The Australia Institute Feed Items

Journalist Ben Doherty joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss Australia’s non-response to the Trump administration’s sanctions on the International Criminal Court, the American military footprint in Australia, and the OpenAI hack of Medicare on this episode of After America.

This episode was recorded on Monday 12 October.

Guest: Ben Doherty, Senior Reporter, Guardian Australia

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

No peace without accountability: Sydney Peace Laureate Navi Pillay, After America, the Australia Institute (October 2025)

The US now has access to more than half Australia’s military bases – could it drag the country unwillingly into war? by Ben Doherty, Andy Ball & Nick Evershed, Guardian Australia (September 2026)

On this episode of What’s the Point?, Richard Denniss discusses the important distinction between consumerism and materialism and why being ‘materialistic’ isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

This episode was recorded on Thursday 1 October.

Read more on The Point.

Enter the code CURED to get 25% off Curing Affluenza: How to buy less stuff and save the world by Richard Denniss via Australia Institute Press.

Host: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute // @richarddenniss

Host: Anna Chang, Managing Editor, The Point // @annachang

Show notes:

Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP | Bernie Fraser Oration 2026, the Australia Institute

Revenue Summit 2026, the Australia Institute

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, Australia Institute Press (August 2026)

Thanks to the business lobby, “tax reform” in Australia has become synonymous with cutting taxes, despite Australia being one of the lowest taxing countries in the developed world.

If Australia collected the same level of revenue from taxation as the OECD average, similar to Canada or the United Kingdom, we would raise more than $100 billion extra each year. That’s more than the combined cost of Medicare, Jobseeker, the Child Care Subsidy, the army and the navy put together.

How much better would Australia’s healthcare system be if the federal government had an additional $100 billion to spend each year? Investing in public services can raise people’s living standards and ease cost-of-living pressures. But too often Australia’s economic debate only focuses on the need to cut public spending and services and completely ignores the other side of the equation: revenue.

On Wednesday, the Australia Institute will host the 2026 Revenue Summit, where experts will gather to have a wide-ranging discussion about the options for raising more revenue in Australia.

As Australia Institute co-chief executive Richard Denniss says, Australia is a rich country, and we can afford to do anything we want, but not everything we want – but if we raised more revenue, governments could certainly deliver a hell of a lot more for the public than they can now.

All the way back in June, Andrew Charlton, the Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, gave a speech on the government’s commitment to AI.

Charlton is an unabashed advocate of Australia embracing AI and developing what he calls “world-class Australian AI industry”.

Charlton explained that this aspiration would not succeed without one non-negotiable ingredient: trust in the technology. The Australian people would need to trust that the government could protect them from the risks of AI and that they would share in the benefits of AI.

He finished his speech in observing that “… trust is not the price of an AI industry. Trust is the foundation of one.”

Charlton’s speech hasn’t aged well. On September 18, CNN reported that an intelligence report provided to the US military and generated with the help of a chatbot “almost started a war“, by falsely asserting that a Chinese ship in the Middle East was transporting nuclear material to aid Iran.

According to the report, shortly before the US military prepared to intercept the vessel, the errors in the report were identified and the plan was abandoned.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Senator Barbara Pocock, Australian Greens Spokesperson for Housing & Homelessness, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the housing crisis, its long-term impacts on the lives of younger Australians, and her proposals to turn the situation around.

This episode was recorded on Tuesday 6 October.

If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or online at www.lifeline.org.au.

Guest: Barbara Pocock, Senator for South Australia and Australian Greens Spokesperson for Housing & Homelessness // @barbarapocock

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

Locked out: the growing generational housing divide, Select Committee on Intergenerational Housing Inequity (September 2026)

If a week is a long time in politics, then it’s an eternity in the universe of artificial intelligence.

All the way back in June, Andrew Charlton, the Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, gave a speech on the government’s commitment to AI.

Charlton is an unabashed advocate of Australia embracing AI and developing what he calls “world-class Australian AI industry”.

Charlton explained that this aspiration would not succeed without one non-negotiable ingredient: trust in the technology. The Australian people would need to trust that the government could protect them from the risks of AI and that they would share in the benefits of AI.

He finished his speech in observing that “… trust is not the price of an AI industry. Trust is the foundation of one.”

