Almost 30 years after Port Arthur, there are more guns in Australia than ever before, and the Howard Government’s landmark National Firearms Agreement is falling short of its stated aims. There is no National Firearms Register and minors can use firearms in every state. Eight OECD countries have lower gun homicide rates than Australia.

New Australia Institute polling shows that a majority of Australians support the idea that gas exports should be taxed, a policy proposed by both the Liberal Party and the Greens during this election campaign, regardless of who they think proposed the idea.

New Australia Institute polling shows that more than twice as many Australians support a power-sharing arrangement in the next term of parliament as oppose one (41.7% vs 19.7%). And, among Independent and Other voters, more say that independent and minor party MPs holding the balance of power should support the party they believe can negotiate

An analysis of 25 power sharing parliaments in Australia shows that there is great variety in what crossbenchers negotiate in exchange for confidence and supply. Typical areas of negotiation are parliamentary reform, policy reform, more staff and resources and ministerial or presiding officer  positions for crossbenchers.

The university sector is in a governance crisis, fuelled by its lack of accountability to staff, students, federal or state governments. Australia needs a plan to make the sector accountable to the federal government and make university education and research a public service.

Companies exporting liquified natural gas from Australia have made windfall profits close to $100 billion since 2022, when energy prices spiked because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Most of these profits are based on royalty-free gas and no Petroleum Resource Rent Tax was paid. At best, $20 billion in company tax was paid on this

Universities spend vast sums on consultants, advertising, and travel. Reducing these expenses could have prevented the deep cuts that some of these same universities have made to their staff and courses in recent years.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australia has 8,469 journalists, but where do they actually live? Which communities have their stories told firsthand while others are told by outsiders?

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,009 Australians about their attitudes to Australian whistleblowers. The survey was developed in collaboration with the Human Rights Law Centre and Whistleblower Justice Fund. The results show that: 86% of Australians support having stronger legal protections for Australian whistleblowers, including more than half (52%) who strongly

Australians are being ripped off by gas export corporations.

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,089 Australians about their attitudes toward truth in political advertising.

On behalf of The Australia Institute, YouGov surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,089 Australians about Peter Dutton’s newly announced policies on gas prices and exports.

The results show that:

A new Carmichael Centre report by David Peetz considers why wages growth has been so low, despite a tight labour market and a brief surge in inflation. Asking why has there been no wages explosion, Peetz finds the answer lies in loss of power. The report documents how workers have lost power in the past

More than one in three workers in Australia usually work from home at least some of the week. Working from home has become an established working arrangement for many employees in jobs where it is possible to work remotely. Yet, there is strong opposition from some employers to working from home and regular reports of

Australians gamble more than any another nation. Gambling starts well before the age of 18 – almost one in three (30%) 12-17-year-olds gamble. This increases to almost half (46%) of 18-19-year-olds, and these habits persist into adulthood. By highlighting the high rates of gambling among young Australians, this paper shows the need for greater regulations

Updated analysis by the by the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute reveals that a fair and appropriate increase to the minimum wage, and accompanying increases to award rates, would not have a significant effect on inflation. The analysis examines the correlation between minimum wage increases and inflation going back to 1990, and finds no consistent link between minimum wage increases and inflation. It also reveals that such an increase to award wages could be met with only a small reduction in profit margins.

The state of print news competition in Australia is dire, and local and regional news is slowly dying.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme helps keeps the prices Australians pay for medicine low. In the USA, the pharmaceutical industry is calling on the Trump administration to put retaliatory tariffs on Australia as a way of pressuring Australia to make changes to the PBS so that it can make more money. This would make medicines more

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,009 Australians about their awareness of reforms implemented by the Albanese Government and whether they support or oppose those same reforms.

Over half of Australia’s gas exports are given away, without payment of royalties or Petroleum Resource Rent Tax. Over the last four years, multinational companies made $170 billion exporting gas they got for free. Based on Federal Government forecasts, to 2030 another $170 billion of liquified natural gas will be exported based on free gas.

Red Imported Fire Ants have the potential to cause significant environmental, social and economic damage.

The Australia Institute commissioned uComms, which surveyed 860 Australians living in Sydney between 17 and 18 March 2025 on environmental issues and salmon farming in Tasmania. Results show that: 61% support stopping salmon farming in areas where it is putting the endangered Maugean skate at risk of extinction; more than twice as many who oppose

The Centre for Future Work’s research team has analysed the Commonwealth Government’s budget. As expected with a Federal election looming, the budget is not a horror one of austerity. However, the 2025-2026 budget is characterised by the absence of any significant initiatives.  There is very little in this budget that is new other than the

The 48th Parliament has the opportunity to tackle some of Australia’s biggest problems – inequality, poverty, sustainability, health and education challenges. Tackling these problems will take revenue. Fortunately, there is wide range of opportunities to raise more revenue in Australia, in ways that will also make the Australian community fairer and safer. Australia is a

Polling conducted by The Australia Institute shows widespread support for policies that would restrict advertising for gambling products. The results show that: Three in four Australians (76%) support a total ban on gambling ads phased in over three years. Four in five Australians support banning gambling ads on social media and online (81%) and in

In 2024–25, Australian governments provided $14.9 billion worth of spending and tax breaks to assist fossil fuel producers and major users, a 3% increase on 2023–24. Subsidies in the forward estimates have increased from $65 billion to a record $67 billion, a sum 14.2 times larger than the nation’s $4.75 billion disaster response fund.

The decades-long push to make Australia’s universities more ‘business like’ has had scandalous consequences. The remedy is to make university governance more transparent, democratic, and accountable. The most effective way to enact this change would be to amend the establishing Acts that give universities their public mandate.

The annual release of AEMO’s Gas Statement of Opportunities invariably triggers coverage suggesting that Australia, one of the world’s biggest gas producers, is about to run short of gas.

With the High Court of Australia set to hand down a judgement in the matter of Commonwealth of Australia v. Yunupingu (on behalf of the Gumatj Clan or Estate Group) & Ors [2023], The Australia Institute is pleased to publish this analysis by long-time Institute contributor Dr Ed Wensing.