This article was originally published, in slightly different form, on Strong Towns member Michel Durand-Wood’s blog, Dear Winnipeg. It is shared here with permission. All images were provided by the author.
On this bonus After America, Nick Bryant, acclaimed author of The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself and former BBC journalist, joins Dr Emma Shortis to reflect on the Harris-Trump debate.
This discussion was recorded live on Thursday 12 September 2024 and things may have changed since recording.
Guest: Nick Bryant, author and former BBC United States correspondent // @NickBryantNY
Host: Emma Shortis, Senior Research for International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis
Australia Institute research has shown that there is no shortage of gas in Australia, in either the short or medium term, and that it is gas exports that are putting pressure on domestic supply.
Continued attempts by the gas industry to claim a domestic shortage while expanding gas exports show that there is no shortage of either gas or corporate greed from the sector.
Key Findings:
Australia is one of the biggest exporters of gas in the world, alongside Qatar and the USA.
Around 80% of Australia’s gas is exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
90% of the gas processed in WA is either exported as LNG or used in LNG export processing.
Over half (56%) of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational corporations for free.
“The gas industry is talking out both sides of its mouth — it is saying there will be domestic shortages if we don’t start opening up new gas fields, while at the same time advocating to expand export facilities like the North West Shelf proposal,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at the Australia Institute.
“We produce, burn and export a staggering amount of gas in this country. The gas industry itself is the biggest user of gas in Australia due to the gas it burns to process LNG exports. To suggest there will be a gas shortage is absurd.
One of the biggest economic myths is that Australia is dependent upon mining for our prosperity. Yes, mining accounts for around 10% of Australia’s GDP, but almost all of that is its profits – and most of those either head overseas – especially so in the case of gas companies – or are delivered to the very wealthiest in Australia. The vast majority of Australians do not rely on mining at all.
But let’s be clear about who gets those dividends and profits – mostly it is the richest in Australia.
According to the latest taxation data from the ATO, just under 50% of the value of all dividends went to the richest 2.4% of Australians – those earning more than $250,000. Around 0.2% of Australians earned more than $1m a year, and yet that minuscule number received a quarter of all the dividends paid out by Australian companies. So while it might sound like that profit is helping “Australia” in reality, it’s mostly making the rich richer.
The mining industry is now surely the biggest whinger in the Australian economy.
This week it launched an all-out assault on the federal government at Minerals Week in Canberra, with chief executive of the mining industry’s chief lobby group the Minerals Council, Tania Constable, warning the government: “Undermine it at your peril.”
Relative to its size, the mining industry pays nowhere near enough tax in Australia and, perhaps unsurprisingly, they want to keep it that way. It’s obvious the mining industry is trying to cow the federal government into ruling out any policy changes before the election. It wants cuts to taxes and royalties, and IR laws that make it easier to cut wages and fire people. And it would prefer to remove any environmental restrictions preventing mining companies from polluting or opening new gas and coal mines wherever and whenever they want.
But more than that, the mining industry demands Australians all bow at its feet in gratitude. BHP wants praise for paying its taxes, insinuating the public hospital system would collapse without it, while mining billionaire Gina Rinehart asked: “Where is the red carpet for the BHPs and Rios?” As if mining companies aren’t some of the most powerful and profitable companies on the planet, let alone in this country.
Like a toxic boyfriend who wants thanks for doing the dishes (when you remind him), the mining industry demands Australians be grateful for the taxes and royalties they pay.
Mining lobbyists descended on Canberra for the annual Minerals Week. On Thursday morning, the Minerals Council CEO Tania Constable described on Radio National what she sees to be the problem – policy interventions and the looming ‘threat’ of onerous environmental approvals:
We’re seeing major changes in royalties at a state level…That’s a huge impost on the industry.
Let’s be clear, royalties are the price mining companies pay to mine and sell the resources like iron ore, gas and coal that Australians collectively own. Complaining about paying royalties as an ‘impost’ on the mining industry is like a baker complaining he doesn’t get his flour for free.
It’s obvious the mining industry is trying to cow the federal government into ruling out any policy changes before the election. And they are smart enough to make the Minerals Council and BHP front their campaign. Much harder for the gas industry to argue to cut taxes and royalties when the Tax Office has labelled your entire industry “systemic non-payers” of tax and over the half of LNG exports attract zero royalties.
This article was originally published, in slightly different form, onthe author’s LinkedIn.It is shared here with permission. All images were provided by the author.
The Australia Institute’s Policy School, is a new webinar series designed to equip policymakers, campaigners, NGOs, and public servants with the tools to advocate for change. Learn from experts about key public policy issues, persuasive messaging, and effective communication strategies to help create a fairer, more sustainable society.
Each fortnight, you will hear from policy experts from the Australia Institute, who will take you through the key things you need to create change on critical public policy issues – like fair tax reform, electoral reform, the Australia/USA relationship, the housing crisis, or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Donald Trump suggested Kamala Harris wants undocumented immigrants to receive free “transgender surgery” while being detained or imprisoned, a bogus claim with a very weird source.
