4 September 2023
Building Even Bigger Problems
Urgent action is needed to prevent Australia’s construction industry from collapsing under the weight of rising labour costs, red tape, and excess government spending, argues IPA Research Fellow Kevin You. September 2023 will mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Gold Coast University Hospital: a 750-bed, state-of-the-art health facility next to Griffith University’s flagship campus. The construction of
4 September 2023
United We Stand …
Even if the Voice to Parliament fails in the referendum the war to divide us will be far from over, warns IPA Director of Research Morgan Begg. One of the best benefits of Australia’s Constitution is that constitutional alterations require the approval of the Australian people at a referendum. The consequence of this requirement is that proposals to change the Constitution
2 May 2023
Queensland’s Dam Fools
Queensland’s desalination plant provides a prime example of how caving in to the green lobby harms our society, the economy, and the environment, writes communication consultant Bruce Kingston. Water is often ignored because of its ubiquity, but without it we humans can maintain life for only some three or four days. Major dam projects in Australia in the first half
24 April 2023
Swede Success
The Swedes proved an alleged crisis—whether COVID or, say, climate change—is no excuse for curtailing our freedom, argues public policy analyst Scott Prasser. Sweden—with its extensive government regulation and social engineering—used to seem to me to be like the world’s largest prison, a sort of real-life version of that 1960s British TV series, The Prisoner, about a make-believe, contrived village
24 April 2023
Coal Closures Dark Age
Recklessly closing more coal-fired power stations threatens to condemn Australians to a new dark age, argues IPA Research Fellow Kevin You. In April 2023 the Hunter Valley in New South Wales will lose an icon, which—for the last two generations—has been providing reliable, baseload power to factories, businesses, schools, and families in NSW and the rest of the Eastern seaboard
22 December 2022
We Can Work It Out
Australia’s worker shortage can be addressed through no-regret policies that increase labour supply, writes IPA Research Fellow Saxon Davidson. Australia is currently facing an unprecedented worker shortage, and the Albanese government is failing to act on sensible measures it could take right now to unlock additional labour supply within Australia. Increasing the participation rate—the proportion of potential workers who make
22 December 2022
Taking Stock
Taking the Global Methane Pledge will harm Australia’s economy and have no impact on climate change, argues Professor Emeritus of Government Aynsley Kellow. I recently described climate policy by drawing on Scottish author Charles Mackay’s 1841 essay Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, the title of which should give you the idea. The delusion seems to continue after
3 November 2022
Remember The Victims of Communism
The seventh of November each year has been designated ‘Victims of Communism Day’ in the US state of Florida through State legislation sponsored by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. This is the Gregorian calendar date of the storming of the Winter Palace in 1917 by the Bolsheviks (Julian calendar 25 October, hence the so-called October Revolution). The November date was celebrated
3 November 2022
Inflation: An ill wind
The spectre of inflation now scares most around the world. Predictions by some economists and central bankers that it would be temporary are proving wrong. Money is losing value at an accelerated pace. Even economies where the authorities are engineering a recession are heading into a sustained inflation wave. Stagflation—inflation while growth stalls—is back. Relearning the lessons of history is
30 August 2022
Teal We Meet Again
The ‘teal’ phenomenon highlights the contest of values within Australia’s liberal tradition, argues IPA Research Fellow Andrew Kemp. On the election night of May 21, 2022, I like to think that a ghostly chuckle quivered down the upper hallway of the Auburn Hotel, above the euphoric roars of Monique Ryan’s victory party as the independent candidate claimed the federal electorate