Charlton’s speech hasn’t aged well. On September 18, CNN reported that an intelligence report provided to the US military and generated with the help of a chatbot “almost started a war“, by falsely asserting that a Chinese ship in the Middle East was transporting nuclear material to aid Iran.

According to the report, shortly before the US military prepared to intercept the vessel, the errors in the report were identified and the plan was abandoned.

As leaders gather in Fiji for crucial pre-COP31 climate talks, co-hosted by Australia’s Climate Change & Energy Minister Chris Bowen, delegates will see this message in the Fiji Times (photo).

Climate change is threatening the very existence of several Pacific Island nations. Pacific leaders have repeatedly asked Australia to reduce its reliance on, and export of, fossil fuels.

Yet, despite the rhetoric of Minister Bowen and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at events like the Pacific Islands Forum, Australia continues to expand fossil fuel mining.

Just last week the Hunter Valley Operations coal mine extension, which will generate 809 million tonnes of climate pollution out to 2045, was given planning approval in NSW.

“Australia is a terrible neighbour to its Pacific family,” said Noah Schultz-Byard, Strategic Director at The Australia Institute.

“Australian leaders fly around the world making all sorts of bold statements about meaningful climate action, then they return home and approve new coal and gas projects.

“For nations like Kiribati, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, the climate crisis is real and it’s happening now. It is not some distant dystopian prediction.

“This round of COP negotiations has become a crucial test for Australia. If we are to have any respectability in the international climate space, then strong, real-world commitments to phasing out fossil fuels are an essential minimum outcome from this year’s conference.”

On this episode of After America, Québécoise senator and pollution control expert Dr Rosa Galvez joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the Carney government’s response to the Trump administration, climate policy failures in Australia and Canada, and the opportunities for a better future for both countries.

This episode was recorded on Thursday 17 September.

Guest: The Hon Senator Dr Rosa Galvez, Independent Senator for Québec (Bedford), Canada // @senrosagalvez

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Australia and Canada can learn from each other on climate if we separate action from declaration by Rosa Galvez, Guardian Australia (September 2026)

Climate Integrity Summit 2026, the Australia Institute on YouTube

On this episode of What’s the Point?, Richard Denniss explains the theory of ‘trickle-down’ economics – and why so much of the money seems to be trickling the other way.

This episode was recorded on Thursday 24 September.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Read more on The Point.

Host: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute // @richarddenniss

Host: Anna Chang, Managing Editor, The Point // @annachang

Show notes:

Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP | Bernie Fraser Oration 2026, the Australia Institute

From our CEOs – with Richard Denniss

The Greens’ recent switch from Larissa Waters to David Shoebridge was both rapid and polite. But while the change might have come as a surprise, what is more predictable is the hand wringing from much of the commentariat and the PM about whether the Greens should be ‘populist’ or ‘pragmatic’, and whether they should act like a ‘party of government’ or a ‘party of protest’.

Have you ever heard that question asked of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation?

Senator Shoebridge has taken on one of the most powerful roles in Australia at the midpoint in the Albanese Government’s second term. To be clear, whenever the Prime Minister can’t get Angus Taylor to support his proposed laws his next call is, quite literally, to the Greens.

While the PM may take comfort in the fact that Angus Taylor is so receptive to much of Labor’s legislative agenda, for example his recent cuts to the NDIS and his weak efforts on gambling reform, much to his frustration sometimes his Cabinet and party room push him to do things that even Angus won’t support. And that’s when he needs the Greens’ 10 votes in the Senate to combine with Labor’s 30 to get the minimum 39 votes he needs to pass a bill through the Senate.

Obviously, Anthony Albanese would like the Greens to hand those 10 votes over for free, and obviously both the Greens elected representatives and their voters want them to extract a progressive price. And that’s where Senator Shoebridge’s job becomes so interesting.

The new ATO data has prompted renewed calls for the introduction of a flat 25% gas export tax, which Australia Institute research estimates would raise $17 billion a year.

Just last week, The Australia Institute released a sequel to its popular Big Gas Is Taking The Piss ad campaign. Today, the ATO underlined the failure of the existing tax arrangements on gas exports.

