In the latest episode of podcast, The Lucky Country, Richard Denniss and Ben Oquist break down Tony Abbott’s attack on renewables “This renewable energy target is doing massive damage to our country and that’s why there should be no subsidies for any further renewables now.” — Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott This is Tony Abbott doing what he

When the Climate Institute closed its doors, The Australia Institute was honoured to be selected to carry forward some of the Climate Institute’s work and so our new Climate & Energy Program was born. One of the important initiatives being carried forward under The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program is the Climate of the Nation polling

While Turnbull is unlikely to do or say anything particularly useful there, his presence will make a big difference. Malcolm Turnbull is representing Australia at a meeting of Pacific Nations in Samoa this week. And while he is unlikely to do or say anything particularly useful there, his presence will make a big difference. Indeed, one

Exciting news: Just yesterday, five Nobel Peace Laureates have written to Norwegian Prime Ministerial candidates calling for Norwegian climate leadership and an end to fossil fuel exploration and expansion. The letter reads: “Leadership in this century will be characterized by those who redefine themselves in a clean energy economy and who cease to profit from perpetuating

Progressives everywhere are grappling with developing policy proposals to improve the quantity and quality of work in our economy, as part of their broader vision for building more successful and inclusive societies. To this end, the Fabians Society in NSW recently published an interesting booklet of policy proposals, to inject into debate within the Labor Party and other fora. One chapter written by Sarah Kaine (Associate Professor at UTS and a member of the Centre for Future Work’s Advisory Committee) and Jim Stanford (Economist and Director of the Centre) deals head-on with the challenges facing work, and what can be done to make it better; it is reprinted below.

Paradoxically, underemployment and number of hours actually worked are both on the rise in Australia.

Rod Campbell attended the COP23 Climate Action Pacific Partnership (CAPP) Talks in Fiji to talk fossil fuels and Australian influence in the Pacific. As much of the world watched the G20 last week, another leaders’ summit was on in Fiji. Fiji will chair the next UN climate conference in November. Pacific leaders gathered in Suva to

37 prominent Australians, including David Harper AM QC, Paul Stein AM QC, Margaret McMurdo AC, George Williams AO, Peter Wellington MP and Nicholas Cowdery AM QC, have already joined with Tony Fitzgerald in calling on parliamentarians to commit to the Fitzgerald Principles: The Fitzgerald Principles — Tony Fitzgerald AC QC is a former Australian judge,

Dear Friends of The Australia Institute — As you may know from their announcement back in March, the Climate Institute will be closing its doors on 30 June. First and foremost, we wanted to share our congratulations to the Climate Institute for everything they have achieved over their last 12 years. But we also wanted

At The Australia Institute we always aim to lead the national political debate. We publish research that sets the agenda and has genuine impact, research that never gathers dust on the shelf. We barrack for ideas, not political parties and we’re proud to say that we change minds. But we cannot do it without your

Australia’s energy policy and the Finkel review have become the centre of our national political debate, but in the discussion one issue is noticeably too often absent: climate change. The Australia Institute is pleased to launch the National Energy Emissions Audit, which tracks Australia’s emissions of greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels. The National Energy

Australia now holds the record for the longest period of growth without a technical recession. If this is the case then why do the vast majority of us all feel so poor? It was announced that Australia now holds the record for the longest period of growth without a technical recession. If this is the case

Key areas to assess whether the Finkel Review will give us what we need to ensure Australia has a 21st century energy system What is the Finkel Review for? The objective of the Finkel Review is to provide a blueprint for national policy, legislative, governance and rule changes required to maintain the security, reliability, affordability and sustainability

Adani have green-lit their coal mine like most millenials have green-lit buying their first home — with no finance and no contracts. So, what if the Government really did help First Home Buyers like they were helping out Adani with their coal mine? No, really. 1 // You’d get your water for free (no water bills!) The Adani mine has

President Trump reneging on the US Paris climate commitments creates an opportunity for leadership from other countries, including Australia. A majority of Australians believe domestic action would be only more important in the event of Trump reneging on US climate action policies, according to The Australia Institute polling. “Trump’s decision to leave puts a new focus

