflation.

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.