Our Research
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The BCA is pushing policy irrelevance and being ignored by the partiesWhen the Prime Minister is forced to spend his own political capital fixing the mistakes of the former head of Origin Energy, is it any wonder the Coalition is ignoring that same man's policy advice now that he heads up the Business Council of Australia?[This op ed was first published in the Australian Financial Review - here]Despite being the peak body for some of the biggest businesses that operate in Australia, the BCA's agenda is being i... Read More -
CSIRO paying lobbyist on fringe of climate and energy debateThe Australia Institute is today releasing a new FOI showing that the CSIRO pays membership fees to the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) of $10k a year. The CSIRO is an associate member of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), the mining lobby group known for its forceful campaigns against effective action on climate change. “The Minerals Council has been on the fringe of the climate and energy debate in Australia, opposing policies that wo... Read More -
The tip of the iceberg: Political donations from the mining industryPolitical donations in Australia are difficult to monitor as many go unreported. Only donations over $13,000 are disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commission. The majority of donations are likely to be under this disclosure threshold or hidden through other means, such as through associated entities or party fundraising events.Despite these shortcomings, the disclosures that do exist allow for analysis of which companies make major, disclosed... Read More
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Undermining our democracy: Foreign corporate influence through the Australian mining lobbyAustralia’s mining industry is 86% foreign owned and has spent over $541 million in the last ten years on lobbying Australian governments through its peak lobby groups, which are dominated by foreign interests. Spending on lobbying by individual mining companies is not public information, but would bring this number up significantly.This report finds that:Total revenue of mining lobby groups over the last 10 years is $541,275,884, with the Minera... Read More
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Mining lobby dominated by foreign interestsNew research released today by the Australia Institute shows that the mining industry is dominated by foreign corporate interests that are spending hundreds of millions of dollars influencing our political process. The report finds that: Total revenue of mining lobby groups over the last 10 years is $524,150,431, with the Minerals Council of Australia accounting for $203,132,666 of thisMining lobby groups are dominated by foreign owned interests,... Read More -
Flat electricity demand puts price rises squarely on network charges: The Audit - Electricity Update The Australia Institute has released the Electricity Update of the National Energy Emissions Audit (The Audit*) for August 2017. The report, by renowned energy analyst Dr Hugh Saddler, shows flat demand across the National Energy Market (NEM). “Total annual demand for electricity in the NEM is dead flat. With both national economic activity and population continuing to grow, electricity consumers are continuing to respond to ever rising prices by... Read More
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Dark side of the boom - VictoriaWhat we do and don’t know about mines, closures and rehabilitation in Victoria.Little data is available to the public on the clean-up from the mining boom. State government agencies often lack basic information on how many mines are in operation, with still less published on closures and abandonments. -
Economic Impacts of Reductions In Penalty Rates for Sunday & Holiday Work Our Centre has conducted considerable research into the impacts of the Fair Work Commission’s decision to substantially reduce penalty rates for Sunday and holiday for workers under the terms of the Modern Awards covering four sectors of the economy: fast food, retail, hospitality, and pharmacy. Penalties for Sunday work will be reduced by up to half; penalties will also be reduced for working on public holidays.The workforce employed in these pr... Read More
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Re: Tax deductible gift recipient reform opportunities The Australia Institute made a brief submission to the Treasury discussion paper on Tax deductible gift recipient reform opportunities.The Australia Institute is a Canberra-based think tank, registered as a charity with the ACNC. We conduct research on a wide range of economic, policy and political issues.We commented on Consultation question 12:Stakeholders’ views are sought on requiring environmental organisations to commit no less than 25 per... Read More
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Citizenship, the Nationals and Adani's uncertain coal mineThe citizenship debacle engulfing the Nationals, and in turn the Coalition government, has as much to do with trust and integrity as it does with the constitution. Being consistent is important in business and in government.[This article was first published by the Australian Financial Review - here]After the Greens' Scott Ludlum and Larissa Waters resigned over citizenship issues, Barnaby Joyce declared "It's quite clear under section 44 you can'... Read More