Research
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Economics
- Banking & Finance
- Employment & Unemployment
- Future of Work
- Gender at Work
- Gig Economy
- Industry & Sector Policies
- Inequality
- Infrastructure & Construction
- Insecure & Precarious Work
- Labour Standards & Workers' Rights
- Macroeconomics
- Population & Migration
- Public Sector, Procurement & Privatisation
- Retirement
- Science & Technology
- Social Security & Welfare
- Tax, Spending & the Budget
- Unions & Collective Bargaining
- Wages & Entitlements
- Young Workers
- Climate & Energy
- Democracy & Accountability
- Environment
- International & Security Affairs
- Law, Society & Culture
September 2022
Polling Research – Territory rights and voluntary assisted dying
The Australia Institute surveyed a representative sample of 1,005 people across Australia about their views on Territory rights and voluntary assisted dying (VAD), also known as voluntary euthanasia.
August 2022
Submission: Towards a 10 year Salmon Plan
Tasmanian salmon companies have gone through a rapid period of growth that has outpaced regulation and science. Company profits have not led to commensurate growth in returns to the State Government or the community. Meanwhile communities bear the costs of the industry. The fast tracking of the salmon industry needs to end.
Polling – Advertising on TV
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 Australians about whether advertising of certain controversial products should be permitted on television. The results show that Australians agree that junk food, gambling, alcohol and tobacco advertising on TV should be banned, and more agree than disagree that ads promoting fossil fuels should be banned.
Woke up call
Given the context in which the term “woke” is used in media commentary, it may surprise readers to discover – for example – that only one in five people who described themselves as woke ahead of the 2022 federal election intended to vote for the Greens; less than the share of woke people who intended
Profit share
The roles of profits, wages and costs in driving inflation has been widely discussed in recent months. Claims by the Business Council of Australia that profit shares are at a 20-year low are not supported by official data sources.
Polling – Australian and Taiwanese attitudes to China
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 Australians and 1,002 Taiwanese about their countries and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Submission: Climate Change & Consequential Amendments Bills 2022
The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Climate Change Bill 2022 and Consequential Amendments Bill 2022 (hereafter ‘the Bills’). The Bills are a valuable framework to ensure transparency and accountability of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, including by ensuring the provision of evidence-based advice from the Climate Change Authority to inform
Submission on Treasury Laws Amendment (Electric Car Discount) Bill 2022 [Provisions]
The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into the Treasury Laws Amendment (Electric Car Discount) Bill 2022 [Provisions]. The Bill is a welcome first step to reducing transport emissions in Australia, but much more needs to be done.
An Economy That Works for People
The new Commonwealth government is hosting a major Jobs Summit in September 2022, bring together representatives from a range of stakeholder groups to discuss the challenges facing Australia’s labour market, and how to achieve strong employment, job quality and security, and better skills and training opportunities.
Fuelling efficiency
Australia has become an outlier in the global light vehicle market, with a comparatively inefficient and anachronistic vehicle fleet. In 2018, the average carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity for new passenger vehicles in Australia was 169.8gCO2/km compared to 129.9gCO2/km in the United States, 120.4gCO2/km in Europe and 114.6gCO2/km in Japan.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference
As tensions in the Pacific and war in Europe continue to escalate, Australia could play an important global role in reducing the spread and threat of nuclear weapons at an important upcoming conference in New York, according to a new research report. The Australian Government has been urged to adopt 4 key policy goals to
Childcare Review & Strike Require Systemic Solutions: Research Report
Key Findings: Australian families currently spend 20% of household income on childcare, far more than in most OECD nations. Swedish households spend just 5% of household income on childcare, Norway spends 8%, and Denmark 10%. Australia has the 3rd highest proportion of private childcare providers receiving government subsidies: 77% compared to 13% in Iceland, 17%
July 2022
Polling – Voice to Parliament in the Constitution
Key results The Australia Institute surveyed nationally representative samples of about 1,000 Australians in June and July 2022 about their attitudes towards a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament for First Nations peoples as called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The respondents were asked how they would vote in a referendum on enshrining
Windfall Profits Tax Research – June 2022
Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Australians about their attitudes towards a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry to support Australian households. The results show that: Two in three (67%) Australians support the introduction of a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry to
4.3 billion tonnes of emissions is not OK
The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to appeal Report 1727 North West Shelf Project Extension Proposal. The role of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is to prevent, control and abate pollution and environmental harm. In recommending the approval of a 50-year extension of Australia’s most polluting fossil fuel project, the North West Shelf
Are Wages or Profits Driving Australia’s Inflation?
