15 December 2015
Driving A Soft Bargain
All current Australian Public Service Enterprise Agreements have a nominal expiry date of 30 June 2014, and are currently in the bargaining stage for the next suite of agreements. This report examines the APS Agreements of the Top 10 Commonwealth government Agencies or Departments by employee size. The APS Agreements provide that general salary levels for APS-level employees will incrementally
17 July 2015
The End Of History…
Undergraduate history degrees in Australia fail to teach fundamental aspects of Australia’s history and how Australian liberal democracy came to be. Instead, they offer a range of disconnected subjects on narrow themes and issues—focusing on imperialism, popular culture, film studies, and ethnic/race history. This report contains the results of a systematic review of the 739 history subjects offered across 34
17 December 2014
Freedom To Teach
While there has been much attention and significant resources dedicated to examining the structures surrounding the attraction, training, retention and performance of teachers, there is almost no consideration of the conditions under which teachers are employed and paid. This report examines the government school Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs) and awards across Australia, pointing to a highly inflexible and restrictive employment
10 December 2014
The Sharing Economy – How Over-Regulation Could Destroy An Economic Revolution
The sharing economy describes a rise of new business models (‘platforms’) that uproot traditional markets, break down industry categories, and maximise the use of scarce resources. The best known services are the ridesharing system Uber and the accommodation service Airbnb. However, the sharing economy extends much further into finance, home tools, investment, and everyday tasks. The ‘sharing economy’ emerged from
15 May 2013
Australia’s Big Government, By The Numbers
A paper providing the most comprehensive historical estimates of the size of government in Australia. Download document
25 April 2010
Keeping Super Safe: A Call For Greater Transparency From Superannuation Funds
Disclosure levels by Australian superannuation funds are inadequate. Disclosure levels should meet international benchmarks to adequately protect Australians’ superannuation savings. The role of some Australian superannuation industry funds as ‘default’ funds in Australia’s industry relations system constitutes government-granted special financial privileges. While customers can opt-out of industry funds defaulted by the industrial award system, few do so. Download document
