Australia’s cultural diversity is our greatest strength and has enriched our communities and contribute to our economy.

As Australia considers important national conversations about racism and discrimination, how can we build a stronger sense of belonging for everyone? Australia is currently holding both an Inquiry into Racism, Hate and Violence Directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, and a Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. What does the evidence tell us about the experiences of different communities, and what practical steps can help foster trust, inclusion, and mutual respect?

Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman joined us for our August 2026 John Cain Lunch for a discussion on respect, dignity and equality in Australia, the barriers that can undermine it, and the opportunities for governments, community organisations, and individuals to foster inclusion, trust and shared purpose.

Watch the recording below.

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Giridharan Sivaraman began his role as Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner (RDC) in March 2024.

Australia’s climate debate has long focused on three central pillars: clean power, future economic prosperity and protecting the planet. After nearly two decades of “the climate wars”, we’ve heard the calls: we must decarbonise our energy system, we must develop our green industries and clean tech, and we must do more to keep global temperature increases within safe limits.

Yet while climate change affects us all, the arguments for climate action are rarely framed in terms of the impact on ordinary Australians. In the face of high electricity and petrol prices, how can more households benefit from cheaper renewable energy and electric vehicles? Given our continued reliance on fossil fuel exports, how can Australia avoid falling off an economic cliff in the coming decades? With swathes of the country at risk of climate-related disaster, how can we enhance our resilience and avoid insurance loss? And what are the real benefits at home of seeking to be an international climate leader?

In this clear-sighted volume, Woodroofe outlines why the next wave of climate and energy policy in Australia must focus intently on middle Australia, designing policies that make sense from the Cabinet Room to every lounge room across the mortgage belts and beyond. The price – economically, politically and environmentally – is too great if we do not.

Thom joined Per Capita for our July 2026 John Cain Lunch. Watch the recording below.

Charities play an outsize role in the social, cultural and economic life of the nation, delivering goods and services on which lives depend. To effectively serve their communities, charities also participate in politics: campaigning for changes to law and government policy, challenging government decisions, and seeking to influence public opinion on contested issues. But charities that speak out politically have long had a difficult time in law. For many years, Australian charities engaging in political advocacy risked losing their charity status under an old common law rule. In a landmark decision in 2010, the High Court of Australia swept that rule away, but since then, successive federal governments have tried to use law in different ways to interfere with charity advocacy thought to be politically embarrassing or undesirable.

Charities matter, and so does the legal framework in which they operate. Charities & Politics argues for a principled approach to the legal task of ascertaining the public benefit of charity advocacy—an approach underpinned by liberal democratic values. This would provide charities with a powerful framework to resist government efforts to interfere when they speak out.

A principled legal approach to charity advocacy holds promise in another way as well: it can promote a politics of the common good characterised by trust, as opposed to the dismal politics built on self-interest and fear that we see too often today.

Gender Equality is facing new challenges in 2026, including rising authoritarianism, misogynistic anti rights figures, nudifying apps and other tech-facilitated abuse. The good news is there are phenomenal people and groups around the world leading the way in dismantling harmful gender stereotypes, challenging unfair policies, creating shared prosperity and building a gender equal future. Following the recent Women Deliver international conference held in Melbourne, GEN VIC CEO Micaela Drieberg provided an update on the state of gender equality in 2026 at home and abroad.

Per Capita also launched the new season of our ‘Homes Not Houses’ podcast, examining the housing system through a gender lens. From child care responsibilities to the gender pay gap to domestic violence, there are many factors that can make women’s experience of housing different to men’s. We explore what is needed to create a gender-equitable housing system.

Watch the recording below.

The post Gender Equality in 2026 with Micaela Drieberg appeared first on Per Capita.

Migration debates are a recurring feature of Australian politics. But what does the evidence tell us? At our April John Cain Lunch we heard from Melbourne University’s Professor Karen Block about her research on the interplay between host communities and migrants and the complex ways in which this interaction affects health inequalities, integration, inclusion and social cohesion. Watch the recording below.

Karen Block is head of the Migration and Health Unit, Nossal Institute of Global Health in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. She is also the Deputy Director of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI) and the Academic Convenor of the Anti-racism Hallmark Research Initiative. For the MSEI, she leads work across the priority area of Migration and Mobility and Community Engaged and Coproductive research.

Prof Block has a strong national and international profile in the area of migration studies. Her recent and current research includes a range of projects involving immigrant and refugee-background young people, women and families focused on social inclusion across the life course, health inequalities, gender-based violence, anti-racism, and working in collaborative partnerships with communities and community-based organisations.