Today’s ATO data reveals:

• Santos Limited has racked up an 11th straight year of paying zero corporate tax payments from a total of nearly $52 billion in sales.
• Darwin’s Ichthys LNG Pty Ltd paid zero corporate tax or PRRT for the 7th year running, from a total of $53 billion in sales.
• Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) revenue was a mere $1.8 billion, down from a peak of $2.0 billion in 2021-22.

“Every Australian should be furious that they are getting nothing in return for the sale of their resources,” said Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute.

“How on earth can a company like Santos sell nearly $52 billion worth of Australian gas yet, for an 11th year in a row, pay not a single cent in corporate tax?

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg tells Skye that households will struggle “for not much good” because of the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate hike.

This discussion was recorded on Wednesday 30 September 2026.

Join an outstanding line-up of policymakers, academics and independent experts at the Australia Institute’s Revenue Summit 2026. Tickets are on sale now for the event at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 14 October.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Skye Predavec, Researcher, the Australia Institute // @skyelark

Show notes:

If turbocharged petrol prices are driving up inflation, then why are Australia’s unemployed on the line? by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (October 2026)

The mine, approved by the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC), now has approval to operate to 2045, generating 809 million tonnes of climate pollution, equivalent to almost two years of Australia’s national emissions.

“This is not a ‘just transition’. It’s not even a transition. It’s an expansion,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.

“The government pretends it’s ok to dig up more coal in the Hunter Valley because someone, somewhere else promised to do something to reduced emissions.

“This approval shows that Australia’s climate policies are working exactly as the government intended: pretend to be tackling emissions reduction while carrying on expanding coal.

“Australia’s climate policies are designed to safeguard fossil fuel projects like this one, and carbon offsets are central to this.

“The decision states on page 1 that the climate impacts of the huge coal mine ‘are managed effectively within the parameters of the NSW and Commonwealth statutory and policy regimes’.

“Scientists say there should be no new coal mines, but NSW decision makers say this huge mine is fine because of ‘requirements for minimisation and offsets’.

“The approval text says that carbon offsets have “real environmental benefits” not once, not twice, but three times.

“This is partly a result of key figures in NSW environment groups spending months, if not years, promoting and developing dodgy carbon offset proposals.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Justine Davis, Independent Member for Johnston in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss Australians’ extraordinary gambling losses, the federal government’s failure to create a national regulator for online gambling, and her proposal to lift standards in the NT.

This episode was recorded on Friday 25 September.

If this episode raised issues for you, you can call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 for free, professional and confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or visit Gambling Help Online at www.gamblinghelponline.org.au.

If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or online at www.lifeline.org.au.

Guest: Justine Davis, Member for Johnston, Northern Territory Legislative Assembly // @justinedavismla

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Australia is once again pushing for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, alongside Finland and Mongolia, because ‘a safer world is one governed by rules, not power and force alone’. While Australia consistently talks the talk on supporting the international rules-based order, it only walks the walk occasionally.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the pitch for the Security Council with a simple vision: ” We listen with respect, we partner as equals and we protect what matters most.” The trouble is, on many issues the Australian government appears to hear, but not listen to its allies and neighbours. And when it comes to protecting what matters most, the Australian government appears to stand up for international law selectively, not consistently, when it comes to two issues in particular: climate change and US military interventions.

On this episode of After America, Professor James Laurenceson joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the latest US-China leaders’ meeting, why the Biden administration’s hawkish approach to China may not be coming back, and what it all means for Australia.

This episode was recorded on Monday 28 September.

Guest: James Laurenceson, Professor and Director, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney // @j-laurenceson

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Trump on throwing a state dinner for Xi Jinping, Mother Jones on Bsky (September 2026)

As fears of China wane, Americans favor greater engagement with Beijing, Chicago Council on Global Affairs (September 2026)

Trump dismisses China spying concerns after reports they provided Iran with Jordan airbase images, The Hill on YouTube (September 2026)

On this episode of What’s the Point?, Richard Denniss explains what’s really driving inflation in Australia and why interest rates aren’t actually the only way to control it.

This episode was recorded on Friday 11 September.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Read more on The Point.

Host: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute // @richarddenniss

Host: Anna Chang, Managing Editor, The Point // @annachang

Show notes:

Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP | Bernie Fraser Oration 2026, the Australia Institute

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Skye discuss the focus on artificial intelligence in the latest 40-year outlook, the latest data on ‘middle Australia’, and why homeowners have reported higher levels of financial stress.