In his 2010 book, Death of the Liberal Class, Chris Hedges wrote “The fate of the liberal class is tragic. It has been annihilated by the corporate state it supported, while it willingly silenced radical thinkers and iconoclasts who could have rescued it.”
There has been no time in American politics where this phenomenon has been more clear than today. In this episode of The Chris Hedges Report, host Chris Hedges talks to comedian Jimmy Dore about his reporting at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. The pair find the event illustrative of the past few decades of liberalism in American society, namely that its entire concept is not “reality based.”
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack. This comic is the last installment in Sacco’s series.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
“Genocide is the moral imperative of our era,” declares Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in this episode of The Chris Hedges Reports as she continues her campaign for the U.S. presidency. Joined by running mate, Professor Butch Ware, the two make their case as to why they should earn the vote of every disenfranchised American, stuck in the woes of personal domestic struggles and the atrocities committed abroad on their behalf by a self-serving empire.
Stein’s view is clear when looking at how the election is shaping up: “Forget the lesser evil, there is no lesser evil. You have two genocidal candidates, one conducting genocide right now and the other promising to finish the job.”
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
If you’ve ever flicked off an email before bed, texted your boss out of hours, or received an ‘urgent’ work call after clocking off, you’ll be glad to hear some respite is just around the corner.
A new right to disconnect from work, for employees in businesses with 15 or more staff, comes into force across Australia from Monday 26th August. This is a welcome response to the growing problem of ‘availability creep’, where work demands spill over into workers’ leisure time.
The new right means most employees can now refuse to monitor and respond to unreasonable contact from their employers about work matters outside of paid work hours.
Many of us are now online and digitally connected to our workplaces 24/7. This constant connectedness can make it hard to escape work calls, texts, and emails when not actually at work.
As we are now so easily contacted anywhere and anytime, our leisure and family time has become very susceptible to interruptions from work, leading to unpaid overtime, an inability to ‘switch off’, and blurred boundaries between work and non-work time. Gone are the days of 8 hours work, 8 hours rest, and 8 hours play.
The consequences are stark. Research has shown these work practices lead to increased stress, health problems and a poor work-life balance.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Modern borders represent mere lines in the sand when understanding the deep history behind the forces that drew them. In the contemporary Middle East, nations such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and most notably Palestine, cannot be fully understood without delving into the region's intricate past—especially the pivotal role of the Ottoman Empire’s influence. Eugene Rogan, the Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Oxford, joins host Chris Hedges to discuss his book, “The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East,” and explain how the modern geopolitical makeup of the region came to be.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
Fantagraphics has released a series of graphic commentaries and reflections by Joe Sacco, author of "Palestine" and "Footnotes in Gaza," called "The War on Gaza." With the permission of Fantagrapahics and Joe Sacco, we are reprinting them on my Substack.
On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor talk about the government’s new international university student caps and the latest house price data.
Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed.
Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut
Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @ElinorJ_L
Digital Rights Watch welcomes privacy reform, but more must be done urgently to bring our laws into the 21st century
Today, the Attorney General tabled a set of privacy reforms, which has been described as a first tranche. The proposed statutory tort and the plan for a children’s code together represent a good first step, but Australia remains decades behind other nations. There is a lot more to do to catch up.
Frankly, it is disappointing that we are here after three years of consultation.
Digital Rights Watch calls on the government to lay out a clear time frame for the remaining 100+ reforms that it has committed to implementing. Taking specific reforms to the election will ensure a mandate to resist the push back from the powerful vested interests who have always stood in the way of privacy reform.
The Privacy Act has not been meaningfully reformed in over 40 years, and it is urgent that changes be made, including to:
This directory has been curated by the Democracy Resource Hub, an online library of resources for organizers, activists, peacebuilders, democracy practitioners, and trainers working to strengthen democracy. We foster interdisciplinary exchanges and innovation across diverse identities and skillsets.
The Democracy Resource Hub includes two sets of information:
a collection of curated tools and information and
a directory of networks, organizations and resources libraries that offer ways to get involved, trained and/or informed about various skills needed to support the renewal of democracy.
The Democracy Resource Hub Directory is organized into three groups:
The Democracy Resource Hub offers curated tools and connections for democracy practitioners worldwide. Access resources on civic engagement, nonviolent action, peacebuilding, and strategic planning. Join a global community fostering democratic innovation and resilience through interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Supporting change makers who are building, strengthening and protecting democracy worldwide.
Introduction
The Democracy Resource Hub offers a careful curation of resources for organizers, activists, peacebuilders, democracy practitioners, and trainers working to strengthen democracy. We foster interdisciplinary exchanges and innovation across diverse identities and skill sets.