By Lucas Lewit-Mendes and Dr Wesa Chau

What’s next after the budget

This month’s federal budget included three major tax changes – cutting back tax concessions for negative gearing, capital gains tax, and trust distributions. Some of this revenue will be returned with a $250 tax offset for working Australians, providing a much-needed boost to households on lower incomes. Disappointingly, however, income support payments such as JobSeeker and Commonwealth Rent Assistance were left untouched despite them being outpaced by inflation.

This insight piece focuses on whether the remainder of Labor’s term in government is the right time for even more ambitious tax reform.

How substantial were the budget changes?

The capital gains tax (CGT), negative gearing, and trust distribution tax changes are significant reforms.

By Dr Wesa Chau, Executive Director

Yesterday I listened to Violet Roumeliotis AM and Dr Martin Parkinson speak at the National Press Club about skills shortages, productivity, and the persistent underutilisation of migrant skills in Australia. Their discussion highlights a fundamental contradiction in Australia’s labour market: at a time of acute workforce shortages and slowing productivity growth, we are failing to make effective use of the skills already within our borders. This is not simply an issue of fairness or social inclusion—it is a structural economic failure.

This reality is not surprising to me. Having worked with migrants, refugees, and international students for over 25 years, I have seen countless examples of people who are highly capable, qualified, and motivated, yet unable to secure employment commensurate with their skills. Too often, opportunities are denied because of an accent, a lack of so‑called “Australian experience”, or unfamiliar qualifications—barriers that are cultural and systemic rather than reflective of actual competence.

In an age of existential threats for Australia and the world, what does society need from companies and how should companies respond? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a leading role to play in answering these fundamental questions. Yet current Australian and international debate remains stuck in polarised positions on CSR and related topics, including environmental, social and governance considerations (ESG), and diversity, equity and inclusion factors (DEI) for businesses.

In this groundbreaking book, Professor Bryan Horrigan provides a roadmap for navigating the complexity of CSR and the current controversies surrounding it. How is the corporate landscape changing for Australia and the world on corporate diversity, climate disclosures, and social and environmental harms? Do Australian businesses, the professions advising them, and even universities all have social licences to operate? Should they all speak and act publicly on controversial social and environmental issues, or stay out of the arena of partisan politics altogether?

How far should corporate governance standards for ASX-listed companies go in addressing social, environmental and climate issues? Do Australian company directors face legal liability for mismanaging climate risk and disclosure, and what safeguards can protect them? And how does the Trump administration’s war on so-called ‘wokeness’ create ripple effects for corporate Australia, Australian politics and Australian universities?

In Quarterly Essay 100, Sean Kelly considers the enigma of the Albanese government. With wide yet shallow support, will it change the country? Does it have big ideas, or is it content just to become “the natural party of government”? Kelly gives a definitive account of Albanese’s political style and asks what lies behind it. In speaking to a fragmented, disengaged electorate, the Prime Minister places a high value on moderation. Often that means ducking fights with entrenched interests. But this runs the risk of embedding an ever more unequal nation, led by a government that can seem gutless. In this subtle and brilliant essay, Kelly explores whether Labor is still up for the good fight.

Sean joined Per Capita at our February 2026 John Cain Lunch. Watch the recording below.

The post The Good Fight: What Does Labor Stand for? With Sean Kelly appeared first on Per Capita.

By Osmond Chiu, Research Fellow

The recent interest rate hike to address inflation drifting above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) target band has reignited debate about the Albanese Government’s economic management. Critics argue excessive government spending and the RBA’s initially slow response are to blame for rising prices and slower economic growth, despite the International Monetary Fund noting Australia is successfully managing a “soft” landing. New Liberal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has blamed increased government spending for inflation, stating there is ‘no ambiguity’ that the Coalition’s solution would be to cut spending growth and the public service by at least 36,000.

But what if the RBA had lifted interest rates far more aggressively and what if the Albanese Government had implemented deep spending cuts as some commentators and the Coalition advocate?

New Zealand offers a revealing counterfactual.

By Meredith Eldridge, Director of Operations at Per Capita

We humans like to think that we are rational beings who make up our minds based on facts. Unfortunately for us, it is well-established that the vast majority of the time, people’s decisions are actually driven by emotion and subconscious mental shortcuts (see the work of Daniel Kahneman, Anat Shenker Osorio, Drew Westen, George Lakoff, and Sarah Stein Lubrano). This means that when people are deliberating social policy issues, facts and conscious reasoning play a smaller role than we might like.

