Industry claims that poker machine reform will cost $5 billion can only be described as fanciful, with a new analysis by The Australia Institute showing that the cost is likely to be between $171 million and $342 million.  The $5 billion industry estimate is an exaggeration based on the cost of introducing a policy that no-one is proposing. The irony is that the more expensive they claim the reforms will be the more new jobs will be created in the manufacturing and software industries by implementing the reforms.

To read the media release, click here

To read the research paper, Rubbery Figures: An examination of the claimed and likely cost of poker machine reform in Australia, click here

The China First mine proposed for Queensland is so large that even the economic impact statement prepared by the mine’s proponents finds that it will drive more than $1.2 billion worth of manufacturing offshore, cause 3,000 job losses and result in higher housing costs and a less equal distribution of income. To read the media release, click here. To read the submission, click here.

 Australians are paying more than $1 billion each year in out-of-pocket expenses for GP visits, pharmaceuticals, pathology and diagnostic testing despite Medicare’s pledge to provide ‘fair and affordable’ health care, a new study by The Australia Institute reveals.

The study also confirmed that many Australians are forgoing treatment, with almost a quarter of survey respondents (23%) admitting they had postponed or avoided having a prescription filled because they could not afford to pay for it.

To read Bulky Billing: Missing out on fair and affordable health care, click here

To read the media release, click here