Edited by the Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology

New Research

Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia

16 March 2010This report provides an economy-wide blueprint for how Australia can achieve an ambitious reduction in greenhouse gas emissions while building a growing low-carbon economy.

Income, resources, and electricity mix

15 March 2010This paper presents evidence on a national-level electricity ladder which sees countries transition toward coal and natural gas, and finally nuclear power and modern renewables such as wind power, for their electricity needs as they develop.

Nuclear weapons: Arms control, proliferation and nuclear security

15 March 2010The nuclear arms control agenda currently enjoys a prominence that it has not had since the first half of the 1990s. 

First opportunities

08 March 2010This report presents the first detailed profile of the energy use and potential energy savings opportunities identified by corporations participating in the Australian government’s Energy Efficiency Opportunities program.

Australia's forests at a glance 2010

08 March 2010 This report contains up-to-date facts and figures about Australian forests and their management.

Climate change

Dry days down under: Australia and the world water crisis

19 March 2010This US paper explores the historical and global contexts of the current Australian drought.

Urban planning

Dwelling, land and neighbourhood use by older home owners

Dwelling, land and neighbourhood use by older home owners

15 March 2010This study considers the social and economic implications for the housing needs of older people, the efficiency of housing stock use and the suitability of housing land and neighbourhood design for the needs of an ageing society.

State of Australian cities 2010

08 March 2010This report draws together existing data and information across a range of economic, social and environmental parameters to provide a national snapshot of the 17 Australian cities with populations over 100,000 at the 2006 Census.

Commentary

The Mt Piper blind spot

05 March 2010The process of extending NSW's Mt Piper power station seems to be driven by a pro-coal mindset, argues Ilan Salbe

After Copenhagen

05 March 2010In the Monthly, Robert Manne weighs up the current predictions for the survival of the planet, contrasting the outlooks of Al Gore and Clive Hamilton.

Insulation risk was worse before rebate

04 March 2010Coverage of the home insulation program has ignored what went before, writes John Watson in The Age

Audio

2009 in review

Listen to audio
04 December 2009On 2 December members of the Lowy Institute research team gave their perspectives on politics, economics and other international events in 2009.

Housing for millions

Listen to audio
27 November 2009Planning for happy cities, when you're also jamming in millions more people, is politically tricky.

Video

Growth fetishism and the climate crisis

Listen to audio
19 February 2010Professor Clive Hamilton explores the balances being struck between environmental protection and economic growth in the context of the current advice from climate scientists.

World Wide Views on global warming Australia

Listen to audio
16 November 2009The Australian World Wide Views on Global Warming Event, where 105 people from all walks of life came from all over the country to put their views forwards on the issues facing climate change negotiators at UN talks.

Housing

The Brotherhood's social barometer: living the second fifty years

09 March 2010The fourth Social Barometer examines the extent of disadvantage among older Australians through indicators of people’s capabilities covering eight key dimensions of life, including employment, income, health, housing, safety and social participation.

Websites

Bindarri

26 November 2009Bindarri aims to support and promote Australian creatives who are working for positive change and to inspire others who are yet to begin.

Austral Peace and Security Network

21 September 2009Austral Peace and Security Network (APSNet) Bulletin covers critical national and regional security issues, broadly understood, in Australia and the surrounding region.

Triple Helix Consulting

21 September 2009Triple Helix Consulting works with progressive organisations in the public and private sectors to develop and implement more sustainable policies and practices.

Events

Conference
25 Mar 2010 - 9:00am - 26 Mar 2010 - 5:00pm
Canberra
Conference
31 Mar 2010
Sydney

Books

Racial Folly: A twentieth-century Aboriginal family

Racial Folly: A twentieth-century Aboriginal family

  • Gordon Briscoe
  • ANU E Press
A memoir and history of an Aboriginal family living under the race laws, practices and policies of Australia in the twentieth century.
Darwin's Armada: How four voyagers to Australasia won the battle for evolution and changed the world

Darwin's Armada: How four voyagers to Australasia won the battle for evolution and changed the world

  • Iain McCalman
  • Penguin Australia
Darwin's Armanda is both a gripping adventure story and a brilliantly enlightening work of history, for the first time portraying the Darwinian revolution as a collective enterprise forged in Australasia.

Noticeboard

23 June 2009

The National Household Consumption Survey is open to all Australian residents until 30 June 2009.

17 June 2009

Mission H2o, an online game themed around water conservation and developed by Swinburne University students and staff, has received two prestigious design awards.

Policy Guides

The Climate Action Network Australia has prepared seven summary sheets to provide a clear track through the climate negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

10-08-09