8 December 2021
Let’s Revive Our National Spirit
As COVID vaccination targets are reached, there is much talk by politicians and media of freedoms being ‘returned’ to citizens. There are two problems with this type of phrase. First, freedoms belong to the people. They are not a gift from government. Second, while lockdowns, curfews and border restrictions are eased, new kinds of restrictions are being created. In Adam
30 November 2021
Abolition Was Exceptional
Claims that slavery built the West are not supported by evidence, and are confounded by Abolition, argues historian and IPA Adjunct Fellow, Bradley Bowden. We should hardly be surprised American conservatives reacted with outrage to The 1619 Project launched by The New York Times in August 2019, as it turned on its head their commitment to ‘exceptionalism’, the notion that
25 November 2021
Still Left Speechless
Academics are fighting a rear-guard action as the push to enshrine free speech on campus gathers pace, writes IPA Adjunct Fellow Matthew Lesh. An indescribable anxiety flushes through your body in the split second of realising you are the punching bag. That was my experience in late 2019 when I trekked up to the Australian National University. I was invited
17 November 2021
Australia: It’s Up To You
It’s up to ordinary Australians to keep alive the great works of our culture, and it’s never been easier, writes IPA Executive General Manager Scott Hargreaves. If you care about Australia and its cultural heritage then well might you say: it is the worst of times, and it is the best of times. It is the worst of times because
27 September 2021
Bring The Focus Back Home
Universities have lost touch with Australians, and now is the right time for the Federal Government to push through reforms, writes IPA Adjunct Fellow Sinclair Davidson. One of the consequences of the COVID pandemic is that the Coalition Government (in office, never quite in power since 2013) has finally felt empowered to do something about Australian universities. Of course, ‘doing
18 August 2021
Something Very Fishy
When leaders pursue the politics of catastrophe, the cure becomes worse than the disease, writes IPA Research Fellow Morgan Begg in this review of Niall Ferguson’s new book. It seemed appropriate that just days before Dr Peter Ridd’s challenge for academic freedom was heard by the High Court a United Nations committee announced its intention to list the Great Barrier
12 August 2021
Who Stole The Footy?
The AFL’s many failings are laid bare in a new book providing insights into conflicts between money, power and justice, writes former Australian Rules footballer Allan Hird. In Michael Warner, Australia can now claim to have one of the best investigative reporters in the world. Bernstein and Woodward put investigative journalism on the map when they broke the Watergate story
4 August 2021
Power To The People
After COVID and Cancel Culture have incited fear and guilt, it is time to restore the virtues and attitudes that made Australia a country to be proud of, argues IPA Distinguished Fellow Tony Abbott. Back in 1986, John Howard observed that “the times will suit me”. They did not at the 1987 election, but eventually they did, and he went
4 August 2021
Australia’s Greatness Will Endure
Not so long ago my colleague, Dr Bella d’Abrera, wrote: Australian universities are more focused on their business model than engaging in free intellectual inquiry. Since then, two things have happened. First, Dr Peter Ridd fought back against his dismissal by James Cook University (JCU), his case reaching all the way to the High Court. Second, much of the business
20 July 2021
Climate For Conspiracies
A new diatribe demonstrates how demonising opponents creates a climate hostile to reasoned policy debate, writes IPA Communications Director Evan Mulholland. Marian Wilkinson is described on the inside of her new book, The Carbon Club, as a “multi-award winning journalist”, but many of the claims read like the ramblings of a conspiracy theorist on Twitter. What it fails to accept
