federalism

2 June 2020

The Institute of Public Affairs (“the IPA”) Is committed to undertaking research to promote the human dignity of all Australians. At the heart of human dignity is individual freedom. This is why a key focus of the IPA’s research is on freedom of speech, legal rights, and the rule of law which are at the core of Australia’s liberal democratic

24 October 2018

The IPA welcomes the opportunity to provide the attached document, Time to End GST Redistribution: 2018 Update, as a submission to the inquiry into the Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Every State and Territory Gets Their Fair Share of GST) Bill 2018. The report outlines the theoretical and practical flaws in cross-jurisdictional redistribution of taxation revenue (or horizontal fiscal equalization),

19 July 2018

It is a safe rule of thumb to assume that whenever a minister or a bureaucrat says “no one will be worse off”, that means everyone will be worse off. For proof of this, consider the so-called GST “reform” proposed by Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison earlier this month. Morrison’s proposal followed the recommendations made by the Productivity Commission to tinker

18 April 2018

Our new research brief discusses Australia’s alarming GST problem. IPA research has found that the states that are responsible for contributing the most to the GST pool – New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia – have lost $87 billion to the other states and territories since its introduction, under the complex process known as “horizontal fiscal equalisation”. The Institute

8 November 2017

Catalonia. For most Australians, the name of its capital, Barcelona, will resonate more. The city conjures up images of the grand boulevard Las Ramblas, the architecture of Antoni Gaudí, epitomised in his Sagrada Familia basilica, the Summer Olympics in 1992 and Catalan tenor Jose Carreras crooning Amigos para siempre to Sarah Brightman. Unlike the Basque Country, we don’t associate Catalonia with a

24 October 2017

The future prosperity of regional Australia is threatened by unnecessary regulatory roadblocks. All industries, but particularly those in regional Australia, are subject to a byzantine array of licences, permits and regulatory approvals. This red tape burden slows or prevent major projects, cost jobs and ultimately costs the national economy $176 billion every year in foregone economic output. That’s equivalent to

23 October 2017

With business creation and investment in Australia in precipitous decline, it is critical that all levels of Australian government undertake reforms to reduce red tape to achieve minimum best practice regulation. Environmental law in Australia has not only been expanding but also becoming more centralised. The delays that stem from this red tape create uncertainty, stymie investment, and hold back

23 October 2017

The responsibility for protecting threatened species should be returned to the States, according to a new report released today by free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. The report, Decentralising the Protection of Australian Threatened Species, authored by IPA Research Fellows Morgan Begg, Darcy Allen, and Daniel Wild, found that the size of the federal list of threatened

25 November 2016

“With two more appeals against the Adani mine just dismissed, it is clear green groups are launching frivolous lawsuits aimed at fulfilling a radical left wing fantasy of shutting down the entire fossil-fuel industry.” said Daniel Wild, Research Fellow with the free-market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. “Australia should aspire to become the most attractive destination for international