We all have a Confirmation Bias, which means that if a new piece of information doesn’t fit with our current belief system, we are more likely to dismiss it as incorrect or unreliable rather than change our minds.

Moltbook is being treated as a novelty. A curious, Reddit-like forum where AI agents post about their users, trade productivity advice, and banter with one another in ways that feel playful, even endearing. Much of the public reaction has framed it as harmless fun, a glimpse of quirky machine behaviour rather than a serious development. 

That interpretation is right to some extent, but also quite wrong with regard to what this represents. 

Per Capita’s Director of Econometric Research and Analysis, Dr Michael D’Rosario, writes in his paper “Moltbook and the Moment We Let AI Act on People”.

Download the full paper here

The post Moltbook and the Moment We Let AI Act on People appeared first on Per Capita.

By Dr Kate Raynor and Lucas Lewit-Mendes

The Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill 2025 passed both houses of parliament last week. The amendment will streamline building approvals, including allowing low-risk building permits to be processed faster. Changes also include a provision that enables councils and state government to make the use or development of land conditional on the provision of an affordable housing contribution as long as:

1. the relevant planning scheme identifies a need for affordable housing and
2. the application exceeds a dwelling number or development value threshold. 

This is a promising change that lays the groundwork for inclusionary zoning (IZ) – a land use planning intervention that either mandates or incentivises the delivery of social or affordable housing or in-lieu financial contributions as part of market rate housing development. This is something local councils, industry leaders, social housing and homelessness experts and researchers have been calling for for years.¹

With the correct policy settings, IZ has proven an extremely effective approach to delivering affordable housing. In England, inclusionary zoning delivered 27,400 affordable homes in 2023-2024, accounting for 44% of all affordable homes built in England that year.² Over 110,000 affordable homes have been produced in the US through IZ programs.³

By Dr Wesa Chau, Executive Director

“Everyone gets a fair go” is one of Australia’s most cherished values. We often pride ourselves on being a country where diversity is a strength and where anyone — with enough passion, hard work and persistence — can rise to leadership. But The Way In, Per Capita’s latest analysis of the 48th Parliament, reveals a more complicated truth. While we have taken meaningful steps forward, the pathways into federal politics remain narrow, elite, and far from reflective of the nation our parliamentarians are elected to serve.

Before diving into the findings, I’m reminded of a moment that crystallised the power of assumptions. When I was invited to speak at a leadership conference, I arrived at a venue hosting two events: one on leadership and the other on childcare. Other participants were asked which event they were attending – I wasn’t, staff directed me straight to childcare. It showed how assumptions about who looks like a leader still shape how people are seen and treated.

Why reducing the 50 per cent discount would improve the tax system 

By Lucas Lewit-Mendes

Capital gains tax (CGT) was introduced in 1985 as part of reforms to broaden the income tax base and reduce the rate. CGT is leviable on the increase in the value of an asset, such as property or shares, and is levied when capital gains are realised (i.e. the asset is sold).  

In 1999, the previous inflation adjustment was replaced with a flat 50 per cent discount, with the goal of stimulating investment in the share market. 

The 50 per cent discount goes beyond the purpose the discount and undermines the progressive nature of Australia’s personal income tax system. The discount should be reduced to 25 per cent to improve equity and fund more effective ways to encourage productive investment.  

2025 was a year of many milestones and achievements for our small but mighty team.

In 2026 Per Capita plans to:
• Expand our team to enable us to work on more projects
• Expand our work on diversity to enhance social cohesion
• Ramp up our tax reform advocacy
• Explore new avenues in affordable housing, worker’s rights and safe technology

We’re a small team but we have influence where it counts – with our government
and policy makers. But we can’t do it without funding. Please consider making a
tax deductible donation to to help us to continue this work.

2025-EOY-Impact-Report

The post Impact Report 2025 appeared first on Per Capita.

Subject: Please support mandatory inclusionary zoning in Victoria

Dear [MP Name],
I’m writing to express my concern that the current planning reforms do not include any mechanism to secure affordable housing. Victoria urgently needs mandatory inclusionary zoning to ensure new developments contribute to addressing our housing crisis.

Why this matters

• Victoria is planning huge housing growth, including 60 new Activity Centres, but none of this requires affordable housing.
• Voluntary agreements have produced almost no affordable homes since introduced.
• Developers, planners and councillors prefer mandatory inclusionary zoning because it gives certainty and consistency.

