By 2050, the amount of plastic consumed in Australia will more than double. Despite government policies aimed at creating a ‘circular economy’, just 14% of plastic waste is kept out of landfill. Recycling plastic is inefficient, expensive and hazardous, and there is little demand for recycled plastics. Policies to cap or phase down the use of plastics, including a plastics tax, are needed.

Gift giving is a long-standing Christmas tradition. Yet Australia Institute research shows that approximately 6.1 million adult Australians, expect to receive Christmas presents this year that they will never use or wear.

Australia wastes 7.6m tonnes of food each year, costing households $19.3 billion.

The transition towards a low-carbon future is a pressing issue, and household electrification has emerged as a critical component of Australia’s ongoing shift in energy use. In response, The Australia Institute commissioned a research report to better understand current public sentiment towards home and vehicle electrification via new community research. This report provides a snapshot

New research from The Australia Institute has revealed that nearly one third of Australians (30%) are expecting to receive a gift that they will never use this Christmas.

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.

Key Results The Australia Institute surveyed 1,417 Australians about presents, waste and repairs. Gifts Three quarters of respondents (75%) like to buy Christmas gifts However, 42% would prefer others not to buy them gifts, compared with 47% who disagreed with this idea. Around a third (31%) said they expect to get gifts they won’t use

Australian households are throwing out more than $5 billion worth of food each year, more than Australians spend on digital equipment, and more than it costs to run the Australian Army. In addition to the direct financial costs of this waste, the environmental impact associated with excessive greenhouse gas emissions and water use is substantial.

In its submission to the Do Not Call Register Statutory Review, The Australia Institute argues that the current system of regulating unwanted telemarketing calls needs to be overhauled in recognition of the continued nuisance caused by telemarketing. The Do Not Call Register should be extended to cover all unsolicited telemarketing calls, including those that are

The goal of sustainability has been a dangerous and destructive distraction for both citizens and policy makers concerned with the development of a society that protects our natural environment and promotes the wellbeing of our citizens. This paper argues that the goal of sustainability needs to be abandoned in all but its broadest metaphorical sense.

A quarter of children ages 6-14 own phones, 1/3 of them pay for this phone with their own money. Children often buy phones for aesthetic reasons not for safety. Corporations have been trying to sell to children, and this has resulted in financial strain on them.

Over half of all Australians will not use, or give away Christmas presents. 21% of Australians will give a present to someone they don’t like. Because of this the piece recommends that the important social act of present giving should be replaced with giving to charity, as 73% of Australians would prefer a charitable contribution.

While many Australians are prosperous, few feel prosperous. Only 1 in 5 millionaires consider themselves prosperous¸ and only 1.6 of the entire Australian population. This piece claims that the pressure on growth of net worth and income forces people to perceive themselves as not prosperous.

This report estimates that Australians spend more than $10.5 billion each year on goods and services from which they derive no benefit. The paper examines the phenomenon of wasteful consumption and explores its implications.

Deferred Happiness Syndrome affects 30% of Australians and occurs when employees are not satisfied with work but do it to achieve happiness later on, often through money and material interests. This often results in downshifters that voluntarily reduce working hours to ensure better lifestyles.

Explores in detail the life changes and attitudes of 20 downshifters to answer the questions prompted by the first study on downshifting completed in January 2003. The in-depth interviews were augmented by four focus groups held across the country and aimed to explain why people downshift, how they change, how others react, what are their

This study parallels Discussion Paper 50 and shows that 25 per cent of British adults aged between 30 and 59 have downshifted over the last ten years.

A companion study to Discussion Paper 49 with remarkably similar findings. In one of the world’s richest countries, the United Kingdom, a high proportion of citizens feel that their incomes are inadequate to buy everything they really need.

The preoccupation with money and consumption comes at an increasing cost. Many Australians consider that money-hunger conflicts with their deeper values and preferences and results in a society that is too materialistic. There is evidence that many people are deciding to accept lower incomes and consumption levels in order to have more balance in their

A recent Newspoll survey, commissioned by the Institute, reveals that 62 per cent of Australians believe that they cannot afford to buy everything they really need. Taking into consideration the fact that Australia is one of the richest countries in the world and that Australians today have income three times higher than in 1950, it

Address to the Horizons of Science Forum, UTS