Media Releases

Irrigators & environment dudded by Basin Authority

The Australia Institute has released new research showing that the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) caused ecological harm and reduced water to irrigators when it caused floods at the ‘Barmah choke’ and drained the Menindee Lakes.

“While everyone else in the Basin was dealing with drought, the MDBA created a flood and lost large volumes of water,” said Maryanne Slattery, Senior Water Researcher at The Australia Institute.

“The artificial flood from August to January was not for environmental purposes, in fact it caused environmental harm. The out of season flooding eroded banks and damaged the internationally significant Barmah-Millewa forest.

Posted on:

17 June 2019

Men will get almost twice the benefit from later stages of unlegislated income tax cuts as women: new research

The final stage of the Morrison Government’s unlegislated income tax plan, stage 3(a) favours males by a ratio of almost two to one, according to a new distributional analysis from The Australia Institute’s senior economist Matt Grudnoff.

The Morrison Government is yet to legislate the additional tax cuts announced in the 2019-20 Federal Budget, which builds on the tax package announced in the previous 2018-19 Budget.

Key findings:

Posted on:

16 June 2019

Australia can Follow Finland to Reverse TAFE and Training Crisis

Australia should consider whether it wants a higher education and vocational training system more like that of Finland or more like the USA, according to a new report from The Australia Institute’s Nordic Policy Centre.

The report, co-authored by Professor Andrew Scott, Emeritus Professor Tor Hundloe and Mr Shirley Jackson, shows Australian vocational training is in crisis and explains how the higher education experience of Finland should be used as a blueprint for improving outcomes in Australia.

Posted on:

14 June 2019

Budget Warning for State Gov: Voters Reject Service Cuts, Privatisation

New research from The Australia Institute has found that two out of three voters want the State Government to make up the $517 million GST shortfall announced in the Federal Budget by increasing taxes on wealthier South Australians and property investors.

The least popular way for the government to balance the books in its upcoming Budget would be to either cut or privatise services such as public transport, health and education or to increase taxes across the board.

Posted on:

14 June 2019

Queensland facing more climate chaos

New research shows that Queensland is set to experience more climate chaos, including more summers with a dramatic increase in extreme heat days – like in Brisbane, where days over 35C would go from a historical average of two per year, to up to 45 days per year by 2090.

The report, written by The Australia Institute using CRSIO and BoM data, shows that such increases in extreme heat days will severely affect many key metropolitan and regional centres throughout Queensland such as Brisbane, Townsville, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast and the Whitsundays.

Key Points:

Posted on:

5 June 2019

New Analysis: Over 50% of Stage 3a Tax Cuts Benefit to go to Highest Income Earners

New income distributional analysis from The Australia Institute senior economist Matt Grudnoff shows the Morrison Government’s proposed Stage 3(a) income tax cuts announced in the 2019-20 Federal Budget, to come into effect 2024-25, will overwhelmingly benefit high-income earners with over 50% of the benefit going to the top 20% of taxpayers, while the bottom half only get 12% of the benefit, and the bottom 20% receive a mere 0.2%.

Posted on:

31 May 2019

Renewables key to Australia’s energy future

New research shows that ongoing investment in renewable energy generation by companies and households continues to reduce Australia’s electricity sector emissions, even without adequate national climate and energy policy.

The Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program has released the latest National Energy Emissions Audit for the electricity sector, analysing the electricity sector over the previous month.

Key findings:

Posted on:

30 May 2019

Cross-Industry Pressure Builds for ‘Demand Response’ Energy Reform

A broad range of Australian business and industry representatives have written a letter supporting changes to the country’s energy rules that would allow demand response aggregators to enter the National Energy Market.

The proposed change would allow companies to pay households, farms and businesses to reduce their use of energy, instead of turning on more expensive generators, when demand and wholesale prices are high.

Posted on:

24 May 2019

Taking way too much credit

$18 billion dollar gamble on climate action loophole

The Government’s reliance on dated carbon credits to extinguish over half of its Paris Agreement target might not be authorised, forcing it to purchase last-minute international permits or drastically reduce emissions to cover huge gap.

New analysis by the Australia Institute identified numerous legal, diplomatic and ethical barriers to using Kyoto Protocol carry-over credits, which undermine the government’s heavy reliance the credits.

Key points:

Posted on:

16 May 2019

62 Experts Urge Next Parliament to Make Climate Action a Top Priority

62 scientists and experts have signed an open letter to the next Parliament of Australia, calling for whichever party that wins Government this Saturday to make urgent action on climate change a top priority for the 46^th Parliament of Australia.

Posted on:

15 May 2019

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