The focus of this year’s Go Home on Time Day is the threat to the “Great Aussie Holiday.”  Thanks to the rise of precarious work in all its forms, a growing share of Australian workers (about one-third, according to our research) have no access to something we once took for granted: a paid annual holiday.

Since Malcolm Turnbull replaced Tony “coal is good for humanity” Abbott, the Adani Carmichael Mine, the Galilee Basin and environmental “Lawfare” has been out of the news. An increase in the coal price and Turnbull’s apparent change of view means the Coal Wars are back. Download the Coal Hard Facts guide below.

A new report by the University of Melbourne Energy Institute has found that unmeasured methane leakage and fugitive emissions from unconventional gasfields could cause Australia to fail its Paris climate commitments. The report, commissioned by The Australia Institute, found that: Several major potential sources of methane emissions are assumed to be zero under Australia’s accounting

Gas industry funding and direct involvement in research committees of GISERA, the research body that conducts research on social and environmental impacts of CSG, is potentially compromising the scientific independence of CSIRO. The five main Queensland gas companies provide the lion’s share of funding to the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA) – the Gas Industry Social

The Australia Institute has an ongoing program of research into policy options around the ABC. Several of our research papers relate to the ABC’s operations in rural and regional Australia and the ABC Charter. Most recently, polling we commissioned in January 2016 shows strong public support in Tasmania for increased funding for the ABC in

Since our last submission we have published a research report relevant to this inquiry, No politics at Aunty’s table: Depoliticising the governance of the ABC. This report addresses the issue of political interference in the governance structures of the ABC, including its charter. A copy has been uploaded with this submission. The Australia Institute advocates

New analysis released by The Australia Institute today estimates that hidden subsidies from the Queensland Government to the coal mining industry, in the form of the value of groundwater accessed for free, represent at least $100M in value for the Galilee Basin coal mines alone. Report author Rod Campbell, who is the Director of Research

We’ve known for over two years that this day was coming.  But that won’t ease its economic and social pain.  The shutdown of Australia’s mass motor vehicle assembly industry is now upon us.  Ford’s assembly plant in Broadmeadows, Victoria, was the first to go dark: the final Aussie-made Ford has already rolled off the assembly

The Australia Institute, in partnership with engineering consultants pitt&sherry, has released the latest Carbon Emissions Index (CEDEX). The CEDEX is the benchmark indicator for Australia’s carbon emissions and an up to date snapshot of vital data from the energy sector. The report released today reviews the impact of the ACT’s 100% target on development of

A nationally representative poll conducted by The Australia Institute through Research Now asked about attitudes towards implementing a super profits tax on Australian banks. The poll asked: A ‘bank super-profits tax’ would collect a higher rate of tax from banks on top of existing taxes, but levied only on especially high bank profits. Would you approve

New research from Canberra based think tank The Australia Institute supports the need for additional regulation of Australia’s banking sector. In some of the most comprehensive polling ever released into attitudes to the banks in Australia, polling of over 1400 Australians finds: 68 percent of respondents supported a Royal Commission or similar inquiry. Only 16 percent

A new report by the Australia Institute shows that employment and jobs growth fell in regional Queensland during the mining construction boom. Despite an unprecedented 400 percent increase in mining investment from 2010 to 2013, by 2015 employment in regional Queensland fell to below 2010 levels. While employment increased in a few mining intensive regions

1,473 South Australians were asked if they supported a Victoria-style ban on gas fracking in their state. Twice as many (47%) support a ban than are opposed (23%). 30% were undecided. The polling was conducted on 30 August, as Victoria introduced its ban and in the weeks following the furore around energy prices in South

Modelling shows that Australia’s economy would be barely affected by a moratorium on approval of new coal mines and mine expansions.  As the world works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it will need to burn less coal. As a result, the world will need less coal mines. In the lead up to the Paris climate

The United Wambo Open Cut Coal Mine Project is a proposal to expand and merge the existing Wambo and United coal mines in the Hunter Valley, NSW. This submission focuses mainly on the economic assessment included in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the proposal, Appendix 19 Economic Assessment, written by Deloitte Access Economics (Deloitte).

The Australia Institute submission to the Economics Legislation Committee for its inquiry into the Budget Savings (Omnibus) Bill 2016 critiques the proposed savings on the grounds that they will increase inequality and harm innovation.

Australia has a long history of prioritising fossil fuels over renewables in research and development (R&D) funding. ARENA turned this around, making Australia a world leader in renewables. Government plans to cut ARENA’s funding while providing new funds for fossil fuel R&D risks putting Australia back decades in energy R&D.

In the 2016 budget the government announced that it would close carbon tax compensation to new recipients of government welfare benefits.  This will have the effect of reducing the amount paid to welfare recipients. This will save the government $1.3 billion over the forward estimates. The clean energy supplement was not the only part of

A new national poll of more than 10,000 Australians has shown the continued strong support for minor parties and independents in Senate voting intentions. The poll also measured opinion on the proposal to cut Newstart. 55% of respondents said the Senate should vote down the cut, just 32% said the Senate should pass the government

Australian businesses have recently been implicated in serious labour abuses, both within and beyond Australia’s borders. Recent examples to capture public attention are slave labour in the production of surf products by Australian brands in North Korea, human trafficking and labour exploitation in Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai fishing industries (the top suppliers of prawns to

The state government of New South Wales recently awarded a contract for the purchase of 512 new intercity passenger rail cars to a consortium that will manufacture the equipment in South Korea.  The contract is worth $2.3 billion, including an unspecified sum to cover maintenance of the double-decker cars over an initial 15-year period.  The

Tasmania is home to a substantial aquaculture industry. Intensive salmon farming in particular has grown quickly, attracting growing concerns about the industry’s impacts, how it is regulated and its financial contribution to the state. The Australia Institute commissioned ReachTEL to conduct state wide polling, as a first assessment of Tasmanian attitudes to the issues around intensive salmon farming.

New polling shows very low support for Government policy to cut welfare benefits by removing the clean energy supplement. The poll of 1,310 residents across Tasmania showed 60% opposed cutting Newstart, while just 25% supported the move. (see poll below) “There has been mounting evidence of the inadequacy of the unemployment benefits.  To cut them

In late 2010, after over a century of almost uninterrupted growth, demand for electricity in Australia began to fall. Two previous papers, published in 2013 and 2015, examined possible reasons why demand was falling in the National Electricity Market (NEM), which accounts for nearly 90% of Australian electricity consumption. However, no sooner had the second

New research released by the Australia Institute today shows that government moves to cut unemployment benefits will put recipients at 32% below the poverty line. The research also highlights staggering inequality in Australia where the 10 richest Australian families have the same wealth as the poorest 3.9 million Australians combined.

A new report from The Australia Institute explores what the petroleum industry can do to simultaneously pursue its financial interests and the interests of the global climate. The report, written by Australian National University Emeritus Professor Andrew Hopkins, outlines four key areas where the oil and gas industry’s interests align with the global goal of