What inclusionary zoning is

A proven planning tool used worldwide that requires or incentivises developers to include affordable or social housing in new developments.

By Osmond Chiu, Research Fellow

Over the past year, a chart by The Economist from April 2025 has gone viral – circulating heavily on LinkedIn and cited by conservative thinktanks and parliamentarians to argue that Australia has a “bloated” government. The chart claims that, adjusted for population, Australia has 143 public sector employees per 1,000 people or about 29% of all workers, placing it among the largest public sector workforces in the world.

In his new book “From Resistance to Reform: Case studies of long term social justice advocacy in Australia”, Prof Philip Mendes presents a comprehensive historical and political analysis of four policy areas where reform was achieved after many years of neglect.

– Young people transitioning from out-of-home care
– Medically supervised injecting facilities
– Social security payments for the unemployed, and
– Compulsory income management

For each of these policy areas, Mendes presents the long-term chronology of the public policy debates, the key arguments and evidence presented by researchers and advocacy groups in favour of policy reform, the strategies used by policy advocates, and the contrary arguments presented by governments and other bodies, as well as other factors which may have hindered or enabled policy change.

Arguing that governments should introduce policy development processes and networks that include active engagement with knowledge from domestic and global research studies, this is critical reading for scholars and policymakers internationally on the dynamics of policy initiatives, outcomes and reform.

Prof Mendes joined us at the November 2025 John Cain Lunch, to give a presentation on his latest book Resistance to Reform: Case Studies of Long-Term Social Justice Advocacy in Australia.

By Michael D’Rosario

Government policies that incentivise property investment do so at ever increasing personal debt levels resulting in Australia evidencing the second highest level of personal debt after the Swiss. This means that Australian households while wealthy in net wealth and asset terms, carry far more risk than nearly all other individuals within advanced economies in the OECD notwithstanding the Swiss who evidence a much smaller development available land mass and population.  

It is therefore very important to consider the resilience of Australian households. Recent research from the RBA (2020) is instructive. The RBA research results suggest that risks arising from Australian household indebtedness are more subtle than sometimes conveyed (RBA, 2020). Most pertinently key market parameters, and factors, such as changes in the level of real income, nominal rate levels and household ownership of rental stock, account for currently household debt levels.

When OpenAI announced its latest wave of safety improvements in ChatGPT’s mental-health responses, the company framed the development as a major ethical advance. Working with more than 170 clinicians worldwide, it reported that the model now handles conversations about psychosis, mania, self-harm, and emotional dependence with up to 80 per cent fewer “undesired responses.” The company spoke of compassion, empathy, and progress in promoting the latest iteration of their LLM. These changes do matter, and it would be both unfair and unhelpful to not acknowledge them.

By Lucas Lewit-Mendes

The federal government has taken a significant step to improve the equity and sustainability of the superannuation system, by increasing the earnings tax rate on large super balances. The October 13 announcement means the changes will bring in less revenue, but they will support low-income earners and protect against liquidity issues for some high-wealth individuals.  

What are the changes? 

Currently, earnings during the super accumulation phase are taxed at 15 per cent, regardless of the size of the super balance. While this system is simple to administer, it is out of step with the commonly accepted progressive tax and transfer system in Australia. 

Ensuring equality of opportunity in support of economic mobility remains one of the most profound and enduring challenges facing modern societies.

The pursuit of genuine mobility, where an individual’s prospects are not dictated by birth or circumstance, is central to any vision of a fair and dynamic society. Yet the path to achieving this ideal is anything but straightforward. As Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wisely observed:

“I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”

Political skills are the skills to build trust, influence, and persuade others to support a decision within a political context. These abilities underpin effective political leadership, advocacy, and decision-making, yet they are often invisible and difficult to define. This is especially true for people from minority backgrounds who may not be as familiar with Australian cultural and political norms.

As the Executive Director of Per Capita, one of Australia’s leading progressive think tanks, Dr Chau brings both academic depth and lived experience to this topic. Her personal journey has required her to learn and refine these skills intentionally — from grassroots advocacy and community organising, to serving on ministerial advisory councils, and now shaping national debates on equity and inclusion. Along the way, she has navigated the challenges of cultural identity and leadership in spaces where diverse voices are often underrepresented.

At the October 2025 John Cain Lunch Dr Chau explored how political skills are developed and applied, particularly in environments where power and representation are contested.

Watch the recording below.

The ethics of artificial intelligence are increasingly being framed in ways that risk missing the real point.

