Parliamentary Research Briefs

30 October 2017

The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Report ranks the competitiveness of 134 countries. Competitiveness is measured using 114 indicators such as macroeconomic health, the quality of infrastructure, and labour market efficiency, which are derived from statistical analysis and survey data. Economies with a better competitiveness ranking typically have a greater productive capacity, higher business investment, and higher economic growth

3 October 2017

This IPA Parliamentary Research Brief seeks to explain the problems with this law. Our research demonstrates that the Marriage Law Survey (Additional Safeguards) Act 2017 is bad law because it uses vague and ambiguous language to restrict freedom of speech, it creates a blasphemy law at the federal level, and it abrogates the rule of law. While the Act has

31 August 2017

Our new research brief provides four facts about economic inequality in Australia. Despite the claims, income inequality in Australia is low and decreasing. While wealth inequality has increased slightly over recent years,  wealth in Australia remains the third most evenly distributed in the developed word. The key inequality that matters for public policy is that of opportunity rather than income. A

28 July 2017

Our new research brief is on the Four Reasons why the Referendum Council’s recommendations for Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be rejected. The proposal to entrench an indigenous ‘voice to parliament’ is a radical idea. Race should not be used as a qualification for participation in democracy. The creation of a constitutional body to exclusively

14 June 2017

In the wake of South Australia’s September 2016 blackout, the Council of Australian Governments Energy Council announced the establishment of an ‘expert panel’ chaired by Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel AO to “develop a national reform blueprint to maintain energy security and reliability in the National Electricity Market (NEM).” Download the full research brief here

25 May 2017

The Government announced major changes to the banking sector in the 2017-18 Budget, including: • A tax of 0.06% on the liabilities of the four major banks plus Macquarie. • Forty per cent of a banking executive’s variable remuneration must be deferred for at least four years. • The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) will be given powers to require

11 May 2017

Westpac’s new Climate Change Action Plan limits new thermal coal lending to existing basins and to projects with an energy content of at least 6,300kCal/kg23. If adopted by all financial institutions and applied to current projects, most of Australia’s current coal-fired power generators and energy coal export mines would need to bank overseas. Rather than setting artificial benchmarks that would damage

7 April 2017

The Australia Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) should be abolished. 1. The ACMA is a threat to free speech. 2. The ACMA’s functions are redundant. 3. The ACMA imposes costs on the Australian economy. The IPA recommended abolishing the ACMA in Be like Gough: 75 radical ideas to transform Australia.   Download the full report here

8 March 2017

Business investment in Australia is 12.2% of GDP and is forecast to fall to a record low nine per cent of GDP by 2020, according to Macquarie Research. During the Whitlam era of economic crisis business investment averaged 13.7% of GDP. Download the full report here

10 February 2017

The Renewable Energy Target (RET) mandates that 33,000 GWh of electricity – 24 per cent – be generated from renewable sources by 2020. To do this, wholesale energy users, mostly retailers, are required to purchase a certain amount of wholesale energy from renewable sources. Because renewables are typically costlier and less efficient than non-renewables, the RET causes energy prices to