The Newman Government has subsidised controversial coal mining port expansion to the tune of $2 billion, Australia Institute Research has revealed. The Abbot Point project has not undergone a cost benefit analysis. This despite Queensland Treasurer, Tim Nichols, calling for cost benefit analysis on all major government projects. Mining projects which were set to feed

The Coalition Government’s proposed amendments to the GST have been attacked for disproportionately impacting low-income households. But the GST doesn’t have to be so regressive. By extending the tax to include private health insurance and private education, the government can boost revenue, broaden the tax base, and do so in a way that does not

There were 30,775 prisoners in Australia at the end of June 2013 – an increase of five per cent on the 2012 census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Almost six out of ten (58 per cent) prisoners had previously served a sentence as an adult. The cost of housing a prisoner in

Australia has some of the best conditions in the world for producing solar energy, and new research suggests it is also the nation’s preferred future energy option. This paper considers various advantages and disadvantages of harnessing energy from the sun.  It finds the health and environmental impacts of solar to be minimal in comparison to

Wind power is one of the least greenhouse gas intensive energy sources available and Australia has some of the best wind resources in the world. With the potential to produce up to 40 per cent of Australia’s energy need, wind power presents a great opportunity for reducing our national greenhouse gas emissions and heavy reliance

Successive governments have made large changes in taxation and spending measures that have disproportionately affected women. Men have benefitted most from tax cuts while the cuts to services have primarily impacted on women – a double disadvantage. Before the Global Financial Crisis, income tax cuts were a key feature of fiscal policy for successive Federal

The Victorian Liberals’ announcement of $3.9 billion for new trams and trains over the next 10 years appears unlikely to meet growing demand, according to analysis of the announcement from the Australia Institute. 

The Renewable Energy Target (RET) has been subjected to a lot of criticism in recent years. Most of it has centred on the idea that the RET increases electricity prices. Numerous studies including the government’s recent review of the RET have shown that over time it is lowering electricity prices. But the criticism has also

Former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard described work/life balance as a “BBQ-stopper” in 2001. Since then, the term “work/life balance” has been part of the Australian lexicon, but just how well are Australians achieving it? National Go Home on Time Day was launched by The Australia Institute in 2009 as a light-hearted way to

South Australia leads the country in several aspects of renewable energy development. The state has the highest installed capacity of wind generation – more than 1,200 megawatts. In 2013-14, 37 per cent of electricity generated in the state came from wind and rooftop solar, more than any other state in the country. South Australia’s wind

The problems of energy poverty are real and large. Promising solutions are becoming available and many organisations are working to hasten their implementation. The coal industry is very vocal in promoting energy poverty and pushing coal as a solution to it. But coal companies are not, in general, major contributors to energy poverty alleviation efforts.

The Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into the extent of income inequality in Australia asked The Australia Institute for some background briefing on how the role of dividend imputation in Australia was relevant to the committee’s deliberations. This brief provides some supplementary information on dividend imputation and franking credits.

The Airly mine is an underground thermal coal mine in the Capertee Valley, NSW. A proposal to expand the mine is currently being assessed by the NSW Department of Planning and the Environment. The Australia Institute made a submission on the expansion proposal relating to its economic assessment. The Economic Assessment of the Airly Mine

In September 2014 the Australia Institute made a written submission and in-person presentation to the NSW Planning and Assessment Commission on the proposal to extend the Invincible and Cullen Valley mines, owned by Coalpac. The mines are in a sensitive environmental area near the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The key points of our submission

Native vegetation and regulations relating to its management have a minimal economic effect on agriculture in New South Wales (NSW). The state produces between $10 and $16 billion in agricultural output per year, dependent largely on rainfall and commodity prices. When rainfall is good and commodity prices are high, output is high. Less rainfall and

Queensland’s economy is based on service industries. Service industries employ nearly three quarters of the Queensland workforce and make up two thirds of economic output. 99 per cent of Queenslanders do not work in the coal industry. 96 per cent of Queensland government revenue does not come from coal royalties. 93 per cent of Queensland’s

At first sight child labour may not appear to be a material issue for Australian companies and investors: Australia has labour laws that prescribe the minimum school-leaving and employment age. Australia also has a rich tradition in worker representation and a trade union movement active in advancing labour rights. However Australia is not an island

The Australian government is currently willing to boost the retirement incomes of wealthy Australians by providing low cost ‘reverse mortgages’ through Centrelink. The Pension Loan Scheme (PLS) allows eligible Australians to receive payments equivalent to the full age pension paid into their bank account on a fortnightly basis, borrowed from the government and secured against

Property crime in Australia declined by more than half between 2001 and 2011 – affecting 2.9 per cent of households in 2012, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Although the proportion of victims has been falling steadily, recovery from these incidents remains an important policy issue for those unfortunate Australians who fall prey to

Construction is an important industry in Australia, with sales accounting for $327 billion or some 21 per cent of GDP and its contribution to value added being 7.6 per cent of GDP. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data allow us to examine and estimate the productivity magnitudes involved in this industry and its components; building

The Australia Institute (TAI) gave evidence to the NSW Planning and Assessment Commission on the Terminal 4 project. The proposal is to expand the capacity of the coal terminal at the Newcastle Port managed by Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS). TAI was asked to provide an expert report on the economic assessment of the project

The Mount Thorley-Warkworth mine complex is a large open cut coal mine operation near Singleton, in the Hunter Valley, NSW, owned by multinational mining giant, Rio Tinto. The mine achieved notoriety in April 2013 when the NSW Land and Environment Court ruled that it should not be approved as the benefits of the project did

The Queensland Government is conducting an inquiry into a proposal to declare an official “State Development Area” over prospective coal projects in the Galilee Basin of Central Queensland and across the area between the Galilee Basin and proposed coal export terminals at the port of Abbot Point. The effect of the Galilee Basin State Development

This paper focuses on the solar industry in Australia. It provides a brief overview of the size, growth and prospects for the Australian solar industry and argues that as the number of solar panels installed continues to rise, the cost of installation and maintenance will continue to fall. The paper argues that the productivity of

Australia post made a profit before tax of $402.8 million in 2012-13. In the last 4 years its combined profits were more than $1.25 billion. Australia Post is experiencing a trend decline in the volume of letters it delivers and a trend increase in the volume of small parcels it delivers. As described above, its

The Palmer United Party today announced its intention to block a number of governmentsavings measures. This paper provides an overview of the distribution of those measures.

Australians love renewable energy. A recent survey by The Australia Institute found 86 per cent of respondents want to see more renewable energy and 79 per cent think governments should support an expansion in renewable energy. There is also very strong support for more electricity generated from hydro (72 per cent), wind (80 per cent)

Inequality between those with the most and those with the least is rising in Australia. Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but there are many people in our society who are falling behind. The nature and extent of inequality is the choice of policy makers. We have the capacity to either reduce

In May The Australia Institute conducted a survey of 1,100 people to determine people’s attitude to their bank funding coal port projects on the Great Barrier Reef. Following the Australian Government’s approval of several new coal ports in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, survey respondents were asked about the likelihood of changing from

Australians are no dinosaurs when it comes to climate change and its solutions. There has always been majority support for Australian leadership in finding solutions to climate change. This held true even though attitudes took a battering during the long political battle from July 2007 when John Howard backed an emissions trading scheme through 2012