In 1978 counter-protesters met each stop of a tour of Australia by Mary Whitehouse, a self-styled “morals crusader” from the UK who was opposed to what she described as the “permissive society”. Whitehouse’s messages included instructing followers in Perth that “a woman was expected to entertain her husband to stop him from watching too much TV”.
On September 20 in Melbourne Whitehouse addressed what she described as a “disappointing” number of followers at Festival Hall while hundreds demonstrated outside against her campaign to restrict civil and human rights for women, lesbian and gay community members and others. The following day a rally by 30 members of the Christian far-right group Festival of Light (FOL) at the University of Sydney was outnumbered 25 to 1 by their opponents. A later FOL rally the same day was met by 350 counter-protesters who were watched closely by 150 police. Meetings in Perth were also met with counter-protests but it was in Queensland where the most disruptive action took place.
On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Australia Institute Senior Economist Matt Grudnoff and Research Fellow Adam Gottschalk discuss the spin around productivity and why paying workers more – not less – might hold the key to a more productive economy.
Join President José Ramos-Horta at 6pm AEDT, Tuesday 8 October for an evening of conversation at the Sydney Opera House, presented by the Australia Institute as part of its 30 Years of Big Ideas.
Host: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @MattGrudnoff
Host: Adam Gottschalk, Anne Kantor Research Fellow, the Australia Institute // @adamchalksitup
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 to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.
A collection of templates, worksheets and checklists for changemakers collated by the Commons librarians on campaign strategy & planning, tactics and actions, organising, narrative, and more.
Download these templates, or make a copy of Google Docs, and fill them in with your own information. Use the checklists to work through processes or make sure you have what you need to progress. If you need more background before using a worksheet check out the topics in the Commons and our Start Here guides.
This is a living list so let us know what resources you are looking for or if you have one to share. Please note that some of the resources below could sit under multiple topic areas.
The Western Australian Government’s changes to the state’s domestic gas policy give companies more opportunities to export gas and further reduce domestic gas supply, said The Australia Institute.
Key Findings:
Exports of gas are threatening the stability of WA’s gas market.
The policy changes announced today allow more of WA’s domestic onshore gas to be exported, not less.
The cause of the problem is Woodside’s North West Shelf Extension proposal, which has not identified supply sufficient for its export capacity.
“The barbarians are at the gates of the WA domestic gas market and the WA Government is throwing them the keys,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.
“Today’s changes to the WA domestic gas policy allow more of WA’s domestic onshore gas to be exported. Onshore gas that had been set aside for the domestic market is now allowed to be exported.
“This benefits Woodside, which is desperate to take more gas for its North West Shelf Extension export facility. It also benefits gas companies that would rather sell WA’s domestic onshore gas to Woodside than Western Australians.
“This is a disaster for Western Australian gas users because it more closely links the domestic market and the export market.
“This is the east coast gas policy mess all over again.
“If anything, this is worse than the east coast because more WA gas (over 50%) is given away royalty-free and no gas exporters have ever paid Petroleum Resource Rent Tax.
Australia is one of the lowest-taxing countries in the developed world. While it is sometimes suggested that Australian governments spend too much, the reality is that Australia raises very little tax revenue compared to similar countries. Insofar as Australian governments have a problem balancing revenue and spending, that problem lies in the level of revenue collected, not the amount it spent.
Tax is good
This graph shows the 38 economies in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in order of tax revenues as a percentage of their economy (GDP). Only eight have lower tax to GDP ratios than Australia, and these include relatively low-income countries like Türkiye and Mexico, as well as tax havens like Switzerland and Ireland.
If Australia were to increase the level of revenue it collects from taxation to the OECD average—a level similar to that collected by Canada or New Zealand—the Commonwealth would have had an extra $140bn in revenue in 2023–24.
This article was originally published, in slightly different form, on Alex Alsup’s Substack, The Chargeback.It is shared here with permission. All images were provided by the author.
Since the turn of the 21st century, the world has become deeply familiar with the global “war on terror.” Framed by the West’s ostensibly patriotic and “civilized” political narrative that conveniently expands their national security power and geopolitical interests, it also pins Muslims as savage, and Islam as a barbaric religion of people that want nothing but the destruction of the West.
This perception of Islam—and its followers—as wicked and violent, spread wide and far, especially in the United States, Great Britain and other allied countries. This doesn’t happen without the help of the media and influential public figures, who shape public opinion and reinforce stereotypes.