Labour costs have played an insignificant role in the recent increase in inflation, accounting for just 15 percent of economy wide price increases while profits have played an overwhelming role, accounting for about 60 percent of recent inflation.
Polling – Voting Behaviour & Gender
Women were 7-10 percentage points less likely to vote for the Coalition compared to men, according to Australia Institute research conducted from the evening of the May 21 federal election, and a subsequent poll taken in June 2022. Analysis of exit-polls also shows that Australians viewed the ‘treatment of women in politics’ as the second
June 2022
The role of Buy Now Pay Later services in enhancing competition in the Australian economy
The Australian retail, financial, and online advertising markets are all highly concentrated in Australia. As the last 20 years of attempts to increase competition in these sectors has shown, there is no silver bullet to address the market power of dominant firms in Australia. That said, there is clear consensus that new firms, and new
Political advertising on social media platforms during the 2022 federal election
The Australia Institute studied paid political ads published on Facebook and Instagram over a two-month period between 21 March 2022 and 20 May 2022. The analysis includes political ads published on pages administrated by candidates and parties contesting the 2022 federal election. A total of $12.5 million was spent to run 26,945 political ads on
Renewables & rural Australia
The technological shift away from coal to renewable energy for electricity generation is also a spatial shift. We are moving electricity generators to new dedicated Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) in parts of rural Australia that have not hosted energy utilities at this scale before. This report presents the first significant analysis of the spatial aspect
Wages, Prices and the Federal Election
The recent federal election featured important debate regarding the rising cost of living in Australia, and whether and how wages should be boosted to keep up with higher prices. One exchange, late in the campaign, occurred when ALP leader Anthony Albanese stated his belief that wages should keep up with prices — but then was
Foreign investment in Australia
Despite the importance placed on foreign investment, and public sensitivity to it, little data is available on the level of foreign ownership of Australian companies. What data is available often confuses legal and beneficial ownership or is based on limited sample size. The research report comes amid growing calls for a windfall profits tax on
May 2022
Exit Poll – Coalition Strengths and Weaknesses in the Election
The Australia Institute conducted a special exit poll, surveying a nationally representative sample of 1,404 Australians from 6pm Saturday May 21, about strengths and weaknesses of Liberal-National Coalition in the 2022 federal election. The results show that Australians think that the state of aged care, the treatment of women in politics and the government failing
Exit Poll – Living in the Lodge
The Australia Institute conducted a special exit poll, surveying a nationally representative sample of 1,424 Australians from 6pm Saturday May 21, which asked whether the Prime Minister should live in The Lodge. Key findings: • Over half of Australians (57%) agree that the Prime Minister should live in The Lodge in Canberra, compared to 20%
Next stop: Zero emissions buses by 2030
Shifting from private passenger vehicle use to zero emissions public transport will help curb Australia’s rising transport emissions. When considering other factors, such as population growth – particularly in urban areas – and the significant non-CO2 pollutant emissions associated with traditional diesel buses, it is clear that electrification of buses should be a central pillar
Between Sense and Nonsense
The electoral pendulum performs no better than an alternative method, the cube law, in predicting the overall result of an election. In its common, alternative use as tool to predict individual seat changes, it is successful less than half of the time. Note: An earlier version of this report said that the electoral pendulum had
Polling – What is ‘clean hydrogen’?
The government defines ‘clean hydrogen’ as “hydrogen produced using renewable energy or using fossil fuels with substantial carbon capture and storage.”
Brown Coal, Greenwash
Despite being labelled as ‘clean energy’, none of the emissions HESC has produced in its pilot phase have been buried through Carbon Capture and Storage.
Polling – Senate Voting and Election Awareness Issues
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Australians about their Senate voting intentions and their understanding of how Senate voting works. The results show: A significant proportion of Australians remain uncertain about important aspects of Senate preferential voting: More than four in ten (43%) respondents thought that putting a 6 beside a