Issue Analysis
Issue Analysis (IA) are shorter publications that deal with controversial and current issues.
Categories
Six Arguments in Favour of Self-Funding
The welfare state served us well in the past but is decreasingly relevant to current conditions. It came into existence to provide health care, education, and income security which people needed but could...... Read More
Clearing Muddy Waters: Why Vinnies are Wrong on Inequality
A recent St Vincent de Paul Society report claimed income inequality in Australia is dramatically widening. CIS suggested the report was grossly exaggerated. The authors of the report responded by telling...... Read More
A Headlong Dash into the Chasm of Hyperbole
The St Vincent de Paul Society’s recent paper, The Reality of Income Inequality in Australia, warns of Australia’s ‘current headlong dash into the chasm of inequality,’ basing its claims about...... Read More
Papua New Guinea’s Choice: A Tale of Two Nations
The recent withdrawal of the Australian police is disastrous for the people of Papua New Guinea. The police deployed under the Enhanced Cooperation Programme had only been in place for six months, but...... Read More
Lessons from the Tiwi Islands: The Need for Radical Improvement in Remote Aboriginal Communities
The governance structures created during the last 30 years for remote Aboriginal communities are so dysfunctional that the many millions of dollars that have been channelled into various programmes for...... Read More
The $85 Billion Tax/Welfare Churn
Given the government’s newly-won control of the Senate, most attention is focused primarily on the next 18 months, but it is important to think longer term about the kind of tax and welfare systems we...... Read More
Universities in a State: The Federal Case Against Commonwealth Control of Universities
The Commonwealth Education Minister, Brendan Nelson, has suggested that the federal government assume full legal responsibility for universities. However, tranferring power over universities from the...... Read More
A New Deal for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Remote Communities
A New Deal for Aborigines: Private property rights, educational reform, health care privatisation, and the application of the rule of law are urgently needed in Australia’s remote communities if Aborigines...... Read More
The Pacific is Viable!
Whilst all is relatively quiet in the Pacific, there is still no growth. With aid runing at more than $1.5 billion a year to cushion the effects of stagnation, Pacific governments continue to opt for inaction....... Read More
A Voluntary Free Trade Alliance: How to Overcome Hurdles in the Path of Traders and Investors
The 'Global Free Trade Alliance' would promote free exchanges between nations on a voluntary basis and could become a ‘World Trade Organisation Plus’ among nations that already enjoy a rather high...... Read More
Only 18%? Why ACOSS is Wrong to be Complacent about Welfare Dependency
A new report from the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) accepts that welfare dependency among working age Australians has reached 18% but denies this is a problem. It says that Australia still...... Read More
From Riches to Rags What Are Nauru’s Options and How Can Australia Help?
Thirty years after enjoying the world’s second highest per capita GDP after Saudi Arabia, Nauru is on the verge of insolvency, has appalling health problems and was declared one of the first ‘rogue’...... Read More
Can Papua New Guinea Come Back From the Brink?
After seven months of wrangling, arrangements to deploy more than 260 Australian police and other officials to Papua New Guinea have finally been made. PNG, in addition to restoring law and order, needs...... Read More
The Long Eye of the Law Closed Circuit Television, Crime Prevention and Civil Liberties
The NSW Law Reform Commission is considering a proposal that all CCTV surveillance camera footage older than 21 days should be destroyed. They are worried that stockpiling information on people’s daily...... Read More
Why We Must Reform the Disability Support Pension
There has been a big increase in people claiming the Disability Support Pension (DSP) although at least half of the claimants are capable of holding down a job. A large part of the increase in DSP numbers...... Read More
Lies, Damned Lies and the Senate Poverty Inquiry Report
A recent Senate Report claims that ‘poverty’ in Australia is widespread and has been getting worse is ‘seriously flawed’ and its use of evidence is ‘partial and selective.’ Its treatment of...... Read More
Sweet and Sour Pork Barrelling: The Case of Queensland Sugar
For nearly 100 years, pork barrelling has propped up a recalcitrant sugar industry that has refused to reform despite evidence that deregulation would lead to higher profits. Now the negative side effects...... Read More
How Union Campaigns on Hours and Casuals are Threatening Low-skilled Jobs
For several years now Australian unions have been waging campaigns to limit working hours and the growth in casual employment in the name of improving workers’ well-being. Yet these campaigns are little...... Read More
Valuing Education: A Response to the Australia Institute Report 'Buying an Education'
The Australia Institute, in publishing this report, has done nothing to advance serious and constructive debate on education in Australia. Its underlying argument, that paying for one’s education is...... Read More
The Open Front Door Tourism, Border Control and National Security
Terrorists could easily exploit a serious weakness in Australia’s border protection regime, warns immigration expert Professor William Maley. While the Howard government has committed substantial resources...... Read More