This discussion was recorded on Wednesday 23 September 2026.

Join an outstanding line-up of policymakers, academics and independent experts at the Australia Institute’s Revenue Summit 2026. Tickets are on sale now for the event at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 14 October.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Skye Predavec, Researcher, the Australia Institute // @skyelark

Show notes:

Single, couple or family: not all Australian middle-income earners are equal by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (August 2026)

In New York for the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister told international journalists that “we do need to stand up for the international rule of law.”

“Prime Minister Albanese is right to say that international institutions and the international rule of law matter to Australia, ” said Dr Emma Shortis, Director of The Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs program.

“But the government has failed to act consistently in the defence of both and last week, the government joined with the Coalition to oppose practical action that would match its rhetoric.

“The Red Lines Package of legislation would strengthen Australia’s commitment to our international legal obligations. It would make sure that Australia doesn’t fund, arm, or invest in illegal settlements, war crimes, or genocide — anywhere in the world.

“Right now, Australian domestic law doesn’t do enough to ensure that Australia is not complicit in these crimes.”

The Red Lines legislation would address these gaps, but Dr Shortis says the government has shown no interest in engaging with the package.

“It’s not that the government won’t support the legislation – it’s that it won’t even allow a proper conversation about it in Parliament,” Dr Shortis said.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Tuvalu Minister for Climate Change and Environment Dr Maina Vakafua Talia and Canadian independent Senator Dr Rosa Galvez join us to discuss the need to phase out fossil fuels.

This episode was recorded live on Wednesday 16 September at the Australia Institute’s Politics in the Pub event in Canberra.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest edition in the Vantage Point series, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Guest: The Hon Dr Maina Vakafua Talia, Minister for Climate Change and Environment for the Government of Tuvalu

Guest: The Hon Senator Dr Rosa Galvez, Independent Senator for Québec (Bedford), Canada // @senrosagalvez

Host: Louise Morris, Head of Fossil Fuel Transition, the Australia Institute // @louisemorris

The Prime Minister said he wants to promote ‘progressive patriotism’ – but his policies tell a different story. In this episode of What’s the Point?, Richard explains the dangers of centrism and what progressive politics actually looks like.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us by Richard Denniss is available now.

Read more on The Point. 

Host: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute // @richarddenniss

On this episode of After America, lawyer and advocate Rawan Arraf joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the Red Lines Package, the decision of the United Kingdom and others to sanction illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the future of international law.

This episode was recorded on Friday 18 September.

Join Emma and Allan Behm for the Melbourne launch of Allan’s new book, New Game New Rules: A foreign policy for dystopian times at 6pm on Tuesday 22 September.

Guest: Rawan Arraf, Executive Director & Principal Lawyer, Australian Centre for International Justice // @rawanarraf

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Red Lines Package

New Game, New Rules: A foreign policy for dystopian times by Allan Behm, the Australia Institute (August 2026)

Written by Allan Behm, Advisor to The Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs program, New Game New Rules says Australia has the potential to be a critical player in bringing peace and prosperity in uncertain times – if it could escape its dependence on the US.

With the subtitle, A Foreign Policy for Dystopian Times, the book argues that Donald Trump’s trashing of the rules based order is an opportunity for Australia to step up and use its power for good.

However, it characterises the foreign policies of recent Australian governments as “reactive and responsive”, lacking confidence and ambition in a strategically contested world.

“Far from being a middle power, Australia is a very substantial power,” said Allan Behm.

“Australia has a great history of peacekeeping and diplomacy. APEC is a beautiful example of what happens when you do exercise your power and create something with it.

“Doc Evatt played a major part in the creation of the UN. Gough Whitlam outlined a vision for embracing Asia which is as relevant today as it was in 1974. Malcolm Fraser stood up to South African apartheid.

“But in recent years Australia’s foreign policy has become unbelievably ordinary. It’s characterised by leaders repeating meaningless phrases like “sovereign ready”, which means absolutely nothing.

