Western Civilisation

Comedy writer Robert Orben is credited with saying, ‘If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.’ It is a phrase the federal government appears to want to put to the test. This is despite handing down a Budget earlier this month which shows government spending is set to reach its highest level since 1993. It was surprising to find education funding

An economist’s research shows the benefits of well-managed migration programs, and the downside of open borders, writes IPA Executive Director Scott Hargreaves. This book is not specifically about Australian culture or our immigration policies, but should be compulsory reading for anyone concerned with either or both. Talking about immigration, or what kind of culture we have or want in Australia,

Her trademark empathy on full display, Jacinda Ardern, the antipodean icon of female empowerment, recently delivered her farewell speech to the New Zealand Parliament. The ex-Prime Minister announced her intention to resign in January, citing burnout as a key reason for her departure. At the time, Ardern said she had no plans other than to spend more time with family.

This year, on 29 April, it was 253 years since Captain James Cook landed at Botany Bay. Despite the obvious significance of that day, it barely, if ever, rates a mention. Thanks to the collapse of our education system, many Australians think Cook was part of the First Fleet that arrived eighteen years later, on January 26. Many therefore erroneously

Three years ago, I was approached at a pub in Brisbane by a television station reporting on the mask mandates to be put in place by our state premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk. I was asked what I thought of having to wear a mask and remain seated when at cafes, restaurants, and pubs. I said it was a laugh and that

The national curriculum substitutes raw emotion for hard learning Occasionally our political representatives will say things which stand the test of time, but more than often, they do not. One example which springs to mind is a comment made in 2004 by the then federal education minister Julie Bishop, who optimistically proposed that the creation of a national curriculum would

On 24 March, IPA Senior Fellow John Roskam meets with Marie Kawthar Douda, a lecturer at the Oriel College at Oxford University. They discuss how the study of western classics is being undermined in English-speaking countries. Marie, who is of Moroccon descent, emphasises that Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Odyssey should be studied and understood because they are powerful works of art

Saturday’s contest in NSW is further proof the traditional left/right political divide is now irrelevant as politicians form part of a managerial elite whose task it is to eliminate political difference not accentuate it These pages over several weeks have documented how the Liberal and Labor policies for Saturday’s NSW state election are virtually indistinguishable. It’s hard to disagree with Graham Young’s assessment a

The Institute of Public Affairs was founded in 1943 as a non-profit educational research organisation with the objectives: to further the individual, social, political, and economic freedom of the Australian people; and to maintain and enhance the Australian way of life. A central strand of the IPA’s research for 80 years has been on Australia’s democratic traditions, including the egalitarian

A new memoir provides a first-hand account of why Mao’s attempt to communise China was a blooming disaster, writes IPA Membership Officer Claire Peter-Budge. There is a line often heard in political and social justice circles which speaks of being on the “right side of history”. This notion is evoked when those behind it are challenged in situations such as