In rare form as ever, JK Rowling has decided to publicly slam a crisis center for survivors of sexual violence in Edinburgh. But it turns out that the third-party review she’s using to justify freaking out about the crisis center is a bit less damning than she thought…
Meet Eduardo Fracassi, a professor at the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) in Argentina and a Multisolver. He works mainly throughout Latin America and has facilitated more than 360 events to date as an EN-ROADS ambassador. FLOWER has been instrumental in presenting his research on a very specific climate policy – raising the manufacturer minimum thermostat setting on all the air conditioners in Argentina from 18ºC (64.4ºF) to 25ºC (77ºF). His team’s research suggested that this change equates to a 14% increase in energy savings or $29.5 billion — the equivalent of Paraguay’s GDP at the time.
This book was written with one overarching message: that the Black Witness should be believed.
There is a silence engulfing Australia in which the Black Witness must battle. We already have the weaponry. It is contained in the voices of our elders around campfires and kitchen tables, in community meetings and in the stories we tell our children. It is in poetry, in song, in art and in journalism. But we struggle to overcome the voice of the White Witness. The White Witness speaks above us and for us, and it is always the White Witness who is heard most clearly, because they speak the language that has been enforced on us through violence. It is violence that has enacted the silence, that has made the Black Witness an ‘unreliable’ one, a ‘threatening’ one, a ‘violent’ one in itself. It’s not just the violence of the original massacres, but the violence of the education, justice, health, child protection and political systems. The Black Witness is often told they must be legitimised by the White Witness. But this book is here to tell you that the Black Witness should be believed.
On this episode of Follow the Money, Australia Institute Executive Director Richard Denniss joins Ebony Bennett to discuss mining’s latest PR offensive and why politicians shouldn’t fear standing up to the industry.
Join President José Ramos-Horta at 6pm AEDT, Tuesday 8 October for an evening of conversation at the Sydney Opera House, presented by the Australia Institute as part of its 30 Years of Big Ideas.
This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 17 September 2024 and things may have changed since recording.
Guest: Richard Denniss, Executive Director, the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
This article was reposted, in slightly different form, from the Practice of Place blog, which focuses on the art and science of creating thriving public and shared places. It is shared here with permission. All pictures were provided by the author.
Families with a female reference person generally have lower incomes than those with a male reference person. The two charts below show the profile of each income group by the gender of the household reference person.
2019-20
This chart shows that a clear majority (70%) of households in the highest 20% income group had a male reference person.
New research by ACOSS and UNSW Sydney reveals the widening wealth gap between people with the most and least, even as income inequality slows.
The latest report from the Poverty and Inequality Partnership, Inequality in Australia 2024: Who is affected and how?shows the average household wealth of Australia’s highest 10% growing much faster than the lowest 60%, from $2.8 million to $5.2 million (an 84% increase) over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the average wealth of the lowest 60% has risen from $222,000 to $343,000 (a 55% per cent increase).
Nearly half (45%) of the increase in household wealth since 2003 went to the highest 10% (those with at least $2.6 million) and half of this increase to wealthy older people (over 64 years).
Wealth inequality is also growing among households aged under 35, even though they hold just 5% of all wealth. The average wealth of the highest 10% rose from $928,000 to $2 million (an increase of 126%) since 2003. At the same time, the average wealth of the lowest 60% of younger households – largely excluded from home ownership – rose just $68,000 to $80,000 (39%).
The report also shows wage inequality falling between 2021 and 2023, when unemployment dropped below 4%. During that time, wages growth for the lowest 10% (up 4.9%) outpaced the highest 10% (up 3.3%).
This chart shows the responses in our Community attitudes towards poverty and inequality survey 2023 to the idea that Poverty is a big problem in Australia today.
It shows that 69% of people in Australia agreed that poverty is a big problem in Australia today.
This chart shows the responses in our Community attitudes towards poverty and inequality survey 2023 to the idea that People who receive unemployment payments do not deserve to live in poverty.
It shows that 59% of people in Australia agreed that people who receive unemployment payments do not deserve to live in poverty..
This chart shows the responses in our Community attitudes towards poverty and inequality survey 2023 to the idea that Unemployment payments should be enough so that people don’t have to skip meals.
It shows that 86% of people in Australia agreed that unemployment payments should be enough so that people don’t have to skip meals.
This chart shows the responses in our Community attitudes towards poverty and inequality survey 2023 to the question whether respondents would be able to live on the current rate of unemployment payment
It shows that 58% of people in Australia said they could not live on that amount and 19% were unsure. Only 23% agreed they could live on the current rate.