Key points:

• NSW Police firearm statistics show that just 100 individuals own a total of 13,470 guns between them, or 135 guns each on average (NSW Firearms Registry: Table 2.2).
• A single individual in Sydney’s inner north owns 371 guns.
• Of the top 100 gun owners in NSW, 41 of them live in urban postcodes.
• Australia Institute research shows that over 200,000 gun licensees are giving misleading information or failing to update their gun licence conditions.

“These numbers show that Australia has been complacent on gun control for too long,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.

“Police statistics show that there are large private arsenals being held in urban areas, a major risk to public safety.

“There are more guns in Australia now than at any point in the country’s history, including before the Port Arthur massacre.

“Australians expect their gun laws to keep them safe, and the proposed reforms of capping gun ownership and a buyback of excess guns in NSW are good places to start.”

From our CEOs – with Leanne Minshull

One of the best things about working at the Australia Institute is the range of policy issues we get to tackle.

Over the past fortnight, I have been focused on Australia’s pathway out of fossil fuels.

The Australia Institute hosted Tuvalu’s Minister for Climate Change and Environment Hon. Dr Mania Talia, at our fourth annual Climate Integrity Summit. He was joined by Canadian Senator Hon. Rosa Galvez, a driving force behind the global parliamentary network for phasing out fossil fuels.

The following day, Dr Talia and Senator Galvez joined our colleague Louise Morris to meet federal members of parliament. Their message was direct – for Tuvalu, the consequences of burning fossil fuels are not an abstract debate about emissions targets. They are a question of survival. And the consequences are being felt around the world.

While all of this was happening, another group of Australia Institute colleagues, led by our new Director of Corporate Regulation, Josh Bornstein, was tackling another rapidly changing threat – Big Tech.

On 8 September, the federal government released the exposure draft of its Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026.

The Bill contains four major elements:

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss the shocking number of Australians dying on Jobseeker, the government’s immigration policy announcements, and why inequality is a political choice. Then, a bittersweet Dollars & Sense announcement.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 17 September 2026.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

On this episode of Follow the Money, Dr Luke Slawomirski and Matt Grudnoff join Ebony Bennett to discuss the soaring cost of specialists, why pushing people towards the private health system doesn’t take pressure off public hospitals, the government’s proposed changes to private health rebates, and how to ensure Australia doesn’t backslide towards US-style health care.

This episode was recorded on Tuesday 15 September.

Correction: During the discussion on Australian specialist costs, Luke mistakenly said that average costs in the Australian Capital Territory are six times higher than Tasmania. They are actually four times higher.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest edition in the Vantage Point series, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Guest: Luke Slawomirski, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the Australia Institute // @lukeslawomirski

The Australia Institute is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of the Honourable Mary Gaudron KC.

Mary was the first woman judge on the High Court of Australia. She successfully argued the 1972 Equal Pay Case, with the Arbitration Commission concluding women have the right to “equal pay for work of equal value”. In her joint decision with Justice William Deane on the Mabo case, Gaudron wrote powerfully of the dispossession of Indigenous Australians from their land as “the darkest aspect of the history of this nation. The nation as a whole must remain diminished unless and until there is an acknowledgment of, and retreat from, those past injustices.”

As a member of the Australia Institute’s National Integrity Committee from 2020-2023, Mary made the case for effective anti-corruption watchdogs – invested with the powers needed to root out serious and systemic corruption.

Mary and her colleagues were ultimately successful when the Parliament passed the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act in 2022 – although the NACC remains restricted in its ability to hold public inquiries.

Our thoughts are with Mary’s family and loved ones.

On this episode of After America, Dr Richard Tanter joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss his new research on American access to Australian defence facilities, the long-term consequences of the war on terror for the Australia-US alliance, and whether Australia is the only American ally not seriously rethinking its relationship with the United States.

This episode was recorded on Friday 11 September.

Join Emma and Allan Behm for the Melbourne launch of Allan’s new book, New Game New Rules: A foreign policy for dystopian times at 6pm on Tuesday 22 September.

Tickets to ‘The Last Best Hope of Earth: Reflections on the USA at 250’ at the Celtic Club in Melbourne on Friday 18 September are available here.

Guest: Richard Tanter, Senior Research Associate, Nautilus Institute

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Australian Bases & US Involvement

On this episode of What’s the Point?, Richard Denniss examines Australia’s artificial intelligence boom and the political fight over who reaps the rewards.

This episode was recorded on Friday 4 September.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Read more on The Point.