In recent years, some companies have begun to speak of “model welfare,” as though machines themselves might be entitled to dignity. Proposals include allowing chatbots to withdraw from unpleasant conversations, treating models as though they might one day suffer, and designing systems that symbolically protect their “feelings.” 

Anthropic’s decision to let its chatbot Claude “exit” distressing interactions is one such example. While company openly concedes that there is no evidence Claude is conscious, it still justifies the measure as a safeguard against hypothetical harm. This is best understood as a pseudo-risk, a precautionary step to address the possibility of machine suffering for which there is no evidence. 

Policy Hive is Per Capita’s early career policy network for policy professionals, students and anyone interested in learning more about how they can influence policy and politics to build an Australia based on fairness, shared prosperity and social justice. (Long time policy wonks also welcome!)

On Wednesday 17 September 2025 we explored how democracy can survive the rise of AI across industry and politics, with Peter Lewis, convener of the Centre of the Public Square. He is also executive director of the progressive strategic communications agency Essential Media and the founder of the collaborative engagement platform Civility.

Watch the recording of the event below.

The post How Can Democracy Survive AI? With Peter Lewis appeared first on Per Capita.

Power is the only measure of a politician that matters. How they win power. How they wield power. How they lose power. This new edition of an Australian classic features a new introduction by the author taking into account the latest developments in Australian politics.

Catch and Kill is an inside account of the beguiling and nomadic nature of that unholy trinity of politics. Taking us into the inner sanctum of state and national politics, Joel Deane investigates how four friends – Steve Bracks, John Brumby, John Thwaites and Rob Hulls – beat the factions, won office in Victoria, achieved progressive reforms, then tried to hijack Canberra. ‘We were’, Bracks says, ‘a government that could catch and kill its own’.

Drawing on dozens of interviews with key figures, Deane provides a candid insight into the triumphs and failures of the Bracks-Brumby government, as well as those of its federal and state counterparts. He also shines a light on the personalities behind these decisions – their ambitions, their passions and their disappointments.

Joel Deane joined us for our September 2025 John Cain Lunch to discuss the new edition of his book “Catch and Kill: The Politics of Power.” Watch the recording below.

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Following our 2025 Community Tax Summit, the federal government announced an Economic Reform Roundtable.

Per Capita and the organisations who partnered together for the Community Tax Summit each added their submissions to the Economic Reform Roundtable in the lead up to the event to help push for meaningful and effective tax reform.

The overwhelming consensus from the summit was that reform was needed. And while our opinions of how this could be achieved align in some places while differing in others, a robust discussion around this matter needs to be had.

We thank our partners for sharing their submissions with us.

Per Capita’s Submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable 

The Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability’s Submissions

The Brotherhood of St. Laurence’s Submission

The Superpower Institute’s Submission

Prosper Australia’s Submission

Australia’s national tax system is 110 years old. What has shaped it in the last century, and why is tax reform needed today?

The Federal Government has announced a Productivity Roundtable and indicated that broad tax reform will be part of the discussion to tackle the economic pressures our country faces today, to boost national prosperity, reduce growing inequality and improve living standards for future generations.

Following the popularity of her keynote speech at the Community Tax Summit in February 2025, Professor Miranda Stewart provides a follow-up address outlining how Australia’s tax system came to be how it is today, the reasons it needs reform and what that reform should look like, in light of the recently announced Productivity Roundtable.

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Miranda Stewart is a Professor specialising in taxation law and policy at the Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne and an Honorary Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. In 2024, Miranda was a visiting fellow at the Australian Treasury. Her most recent book is Tax and Government in the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press).

When Pauline Hanson declared in her infamous maiden speech in the 1990s, “I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate,” it was a statement driven by fear and division. I remember the impact it had—not just on public discourse, but on the lived experience of Asian communities.

The response was not defiance, but caution. People stuck together for safety, retreating into familiar cultural spaces. Ironically, this reaction reinforced the very stereotype she invoked: communities appearing insular, not out of unwillingness to integrate, but out of a need for protection.

This past weekend offered a powerful contrast between two visions of Australia. On one hand, the Premier’s Multicultural Gala Dinner was a vibrant celebration of diversity. Hundreds of people from across ethnic communities came together to share meals, dance, and connect. The evening began with a moving Welcome to Country from Uncle Shane Charles, grounding the event in respect for First Nations people.

It was a reminder that the success of multiculturalism in Australia is not by accident—it is the result of decades of deliberate effort, relationship-building, and trust. It is a project built by communities, advocates, and policymakers who believed in a more inclusive society.

