Research

While nearly all Australians (84%) think it is important that Australia has a national day of commemoration and celebration, most Australians (56%) don’t really mind when we hold Australia Day, so long as we do. And most people don’t know why Australia Day is held on January 26. Polling, released today by The Australia Institute, asked a nationally representative sample of 1417 Australians about their knowledge at attitudes about Australia Day. “...

The cost to households of the electricity they use has been a sensitive political issue in Australia for at least the past six or seven years, and seems certain to remain so. That was certainly the case in 2010-11 when the then Labor government was negotiating passage of its package of carbon pricing/emissions trading legislation, which subsequently came into force on 1 July 2012. The government provided additional funds to the Australian Bureau...

Corruption costs 5% of GDP worldwide. The cost of corruption to economies is well established, and much research exists on the impact of corruption on investment, business costs, efficient allocation of capital and economic inequality. Trust in government is at a historic low in Australia, and according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) Australia has increasing levels of perceived corruption. Since 2012 Austra...

‘Blue carbon’ refers to the carbon storage potential of coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrass beds. These ecosystems can sequester carbon at higher rates than many terrestrial ecosystems and also play an important role in biodiversity conservation, protecting coastlines and coastal economies.Australia founded the International Partnership for Blue Carbon at the 2015 Paris climate talks. This partners...

Key Results The Australia Institute surveyed 1,417 Australians about presents, waste and repairs. Gifts Three quarters of respondents (75%) like to buy Christmas giftsHowever, 42% would prefer others not to buy them gifts, compared with 47% who disagreed with this idea. Around a third (31%) said they expect to get gifts they won’t use or wear, compared with 41% who said they didn't. Wasteful purchases and the economy Most (62%) d...

The Styx Coal Project, also known as the Central Queensland Coal Project, is not financially or economically viable and should not be granted any form of project approval. Geoscience Australia has described the project area as “not of economic importance”. Figures presented in the environmental impact statement Appendix 10a – Economic Technical Report suggest the project will lose $441 million.This estimate is in many ways optimistic. It includes...

A new report, released today by The Australia Institute, questions using averages to represent flows in the Barwon-Darling and challenges the NSW Water Minister’s claims about how much water is going into maintain river health. Two massive flood years, 1950 and 1956 account for 21% of all of the water flows since 1944. These two mega-floods distort averages, giving a false expectation of available water. The report comes on the back of revelation...

Most countries do not have poker machines.  Australia is unusual in using poker machines as its main form of gaming machine, in having so many of them, and in allowing them in non-gambling venues (“pubs and clubs”). [PDF of full report below]Australia has about 0.3% of the world’s population, but 2.5% of its gaming machines. If Japan’s pachinko parlours are excluded, Australia has 6% of the world’s machines.Gaming machines come in a var...

Amid low levels of trust in Parliament, there is overwhelming and increasing support for a National ICAC. But voters are discerning. Most say a National ICAC would increase public trust in Parliament if it can investigate politicians and hold public hearings, but an ICAC without these powers may further erode trust in Parliament. [Full results in PDF below]The Australia Institute conducts regular, nationally representative polls on a range of pol...