Host: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute // @richarddenniss

Producer: Anna Chang, Managing Editor, The Point // @annachang

Show notes:

Climate Integrity Summit 2026 livestream tickets

The myriad laws on Australian statute books addressing these serious harms do not elicit shouty cries of “free speech”.

Yet a misconceived claim of censorship is the hill that One Nation and the Coalition are choosing to die on in opposing the Albanese’s government’s plan for a new legislated digital duty of care – a law that would apply to those same harms.

Pauline Hanson set out her opposition, posting: “Australia should be moving away from government censorship, not building the Orwellian machinery for it”.

Hanson’s post came just days after she demanded enhanced security because she has received violent threats. Presumably Hanson doesn’t regard those threats as a form of free speech.

A YouGov poll of more than 1000 Australians also shows that the conservative parties’ opposition to regulating Big Tech is deeply unpopular with the electorate. A staggering 93 per cent of Australians agree that online platforms should be required to provide a safe online environment that prevents illegal and harmful content.

In an open letter published in newspapers today, organisations representing a broad cross-section of Australian society say the proposed laws should be strengthened to allow Australians harmed by illegal and dangerous online content to take action to enforce the Duty of Care.

“Social media companies facilitate an enormous range of harm, including psychological illness, sexual violence, body dysmorphia and eating disorders, human trafficking, hate speech directed at vulnerable communities, racist violence, fraud, political insurrection and genocide,” the letter states.

“While we welcome the introduction of a Digital Duty of Care, the current plan gives eSafety, the regulator, a monopoly on enforcement,” said Josh Bornstein, Director, Corporate Regulation at The Australia Institute.

“The regulator already receives more than 100,000 complaints a year and can only take action for a tiny percentage of that number.  No regulator can police online safety on its own. Australians who are harmed by Big Tech should also be allowed to seek redress for a breach of the Digital Duty of Care.”

The open letter is supported by groups including the Chinese Australian Forum, the Australian Education Union, the Working with Women Alliance, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and The Australia Institute.

A series of sexual assault cases perpetrated by teenage boys have rocked the country in recent weeks, prompting a national discussion about how to tackle rising misogyny fuelled by toxic manosphere content. But it has also revealed that misogynistic attitudes are just as likely to be found in the national parliament as they are in any Australian school or workplace.

In the space of a few weeks, three 17-year-old boys were charged with the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Sydney, three private school boys from The Scots College were charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, while Victorian police are investigating an alleged sexual assault at Melbourne hotel where the Sydney Swans were staying – though no Swans players have been charged. NSW Police are also investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl in Sydney after it was suspected she was choked by her partner during sex.

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss One Nation’s superannuation proposal, ways the government could provide genuine cost-of-living support, the Reserve Bank’s twisted thinking over inflation and interest rates, and Barnaby Joyce’s run-from-Jesus moment.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 10 September 2026.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

The poll of 1042 voters, conducted by YouGov, found that 93% of Australian voters want online platforms to be legally required to provide a safe online environment and prevent harmful content.

83% of Australians want those spreading dangerous content to be fined, while half (50%) say the executives of offending companies should also be jailed.

Seven in ten voters (72%) believe users who suffer physical or mental harm should be able to seek compensation from the platform, including 62% of One Nation supporters and 69% of Coalition voters.

Key points:

Today’s decision by the Greens to support a new method of carbon offsetting in publicly-owned forests is “fiddling while the forest burns”, according to Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of The Australia Institute.

Green’s leader, Senator Larissa Waters, indicated her party would vote with the government this afternoon to allow a new ‘method’ to increase the supply of carbon credits. However, three Greens Senators say they’ll cross the floor to support the disallowance motion.

“The task of stopping Australia’s expansion of coal and gas is going to become a little harder today,” said Dr Denniss.

“In voting with Labor, the Greens have shown they now support putting publicly-owned forests into the ‘carbon marketplace’, and have tied the protection of trees and koalas to the expansion of gas and coal.

“Native forests are one of nature’s best carbon storage units – they truly are the lungs of the planet. The climate science makes clear that we need to protect these forests and stop expanding fossil fuels. Allowing fossil fuel pollution to increase because a forest wasn’t logged might take pressure off politicians but it wont take pressure off our climate.