The length of the working day and the challenges of work–life balance are pressing issues for many Australians, as well as lively matters of public controversy. While the winning of the eight-hour day is celebrated as a past industrial achievement, contemporary discussions of working hours often overlook its rich history.

Tracing 150 years of campaigns for rights and for the fair distribution of productivity gains, historian Sean Scalmer shows how these movements successfully reduced the length of the standard working week from 60 to 38 hours per week, and how economic, social and political shifts since the early 1980s have stalled this long-term progress. Today, industrial laws provide inadequate protection for excessive hours, and Australian women increasingly shoulder long hours of paid work with the bulk of unpaid domestic labour. This has produced a social crisis for all Australians, but is yet to inspire adequate political action.

As debate over our working lives intensifies amid ongoing political, economic and technological challenges, Scalmer’s labour of love on the history of work and play affords us a way to understand the past so we can win back our time—collectively.

How Australian unions shaped modern Australian society

Unions are making a comeback. Labour disputes around the world have hit the headlines as unions take action to challenge inequality. But while media coverage has increased, understanding of unions has not. In this lively history of Australian unionism Liam Byrne seeks to illuminate what unionism means, exploring why successive generations of working people organised unions and nurtured them for future generations.

Foregrounding the pioneering efforts of women workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, culturally and linguistically diverse workers, and LGBTIQA+ workers as central to the union story today, Byrne uses case studies of worker action and struggle to better understand the lived reality of unionism, its challenges, and its contribution to Australian life.

No Power Greater is the compelling story of the acts of rebellion and solidarity that have shaped Australia’s past and shows that unions are far from history.

Liam spoke at Per Capita’s John Cain lunch in June 2025. Watch the recording here:

Policy Hive is Per Capita’s early career policy network for policy professionals, students and anyone interested in learning more about how they can influence policy and politics to build an Australia based on fairness, shared prosperity and social justice. (Long time policy wonks also welcome!)

On Wednesday 18 June 2025, we heard from Gavan McFadzean from Australian Conservation Foundation on climate policy. Watch the recording below.

Following graduating with a degree in Economics and Politics at Monash University, Gavan McFadzean has had a 30-year career in environmental and climate activism. During a 12-year stint at The Wilderness Society, Gavan ran the Victorian Branch, the Northen Australia Program and the National Forest Campaign. He’s also been Campaign Director for the Leader’s Office of the Australian Greens under Richard di Natale. He is a recipient of Wild Magazine’s Environmentalist of the Year Award, a board member for Climate Action Network Australia, and has represented the movement in international negotiations at three climate COPs, the World Heritage Committee and as Australian Committee to the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN). He is currently Program Manager – Climate and Energy for the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Learn about transformational reforms like paid parental leave, the NDIS, the Apology to the Stolen Generations, and revolutionising pensions from Labor’s Jenny Macklin, with insights from Julia Gillard, Ross Garnaut, Bill Kelty, Brian Howe, and Tanya Plibersek.

Is big policy reform still possible? Does Australia have the political will to tackle generational issues such as climate change, the housing crisis, rising inequality and Closing the Gap? Legendary Labor policymaker Jenny Macklin believes that if Australia wants to remain prosperous and fair, big policy reform is not just possible, it’s essential.

Making Progress takes us into the policy engine room and details how Macklin went about developing transformational initiatives such as the Apology to the Stolen Generations, paid parental leave and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, as well as delivering pension reforms that lifted one million Australians out of poverty. She explains how she became a policy wonk, and interviews key policymakers such as Julia Gillard, Brian Howe, Bill Kelty, Tanya Plibersek and Ross Garnaut, who share how they war-gamed ways to turn good policy ideas into reality.

Part policy memoir, part war-room drama, part field guide, Making Progress: How Good Policy Happens is a political book with a message-and a method.

Jenny Macklin and Joel Deane, authors of ‘Making Progress: How good policy happens’ spoke at Per Capita’s John Cain Lunch in May 2025. Watch the recording here:

View our 2025 End of Financial Year Impact Report here.

Our 2025 End of Financial Year Impact Report looks summarises Per Capita’s work over the past 12 months, including policy changes we have helped secure, the Community Tax Summit we hosted, research projects we have worked on, our media coverage and public events.

May 2025 marked the beginning of a new era, both for Per Capita and for Australian progressive politics.