The Democracy Resource Hub includes two sets of information:
1) a collection of curated tools and information and
2) a directory of organizations and networks that offer ways to get involved in and/or trained on the various skills needed to support the renewal of democracy.
This page is the hub that will help you get to the information you need. The collection is organized into 5 approaches. Below you will find guides to help you find the information you need.
The Intermestic (domestic-international) Learning Series aims to foster a dynamic exchange of knowledge and strategies, experiences and insights among organizers and movement builders from the United States and around the globe, offering participants the opportunity to share on defending and promoting democracy in their respective contexts. This webinar series is a Democracy Resource Hub collaboration.
Context
With authoritarianism and divide-and-rule politics resurgent and democracy backsliding in the US and globally, pro-democracy movement building and solidarity have never been more important.
A guide with resources, directories and media about power-building and nonviolent action collated by the Democracy Resource Hub.
Learn grassroots organizing techniques and nonviolent protest strategies to amplify marginalized voices and drive systemic change.
Explore civil resistance methods, community mobilization tactics, and intersectional organizing approaches to challenge injustice and shape inclusive democratic processes through peaceful activism.
What are power-building and nonviolent action and why are they important for democracy?
Building power through nonviolent action and community organizing is a cornerstone of a thriving democracy. It:
Amplifies marginalized voices
Resists democratic backsliding
Drives systemic change
Creates pathways for citizens to shape decisions affecting their lives
In today’s complex political landscape, these skills are crucial for mobilizing people, challenging injustice, and creating pressure for sustainable solutions.
A guide with resources, directories and media about strategic planning collated by the Democracy Resource Hub.
Access movement strategy development tools and campaign planning resources for democratic renewal.
Learn to analyze political landscapes, set strategic goals, and build powerful coalitions.
Discover adaptive management techniques and impact measurement strategies for long-term advocacy planning and effective resource allocation.
What is strategic planning and why is it important for democracy?
Strategic planning offers tools to chart the course for democratic renewal. It is a systematic process of setting clear objectives for strengthening democratic institutions and developing strategies to achieve them. Strategic planning helps:
Creating change requires engaging audiences, communicating messages, and inviting people to join in action. The resources here will help you get clearer on what communication channels to use and how, how to develop compelling framing and messages, and the skills required to engage media (traditional and new forms) effectively.
A study update about puberty blockers commissioned by the New South Wales government proves what we’ve all been saying for ages: Puberty blockers are “safe, effective and reversible.” Eat your heart out, Ben Ryan!
On this episode of Follow the Money, Greg Jericho and Matt Grudnoff join Ebony Bennett to discuss the latest GDP figures, the real drivers of inflation and how the Reserve Bank misread the state of the economy.
This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 10 September 2024 and things may have changed since recording.
Guest: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @GrogsGamut
Guest: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @MattGrudnoff
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by 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.
Claims from the mining industry that they are significant funders of public services in Australia are overblown, ignore the fact that their profits are made off the back of public resources, and are heavily publicly subsidised, the Australia Institute has said.
Key Points:
Taxes and royalties paid by the mining industry make up just 5 cents in every dollar of state and federal government revenue in Australia.
95% of Australia’s public services are paid for by other industries.
Mining is also heavily subsidised in Australia, receiving the vast bulk of the $11 billion fuel tax credit scheme.
“Relative to its size, the mining industry pays nowhere near enough tax in Australia and, perhaps unsurprisingly, they are keen for that to remain the case,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.
“Australia Institute research shows that Australians dramatically overestimate the economic value of fossil fuel mining to the country.
“If Australia really did rely on the low-employing, tax-avoiding, high-polluting, and largely foreign-owned mining industry for its economic security, we would be in serious trouble.
“Other countries charge far more for their natural resources, while in Australia we subsidise their extraction.
“The fact that the Government collects more money from HECS than it does from the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax is a wake-up call for those in charge.”
Last year the government announced it was considering removing its statutory power to overrule the Reserve Bank. Thankfully it has now reconsidered that move, and the actions of the RBA over the past year serve to remind everyone that it is far from infallible.
In its May Statement on Monetary Policy the RBA looked ahead one month and estimated that in June the annual growth of household consumption would be 1.1%. When the national accounts were released last week, the actual growth was revealed to be just 0.5%.
Now obviously economic forecasting is a bit of a mugs game, but household consumption makes up half of Australia’s economy and accounted for around 45% of all the growth in the economy over the past decade so it is pretty important. It is also the area of the economy most directly affected by interest rate rises. This error of forecasting suggests that the Reserve Bank has rather poorly misread just how greatly households had been impacted by the 13 rate rises that had taken the cash rate from 0.1% in April 2022 to 4.35% in November 2023.
This error is crucial because the main reason the RBA raises rates is to reduce the ability of households to spend. Because you can’t tell your bank that you don’t really feel like paying your mortgage this month, interest rate rises force households to divert money that would have been spent on goods and services to paying your mortgage.
