The proposed Mulga Rock uranium mine is unlikely to be in the WA community interest. Aside from the environmental risks inherent in uranium mining, the feasibility study for the proposal uses improbable market scenarios and does not illustrate a credible range of project outcomes.

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.

Australia is the world’s third biggest exporter and fifth biggest miner of fossil fuels by CO2 potential. Its exports are behind only Russia and Saudi Arabia, and far larger than Iraq, Venezuela and any country in the EU. Yet Australia’s economy is more diverse and less fossil fuel intensive than many other exporters. Australia has an opportunity and obligation to decarbonise its

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

The economic benefit of the salmon industry to Tasmania is weighted strongly against its environmental and social impacts. Yet it accounts for just 1% of jobs in the state. Over 5 years $3.8 billion worth of fish were sold, but just $64 million tax paid, while $9.3 million in subsidies were received in 2 years.

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 Department of the Environment and Energy is conducting a Liquid Fuel Security review and public consultations on the Interim Report. This report is an edited version of The Australia Institute’s submission to that consultation. The Interim Report outlines significant risks to Australia’s transport energy security. Addressing these security risks requires reducing oil consumption and accelerating the transition to electric

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

Most Australians want 100% renewable energy, a stamp duty to land tax swap and pill testing at music festivals in their own state, new national polling from The Australia Institute shows.

Decisions by the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) to flood the Barmah-Millewa forest and drain Menindee Lakes have reduced water for NSW Murray general security holders, who have zero allocation for 2018-19. We estimate an allocation of between 16% and 61% could have been possible had MDBA complied with its official Objectives and Outcomes.

The Australia Institute released new research showing Adani is not “ready to go” with its Carmichael coal mine and there are a number of significant reasons why Adani is not ready to proceed with its mine. “One thing that can be said with certainty about the Adani coal mine is that whether it goes ahead

Documents obtained by the Australia Institute shows that mining is experiencing a crisis in public trust among Queenslanders, with coal mining particularly unfavourable.  The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) commissioned polling company Ipsos to conduct this research on the industry’s reputation because it has observed a “decline in positive (public) sentiment” about the QLD resource sector, and can

The Australia Institute made a submission on the AEMC’s draft determination on the Northern Gas Pipeline – Derogation from Part 23. The Northern Gas Pipeline from the NT was given special treatment outside the National Gas Rules. The exemption is problematic and based on an “anomaly”. It should be revoked for future pipelines, to prevent

The mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin has become a national issue in 2019. While the Basin’s problems are widely discussed, solutions are not. Practical steps to turn around the fortunes of the Basin and its people are: Provide emergency relief to the southern Basin dairy industry. Develop a policy framework to ensure diversity in Basin

Analysis of released documents shows that the licences bought by the Commonwealth didn’t exist until the vendors estimated the volumes of the licences themselves, at the suggestion of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. Due diligence was problematic. At least half of the water purchased cannot count towards water recovery targets as it was

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Northern Territory Government’s consultation on Origin Energy’s Environment Management Plan for fracking petroleum wells in the Territory.

New research from The Australia Institute, released just weeks out from the Federal Election, shows that a majority of South Australian voters want the government to mobilise all of society, “like they mobilised everyone during the world wars”, to tackle global warming.

New research from The Australia Institute shows that South Australians overwhelmingly want a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan (73%) and believe that irrigation businesses in the Darling Basin should not be allowed to draw water when mass fish kills and drinking water shortages are occurring downstream (84%).

The rules in place prior to the 2012 Barwon-Darling Water Sharing Plan were based on science and extensive stakeholder consultation. The Water Sharing Plan included changes to those rules that were not based on any science and were not consulted on. The plan was also based on a fundamentally deficient Cap model. The pre-2012 rules

New research from The Australia Institute shows that 60% of Australians are opposed to drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight, while the rate of opposition amongst South Australians is even higher at 68%.

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,536 Australians about fish farm regulation. The survey told respondents that large scale fish farms are currently assessed and regulated by state governments, not the federal government. They were then asked who should assess and regulate fish farms.