At Per Capita we farewelled our long-standing Executive Director,Emma Dawson. Emma’s commitment and expertise have built Per Capita into the respected, influential think tank we are today. As we enter a new era, our staff and board have a renewed commitment to our vision for a more equal Australia, under the leadership of newly appointed Acting Executive Director, Sarah McKenzie.

Nationally, the recent federal election has returned the Labor Party for a second term, opening new opportunities to advance a progressive policy agenda. Labor must view this emphatic result as a mandate for bold reform: to tackle the housing crisis head on, to spearhead meaningful action on climate change, to reorient the economic future of Australia’s younger generations through tax reform, and to restore Australia as the land of the Fair Go.

By Sarah McKenzie
Acting Executive Director, Per Capita

Gender quotas in the Australian Labor Party have transformed not only the make-up of the party, but that of our entire Federal Parliament. Australia is now on the verge of opening its first gender-equal Parliament, driven in large part by Labor’s landslide victory at the 2025 Federal Election. Other major parties are taking note. Labor’s quotas have not only brought more women into Parliament; they’ve also helped them stay there. With clear evidence that quotas work, is it time to legislate for gender equality in political representation, consolidate this progress and ensure future governments continue to deliver for women?

It matters who sits in the houses of parliament. Women have changed our parliaments, our politics, and our country. In 2022 the Albanese Government delivered the first majority-women federal government, and with that came a government that has done more for women and girls than any in our nation’s history.

We at Per Capita are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Race Mathews, a dear friend of Per Capita. We offer our heartfelt condolences to Iola and family.  

Race was truly a giant of Australian politics. His contributions to public policy in this country have been enormous, and his wisdom, advice and experience are weaved into the fabric of Per Capita. 

Race was a politician, an academic, an author and a reformer. He served at all three levels of government, including Croydon Shire Council, the Whitlam Government and the Victorian Cain and Kirner Governments. He was a stalwart of the Australian Fabian Society for over four decades.  

His legislative reforms span education, Medicare, gun control, police, disaster management, the arts and child protection. 

Race was driven by a passion for fairness and justice. He was a genuinely inclusive, intelligent, kind and welcoming man; the very best kind of politician that we have ever had in this country. 

Australians have decisively given the Labor government a second term, emphatically demonstrating that they want a future of action defined by equality, fairness, social justice and evidence-based policy. 

In their first term, Labor achieved a lot: reforming the stage three tax cuts, introducing tax evasion laws for multi-national corporations, investing more in social housing than any federal government in 30 years, criminalising wage theft, fixing a broken industrial relations system to get wages moving again, record investment in Medicare, revising HECS/HELP indexation, creating the Future Made in Australia plan, and much more.  

Having been handed a second term, Labor must view this resounding victory as a mandate for bold reform: to tackle the housing crisis head on, to spearhead meaningful action on climate change, to reorient the economic future of Australia’s younger generations, and to restore Australia as the land of the Fair Go 

With the 2025 federal election fast approaching, there have been many discussions around campaign promises and how either party plans to invest in Australia’s future.  

Much of the focus has been on housing and the cost of living. And while these are undoubtably important talking points, this election presents an opportunity to highlight a sector in the Australian economy that is often overlooked.  

With an aging and expanding population, our Care Economy requires meaningful and consistent attention on a national level.  

Like with the Future Made in Australia initiatives, where greater investments in manufacturing, renewable energy, and education will future-proof the careers of thousands of Australians and the economy, so too would investments in aged-care and early childhood care and education.  

Gippsland has proudly powered Victoria for generations. Now it’s forging a new energy future, powered by abundant resources of offshore wind and community spirit. Senator Jess Walsh details her experience with Gippsland’s community driven energy shift, the critical role of government in making it happen, and how to cut through the nuclear noise to focus on real, sustainable solutions. Jess spoke at Per Capita’s monthly John Cain Lunch in April 2025. Watch the recording below.

Dr Jess Walsh is a proud Labor Senator who believes a well-paid, stable job is the foundation for a good life in this country. Jess serves as Chair of the Senate Economics Committee which covers the Treasury, Industry, Science and Resources portfolios. She believes the economy needs to work for all Australians, with a focus on prioritising women, uplifting regional communities, and safeguarding our most vulnerable. Jess has been a loud voice for workers throughout her career and wants workers – from care economy workers to manufacturers – to be given the pay, conditions, and respect they deserve. Before entering Federal Parliament, Jess was a researcher, campaigner, and union leader.

