Australia Institute

1 week ago | australiainstitute.org.au | Angus Blackman

Superannuation is meant to help all Australians have a comfortable retirement, not help the very wealthiest pay less tax. On this episode of Follow the Money, Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute, joins Glenn Connley to discuss the government’s modest proposal to change the superannuation tax concessions and the bizarre backlash to the policy. This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 28 May 2025 and things may have changed.

1 week ago | australiainstitute.org.au | Matt Saunders |Rod Campbell

Over the past 10 years $125 billion worth of liquified natural gas was exported from Gladstone in Queensland. None of the relevant entities have paid company tax in that time, with just one exception. Clearly, Australian policy settings on energy and tax are out of order. No new fossil fuel projects should be going ahead, and far more money should be being raised from the existing projects to help pay for the rising costs of climate-linked disasters.

1 week ago | australiainstitute.org.au | Greg Jericho

The Government’s Safeguard Mechanism is supposed to limit emissions; instead, it just lets companies cheat. The government’s Safeguard Mechanism is the key policy designed, apparently, to set Australia on the path to a low-emissions economy. According to the government’s website, the mechanism “requires Australia’s highest greenhouse gas emitting facilities to reduce their emissions in line with Australia’s emission reduction targets of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050”.

1 week ago | australiainstitute.org.au | Angus Blackman

Trump’s confrontation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was about trying to show who’s in charge. On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss Trump’s false claims about ‘white genocide’, the administration’s war on Harvard University, Kamala Harris on the Goldie, and whether Anthony Albanese’s talk about “progressive patriotism” will be backed up with real action.

1 week ago | australiainstitute.org.au | Angus Blackman

There’s nothing indulgent about public funding for Australian culture. More funds would fix many of the sector’s problems. On this episode, Adelaide Writers Week director Louise Adler joins Paul Barclay to talk about the biggest challenges facing the arts sector, including higher costs and prices, greater reliance on philanthropy and greater vulnerability to political controversies. This discussion was recorded on Monday 3 February 2025, and things may have changed since the recording.