“If Australia only saves forests so that polluters can increase their fossil fuel use, the science says there is no benefit to our planet.

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the pernicious impact of non-compete clauses and the federal government’s new legislation seeking to ban them for 9-in-10 workers.

This episode was recorded on Tuesday 8 September.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest edition in the Vantage Point series, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Guest: Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and Federal Member for Fenner // @aleighmp

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

Reform to non-compete clauses and other restraints – draft legislation, Department of Treasury Consultation Hub

It finds the centrepiece – a pledge to save $22 billion from a public service hiring freeze – simply does not withstand scrutiny.

To deliver the promised savings, the analysis finds the Victorian Liberals would need to halve the public service, which would have substantial flow-on consequences.

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson claims the $22 billion could come from a hiring freeze on back office roles. The analysis describes this as implausible.

The  analysis also finds that the Coalition’s vague plans to cut payroll tax, expand stamp duty exemptions and provide land tax relief would be expensive and benefit high income households much more than ordinary Victorians.

Key points:

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis reflects on the United States’ military footprint in Australia, before former Australian Minister for International Development Melissa Parke joins the show to discuss the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

This episode was recorded Thursday 26 August.

Join Dr Emma Shortis and Allan Behm at 6pm, Tuesday 22 September for the Melbourne launch of Allan’s new book, New Game New Rules: A foreign policy for dystopian times.

Guest: Melissa Parke, former Minister for International Development & Executive Director, International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons // @MelissaParke01

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

New Game, New Rules: A foreign policy for dystopian times by Allan Behm, the Australia Institute (August 2026)

On this episode of What’s the Point?, Richard Denniss explains the goods and services tax. The GST was supposed to grow over time, so that state and territory governments would have a reliable income source to help them fund the important services they provide long into the future. Richard looks into whether it is actually working as intended

Host: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute //@richarddenniss

Host: Anna Chang, Managing Editor, The Point // @annachang

Climate Integrity Summit 2026 livestream tickets.

Order More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press.

Show notes:

GST Shortfall | The Australia Institute

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes topodcasts@australiainstitute.org.au. Subscribe to What’s the Point? with Richard Denniss on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

From our CEOs – with Richard Denniss

Carbon offsets are the trickle-down economics of climate policy. Spoiler, they don’t work.

For decades Australians have been told the best way to help those with the least is to give tax cuts to those with the most. The benefits of rich people spending money on themselves would, we were told, trickle down. Eventually.

Likewise, we’ve been told that instead of investing in high quality public services we should cut taxes, privatise services and trust that market forces would solve our problems. Spoiler, it didn’t work as promised. But to be fair, neoliberalism did deliver enormous profits, record CEO pay and expensive housing.

Just this week NSW Greens Senator David Shoebridge wrote a scathing critique of the divide and conquer strategy of neoliberalism, describing how those with wealth and power are “shamelessly and effectively wielding their wealth to make us fight each other instead of them”. He asks the key question ‘How did we get here?’ His answer? “Decades of privatising public assets”.

Which brings me to recent calls for further privatisation of nature, or as former Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek put it, the need for Australia to become the global “Green Wall St”.

The GST was launched in July 2000, with then Treasurer Peter Costello declaring it a solution to states and territories’ seemingly endless battle to fund essential services like hospitals, schools, police and roads.

“Every dollar raised by (the) GST is paid to the state and territory governments,” Mr Costello pledged.

“It is the money that will provide the schools, the hospitals, the police, and the roads of the future.

“From 1 July they have a revenue base that grows in line with the economy. It will provide a secure base to fund their services.”

But the new analysis shows that not only was that initial pledge hundreds of billions of dollars short of the mark, the current cost of-living crisis is making things even worse.

The report calculates that if the GST had grown at the same pace as the economy – as promised – states and territories would have more than $120 billion to spend on essential services over the forward estimates.

“When it comes to the GST, states and territories have been sold a pup,” said Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist at The Australia Institute.

“The GST has failed every Australian who’s had to wait for an ambulance or essential health care.

“It’s failed every child who’s been squashed into a double classroom because their school can’t find or afford a replacement teacher.

“It’s failed anyone who’s suffered because a shortage of police.

We hosted the 2026 Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture with former ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury, discussed the war in Gaza with former Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti on After America, and more!

