Briefing paper
Tickets on themselves: How energy retailers could use movie tickets and other tricks to rip off consumers under draft electricity rule changes
This briefing note explains how a federal government proposal to protect households from high power prices is being undermined by the official electricity rule-setting body.
Briefing paper
Radical plan to increase inequality in Australia revealed in budget
The latest Turnbull Government budget proposes that Australia’s progressive tax system be overhauled to put the majority of workers on the same tax rate. This briefing paper models the distributionary effects of the proposal, showing the benefits flow overwhelmingly to the highest income earners.
Discussion paper
Exporting coal myths: how a coal mine that destroyed a town now claims it will save one
The decade-long fight over the controversial Stage 3 expansion of the New Acland Coal (NAC) mine looks set to continue, with the Queensland Supreme Court disagreeing with an earlier Land Court decision that the mine should not be granted approval, a decision followed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES).
Briefing paper
The arbitrary 23.9 per cent tax revenue to GDP figure: from a convenient assumption to a ‘speed limit’
This briefing paper shows the recently announced 23.9% tax-to-GDP cap is entirely arbitrary, and that a strict tax cap with no policy change will severely limit choices in government spending.
Report
Remote control: the Community Development Program, remote Australia’s work for the dole scheme
The Community Development Program (CDP) is remote Australia’s Work for the Dole (WFD) and 'job assistance' scheme. The CDP has been criticised by civil society groups, Indigenous groups, academics and even police, with allegations that it pays below minimum wage and its penalty system is punitive, entrenching poverty, causing housing stress and even hunger.