An inside look at effective policy making, realised through hard-won public policy battles

What does successful public policy look like, and how has it been achieved in Australia? What strategies are needed to overcome petty partisanship and narrow self-interest? And who gets to decide what a ‘better Australia’ even looks like? In A Better Australia John Brumby, Scott Hamilton and Stuart Kells examine policy design, implementation and reform, and show what can be achieved when engagement is sincere and intent clear. Leading policymakers and political insiders – Julia Gillard, Malcolm Turnbull, Cheryl Kernot, John Hewson, Ken Wyatt, Christine Milne and more – dissect the development of successful policy in energy, gun control, natural resources taxation, disability insurance, marriage equality, gender equality in the workplace, superannuation, reproductive healthcare reform, Closing the Gap and the pandemic response. A Better Australia takes us behind the scenes of the hard-won policy battles, showing the wide-ranging effects of good policy.

John Brumby and Stuart Kells joined us for our March 2025 John Cain Lunch. Watch the recording below.

The final session in the summit, Emma Dawson, Terese Edwards, Iain Walker, and Peter Lewis combine to discuss how we can take what we’ve learned from the past two days and apply it to changing the Australian tax and transfer system.

Recorded on the 21st of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne. The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post How to Achieve the Change we Need appeared first on Per Capita.

Tax Justice Network Australia’s Mark Zirnsak, Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research’s Jason Ward, Oxfam Australia’s Josie Lee, and Professor Grantley Taylor join the panel on International Taxation. Recorded on the 21st of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne.

The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

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Political economist, writer and advocate for economic system change, Dr Katherine Trebeck gives the final keynote address for the Community Tax Summit. Recorded on the 21st of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne.

Katherine’s roles include writer-at-large at the University of Edinburgh, Economic Change Lead at The Next Economy, and Strategic Advisor to the Centre for Policy Development. She co-founded the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll) and also WEAll Scotland, its Scottish hub.

The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Katherine Trebeck: Keynote Address appeared first on Per Capita.

Our second lived experience panel explores the outcomes of the current, inequitable system, as experienced by every day Australians with regard to climate change adaptation and resilience.

Recorded on the 21st of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne. The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Lived Experience Panel Two: Climate Change and the Regions appeared first on Per Capita.

Travers McLeod (Brotherhood of St Laurence), Kasy Chambers (Anglicare Australia), Elly Desmarchelier (Disability Rights Advocate) and Jenny Davidson (Council of Single Mothers and their Children) discuss the ways Australia’s tax and transfer system is impacting those most vulnerable in our community.

Recorded on the 20th of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne. The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Welfare and Social Assistance appeared first on Per Capita.

Lived Experience Panel, moderated by Nicole Bieske from Brotherhood of St Laurence. Nathan Carolus shares his experience of Jobseeker and employment service provision. Juanita McLaren shares her experience as a researcher and a single mum on income support and child support. Peter Sutton shares his experience with JobSeeker, the Disability Support Pension and Rent Assistance.

This powerful panel will change your views on welfare, showing the real reasons people find themselves needing assistance and the inadequacy of the current system.

Recorded on the 20th of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne. The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Lived Experience Panel One: Welfare services appeared first on Per Capita.

ACOSS’s Peter Davidson, Professor Helen Hodgson, Think Forward’s Thomas Walker, and Per Capita’s Emma Dawson discuss just how we can broaden the tax base, creating a more fair, equitable, and sustainable tax and transfer system for all Australians. Recorded on the 20th of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne.

The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Broadening the Tax Base: What’s possible, sustainable and fair? appeared first on Per Capita.

Recorded on the 20th of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, Dr Ken Henry AC gave the opening keynote address in the Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne.

Currently, Chair of the Nature Finance Council, the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation and Wildlife Recovery Australia, and a non-executive director of Accounting for Nature Ltd and the Digital Finance CRC, Dr Henry served as the Secretary to the Treasury from 2001 to 2011. He chaired the Howard Government’s tax review taskforce in 1997-98, the Rudd Government’s tax review published in 2010, and the Gillard Government’s White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century (2011 and 2012).

The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system.

There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Ken Henry: Keynote Address appeared first on Per Capita.

Professor Miranda Stewart’s keynote address on Australia’s tax and transfer system and directions for reform. Recorded on the 20th of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne.

Miranda Stewart is a Professor specialising in taxation law and policy at the Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne and an Honorary Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. In 2024, Miranda was a visiting fellow at the Australian Treasury. Her most recent book is Tax and Government in the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press).

The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Miranda Stewart: Keynote Address appeared first on Per Capita.