Our team of economists and researchers have cast their eye over a range of areas — some of the ‘big ticket’ items, and some the Government were probably hoping to sneak by without anyone noticing. Listen to our Follow the Money podcast Budget Special The Australia Institute Deputy Director, Ebony Bennett, caught up with Senior Economist Matt

New polling shows Queenslanders strongly oppose state and federal subsidies for the Adani coal proposal — with the more supporters of all parties, including among LNP and One Nation voters, opposing these coal mining subsidies than supporting them. “Three times as many Queenslanders oppose taxpayer subsidies — from both federal or state governments, to the Adani mine as support

A national poll shows that 61 percent of Australians approve of a bank super profits tax. “Clearly the Australian people think those profits are extravagant and see the benefit in the banks paying back a higher rate of tax,” said Ben Oquist, executive director of Canberra-based think-tank The Australia Institute. Clearly the Australian people think

Adani’s one-off steel order of 56,000 tonnes would be less than 2% of Whyalla steelworks capacity Today’s announcement that the Adani coal project would ‘throw a lifeline’ to South Australian steel producer Arrium OneSteel is the latest piece of deception from a company known for its exaggerated economic promises. South Australians should be wary of

Commonwealth Treasurer Scott Morrison tabled his 2017-18 budget in Parliament House on May 9, and the Centre for Future Work’s Director Jim Stanford was there in the lock-up to analyse its likely impacts. Here are some of our main impressions and comments:

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that penalty rates for Sunday and public holiday work in the retail and hospitality sectors should be reduced, which would reduce hourly wages on those days by up to $10 per hour. Business lobbyists predict this will spark a hiring surge in stores and restaurants, as employers take advantage of lower wages to extend hours and ramp up operations. The economic logic of this claim is highly suspect, however – especially in light of the fundamental factors which truly limit employment in these sectors (namely, the sluggish growth of personal incomes). 78 Australian economists have signed a public letter debunking these job-creation claims, arguing that the FWC’s decision will lead to more inequality, not more employment.

1/ Giving business a $50 billion dollar tax cut means $50 billion dollars less for schools, hospitals and other government services.  Giving business a $50 billion dollar tax cut means $50 billion dollars less for government services like schools and hospitals. Treasury modelling even assumes these company tax cuts will be matched by cuts to

‘How conservatives can lead on climate action in the age of Trump’ Republican Congressman, Bob Inglis, National Press Club address: We’re in the midst of 2 weeks of travel in your magical land. We’ve been in Sydney where we enjoyed the beauty and the fun of the beach at Manly, the Circular Quay precinct, productive

In Australia as a guest of Canberra-based think-tank The Australia Institute, former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis had initially assumed that climate change was nonsense. From South Carolina’s Republican heartland, Bob Inglis tells Adam Morton in a Fairfax interview: “I didn’t really know anything about it except that Al Gore was for it, and, as I

The Centre for Future Work is proud to host this year’s Go Home on Time Day. It’s the eighth annual edition of this event, which draws light-hearted attention to a serious issue: the economic, social, and health consequences of excess working hours.

You know that the tides of public opinion are starting to turn, when even the head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Mr. Rod Sims, will come out in public and criticize the usual claims that privatization is good for efficiency and national well-being.

Yesterday’s deal to save ARENA and stop the cuts to welfare proves a simple point: Parliament responds to public pressure. When we first raised the issue of the proposed cuts, many commentators said privately and publicly that we were whistling in the wind; that this proposal would pass the parliament as Labor had indicated support during the

We have prepared six shareable infographics based on material in our research paper, “Jobs and Growth… and a Few Hard Numbers,” which compared Australia’s economic performance under the respective postwar Prime Ministers.

There have been a lot of big claims made about cutting company tax cuts.

Voters typically rank economic issues among their top concerns. And campaigning politicians regularly make bold (but vague) pronouncements regarding their competence and credibility as “economic managers.”  In popular discourse, economic “competence” is commonly equated with being “business-friendly.”