Research

A new report models the impact of an increased Medicare Levy in comparison to a progressive Medicare Levy, more like income tax, on the spread of Australian income earners.  The Government proposes to increase the Medicare levy to 2.5 per cent of income from July 2019. That would mean a gradual switch in the tax mix from the progressive income tax to the Medicare levy; a ‘flat tax’ that raises the same proportion from higher and lower income...

A new report models the impact of an increased Medicare Levy in comparison to a progressive Medicare Levy, more like income tax, on the spread of Australian income earners.  The Government proposes to increase the Medicare levy to 2.5 per cent of income from July 2019. That would mean a gradual switch in the tax mix from the progressive income tax to the Medicare levy; a ‘flat tax’ that raises the same proportion from higher and lower income...

Report calls for Tasmania to become energy self-reliant and an exporter of renewable energy. A new report from Hobart-based think tank The Australia Institute Tasmania identifies an opportunity for Tasmania to take advantage of its unique energy assets which could deliver cheaper local electricity.  The report finds that Tasmania’s link to the National Electricity Market (NEM) is subjecting the state to higher power prices and increasing unc...

Is Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party anti-Asian?  Just how much has One Nation changed since Pauline Hanson first sat in the Australian Parliament two decades ago?  This report reviews One Nation’s statements of the 1990s and the current policies of the party.  It concludes that One Nation’s broad policies on immigration and multiculturalism remain essentially unchanged.  Anti-Asian sentiments remain at One Nation’s core....

Polling shows the majority voters across the political spectrum support a federal ICAC. Results of poll of 1,420 Australian residents: 80% of people support establishing a federal ICAC Support is highest among Coalition voters (84%) 63% of people have a low level of trust in federal parliament, only 10% have a high level of trust Trust lowest among non-major party voters (PHON 83%, Greens 73%, Other 67%, Undecided 59%...

The Australia Institute has tested two claim made in response to the bank levy announced in the Federal Budget: that the impact of the levy will be passed onto customers, and that it will be borne by shareholders, effecting Australian superannuation savings.---For paper see PDF below--- In either scenario, the research finds that the levy on the world’s most profitable banks will have minimal impact on ordinary Australians. “The levy will have on...

The Australian Government has put $1.3 billion of taxpayers’ money towards Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) initiatives since 2003, with zero large scale operational projects to show for it. A new report from The Australia Institute’s, Money for nothing, has found that despite years of generous taxpayer funding, there are no large-scale CCS projects operating in Australia and no planned coal CCS projects at any stage of development. Several propo...

A new ReachTEL poll of 1,618 Queenslanders shows strong opposition to state and federal subsidies for the Adani coal proposal, including among LNP and One Nation voters.-Polling results in attachment below- 59% of Queenslanders oppose Federal and State taxpayers’ money being used to fund Adani’s project. 37% said they were strongly opposed and just 19% supported subsidies. Half of voters (50%) think Premier Palaszczuk would be breaking an electio...

The Southern Highlands has a diverse economy, with its band of towns and its proximity to major cities giving it an economic structure similar to NSW as a whole, but with a special focus on tourism, agriculture and manufacturing.Local businesses and community members are concerned about the potential effects of the proposed Hume Coal Project on the region. This report is based on interviews with a range of businesses and other stakeholders in the...

Australia’s export credit agency, Efic, is a government-owned, taxpayer-backed organisation that aims to assist Australian exporters with financial services.Efic is currently considering a loan to a South African coal project. The Boikarabelo coal project has approval to produce 32 million tonnes of raw coal each year. The development of this project would likely contribute to the development of other projects in the enormous Waterberg coal basin...