Here are just a few of the things that happened in August!

The post August 2026 Media Highlights appeared first on The Australia Institute.

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg gets triggered by the growth figures, before he and Elinor discuss how the states and territories have missed out on a lazy quarter-trillion and why access to specialist healthcare is slipping out of reach for many Australians.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 3 September 2026.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

On this episode of Follow the Money, Josh Bornstein and Skye Predavec join Ebony Bennett to discuss Australia’s scandal-plagued big consultancies, the impact of governments’ “orgy of outsourcing” to these firms, and why breaking up the ‘big four’ is the best way to prevent future misconduct.

This episode was recorded on Wednesday 2 September.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest edition in the Vantage Point series, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Guest: Josh Bornstein, Director, Corporate Regulation, the Australia Institute // @joshbornstein

Guest: Skye Predavec, Researcher, the Australia Institute // @skyelark

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

On this episode of After America, Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss 75 years of the ANZUS treaty, the Trump administration’s assault on international law, and what confident, capable Australian foreign policy could look like.

This episode was recorded Friday 28 August.

New Game, New Rules: A foreign policy for dystopian times by Allan Behm is available now from Australia Institute Press for $19.95.

Guest: Allan Behm, Special Advisor, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

ANZUS and Australia’s Security by Allan Behm, the Australia Institute (July 2020)

After America: Australia and the new world order by Emma Shortis, Australia Institute Press (May 2025)

From our CEOs – with Leanne Minshull

This past sitting fortnight the core business of government was the government outsourcing its business. The issues were different, the outcome the same – the abrogation of its responsibility to care for Australians and protect our environment.

After lengthy negotiations with the LNP, changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) passed through the Senate. For months now the government has told us the NDIS is open to exploitation from providers, the cost has exploded and it’s in danger of losing its social license. But the key question about the NDIS has been entirely absent from our national debate – is a market model the best way to deliver essential human support?

If the answer to that question is no, the scheme will never be fixed and will likely lurch from one review to the next. The NDIS currently supports 770,000 Australians living with disability and we need to get it right, fast.

Protection of forests was also on the privatising agenda, with the Nationals moving to disallow the government’s plan to use carbon offsets in a circuitous attempt to protect publicly owned native forests. Supporters of the Albanese Government scheme claim that putting the carbon held public native forests into the marketplace is the best way to protect them. I remember similar arguments around the Murray Darling Basin when the water flowing through the mighty Murray was put into a trading system. It didn’t end well.

But those jetting off to a European or Asian summer holiday this year were in for a rude shock. Extreme heat, fuelled by climate change, is sucking the joy out of summer for everyone, everywhere.

Summer used to be a time for Australians getting out into nature, heading to the beach, going camping, hiking or fishing, but extreme temperatures and weather are increasingly making these leisure activities deeply unpleasant, if not dangerous. And while extreme heat obviously affects the quality of life for locals, it’s also having an impact on the tourism industry both here and overseas.

New research from Charles Darwin University shows extreme heat is altering when, where and how we travel. It found one-fifth of Australians surveyed had changed their most recent holiday because of weather, including 8 per cent who had been affected by fires, floods or storms, 6 per cent who had been affected by heavy rain, and 6 per cent due to impending hot weather.

“On top of this, a third of those surveyed had decided against going to holiday destinations they considered too hot, such as Dubai or northern Australia. We understand this represents the first empirical evidence that Australians are altering their travel patterns due to heat,” said the researchers.

The Productivity Commission is a government-funded economic think tank that’s meant to give independent advice about how to make the Australian economy work better. On this episode of What’s the Point?, Richard Denniss discusses whether it is fit for purpose.

Host: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute //@richarddenniss

Host: Anna Chang, Managing Editor, The Point // @annachang

Climate Integrity Summit 2026 livestream tickets.

Order More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press.

Show notes:

I want to see the Productivity Commission abolished – and even I think Labor’s attack on it was unfair | The Point

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Angus discuss the carve-out for Queensland and Northern Territory data centres that’ll allow them to run off coal and gas, the skyrocketing profits of some of Australia’s biggest companies, and the east coast vs west coast beef over GST revenue.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 27 August 2026.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Angus Blackman, Executive Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB

Show notes: