Work/life balance continues to be an issue for many people with only three-out-of-ten people (3.4 million) reporting an improvement in the past five years, according to this report. Introduction Former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard described work/life balance as a "BBQ-stopper" in 2001. Since then, the term "work/life balance" has been part of the...

This paper suggests a modification to the Pension Loan Scheme intended to help boost the retirement incomes of a large number of current retirees. Summary The Australian government is currently willing to boost the retirement incomes of wealthy Australians by providing low cost ‘reverse mortgages’ through Centrelink. The Pension Loan Scheme (PLS) allows eligible Australians...

This paper provides a brief overview of the size, growth and prospects for the Australian solar industry and argues that as the number of solar panels installed continues to rise, the cost of installation and maintenance will continue to fall. Summary The solar industry in Australia is growing rapidly, creating jobs and, as a result...

Inequality between those with the most and those with the least is rising in Australia. Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but there are many people in our society who are falling behind. For instance, the minimum wage and unemployment benefits have failed to keep pace with the rise in average...

This paper attempts to put a dollar figure on the value of state assistance to the mining industry. Overview State governments are more usually associated with the provision of health, education and law enforcement than industry assistance. So it might surprise taxpayers to learn that state government assistance for the mineral and fossil fuel industries...