Victorian Donation Law Changes A Threat To Free Speech
The Andrews government’s proposed changes to Victorian donations law are undemocratic and a threat to freedom of speech, according to free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs...
Emergency Plebiscite Law A Major Threat To Free Speech
Free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs has today criticised the government’s emergency plebiscite vilification law as another attack on freedom of speech. “This vague legislation...
Lack Of Same Sex Protection
The (thankfully) former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs suggested recently that the same-sex marriage debate was taking place in a ‘post-truth’ climate and...
Originally appeared in The Spectator Australia
With Little Thought To Consequences, Gay Marriage Could Reduce Freedom
After this country’s politicians eventually work out who is and isn’t entitled to sit in Parliament, hopefully they’ll turn their attention back to more important things –...
Originally appeared in The Australian Financial Review
Four Reasons To Reject The Referendum Council Recommendations
The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), Australia’s premier free market think tank, is dedicated to preserving and strengthening the foundations of economic and political freedom. The Parliamentary...
Race Has No Place In The Constitution
“The radical attempt to divide Australians in our national constitution is wrong and it will be rejected by the Australian people,” says Simon Breheny, Director of Policy at the free...
Courting Freedom: Australia’s High Court Has Chipped Away At Our Freedoms For Long Enough
Since 2013, the federal judiciary has been substantially reshaped, with four appointments to the High Court, along with 30 other appointments to other federal courts. In January 2017, for...
Legal Rights Persistently Undermined By Parliament
The IPA’s latest report, the Legal Rights Audit 2016, was today featured in the legal affairs section of The Australian ($): An audit of federal legislation has found that the erosion of...
Legal Rights Audit 2016
Morgan Begg, Simon Breheny and Jake Fraser
24 February 2017
Constitution and law, Ideas and liberty,
This report illustrates the ongoing erosion of legal rights that persists in Australia. This has been measured by an analysis of the content of all legislation passed by the federal parliament in...
Picking Judges
President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats in the United States are about to engage in political warfare about who will be their next Supreme Court judge. Australians should be envious...
Originally appeared in The Spectator Australia
Key Lesson Is That A Bold Agenda Is Possible
The New Zealand prime minister is rightly being showered with praise from over this side of the Tasman. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Key’s resignation was “a great loss to New...
Rowan Callick On Chinese Democracy
A fascinating piece from Rowan Callick in The Australian today on the repressive nature of Chinese democracy, where those insufficiently loyal to the ruling Communist party are not allowed to...
IPA Poll: Most Support 18C Change
A Galaxy Research poll commissioned by the IPA has found that – of those that have an opinion – most support a change to section 18C that would remove the words “offend” and “insult”. This was...
IPA Report On The $1.2bn Economic Cost Of Green Lawfare
The IPA’s recent report on how section 487 of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act1999 enables environmental activists to hurt development and job creation, was featured...
A Treaty With First Australians Is Divisive And Dangerous
The concept of a treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is illogical and divisive. The current push for such a document is misguided, and should be abandoned. It’s...
Get More Cops On The Beat To Stop Violent Crime Wave
“The recent spate of cars being set on fire across Cranbourne illustrates the urgent need to reinvest some of Victoria’s criminal justice spending in the police force. This is the best...
How 18C Is Corrupting Our Legal Rights
Everyone knows s18C diminishes the right to freedom of speech, but what people don’t know is that 18C also diminishes the right to a fair trial. The IPA’s Simon Breheny explains how a...
Property Rights Are Human Rights
Property rights are human rights, but in order to advance them, we need to anchor them as moral and just. Throughout the second half of 2014, a national consultation looked at the human rights...