Research Papers

The Future Of Australia –  A Survey Of The Values And Beliefs Of Young Australians
1 December 2023

The Future Of Australia – A Survey Of The Values And Beliefs Of Young Australians

Q: Out of the following, what do you believe the government should prioritise? Please rank in the order from highest to lowest priority?
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Who Teaches The Teachers? An Audit Of Teaching Degrees At Australian Universities
22 November 2023

Who Teaches The Teachers? An Audit Of Teaching Degrees At Australian Universities

Teaching as a discipline as taught at Australian universities is now dominated by the study of Critical Social Justice, also known as wokeness. Critical Social Justice assumes most human interaction in society is underpinned by oppressive power structures based on group identities, such as race and gender. These theories, now entrenched in Australian universities, were pioneered by Brazilian Marxist Paulo
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The Arbiters Of Truth – Analysis Of Fact Checking Organisations During The 2023 Voice Referendum
9 November 2023

The Arbiters Of Truth – Analysis Of Fact Checking Organisations During The 2023 Voice Referendum

The 2023 Voice to Parliament Referendum was characterised by the censorship and regulation of public debate in the name of combatting ‘misinformation’. In partnership with social media companies, ‘fact checking’ organisations assessed the ‘truth’ of claims made about the referendum proposal and sought to stop the circulation of claims found to be ‘false’ or ‘misleading’. The three fact checking organisations
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The Growth Of Red Tape – Causes And Solutions
6 November 2023

The Growth Of Red Tape – Causes And Solutions

At a time when Australia faces a broad range of economic challenges, red tape remains a significant barrier to economic recovery and opportunity. This report explores five ideas to reduce red tape which have been successfully adopted either in Australia or by governments abroad: This report also explores five ideas to reduce red tape which have not yet been implemented
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Energy Security Is National Security – A Framework For Better Energy Outcomes In Australia
1 November 2023

Energy Security Is National Security – A Framework For Better Energy Outcomes In Australia

This paper is intended to reframe the foundations of energy policy in Australia, to stimulate debate, and to guide future research (including, but not only, that under-taken by the IPA). It will describe the nature and importance of energy security and explain why it must be the pre-eminent consideration for energy and related policies, not least because energy security is
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Representations Without Representation: Urban Bias in the Canberra Voice
11 October 2023

Representations Without Representation: Urban Bias in the Canberra Voice

 Click here to download the research report. If an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice (the Voice) is inserted into the Australian Constitution, it will have the power to make ‘representations’ to the Commonwealth parliament and executive government. The power to make representations implies the Voice will be representative. However, analysis by the Institute of Public Affairs finds the Voice
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Tasmania Closing The Gap Without A Divisive Voice To Parliament – State By State Analysis Of Closing The Gap Outcomes
5 October 2023

Tasmania Closing The Gap Without A Divisive Voice To Parliament – State By State Analysis Of Closing The Gap Outcomes

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that the forthcoming referendum on whether to entrench an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and Executive Government in the Australian Constitution is about ‘listening’ to Indigenous people. But sometimes there needs to be more than just talking and listening, debating and arguing, advocacy and activism. The old Latin adage facta, non verba means deeds, not
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A Radical Voice – The Ideological Context Of The Indigenous Voice To Parliament
28 September 2023

A Radical Voice – The Ideological Context Of The Indigenous Voice To Parliament

For 80 years a central strand of the IPA’s research has been Australia’s democratic traditions, including the egalitarian principle that every Australian gets the same say over the country’s future, and how important this principle is to the preservation of the Australian way of life. But increasingly, alternative theories have begun to dominate Australian political discourse. Theories that assert a
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Unprecedented Nationwide Jobs Crunch: Geographic Analysis Of Worker Shortages In Australia
14 September 2023

Unprecedented Nationwide Jobs Crunch: Geographic Analysis Of Worker Shortages In Australia

Australia is currently facing an unprecedented worker shortage crisis, with job vacancies increasing by 235 per cent between May 2020 and May 2023, and one in four businesses currently being unable to find enough workers. To measure the severity of worker shortages, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) created the ‘Job Vacancy Crunch Rate’, which is the ratio of job
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Canberra’s Digital Ministry Of Truth
23 August 2023

Canberra’s Digital Ministry Of Truth

This research report has been prepared to provide an analysis of the Exposure Draft of the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023. The analysis finds:
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