The massive Olympic Dam mine, now fully approved, threatens by itself to shift the centre of gravity of the future South Australian economy away from its traditional base in manufacturing. A ‘two-speed economy’ is in the early stages of being made. Part and parcel of this new dynamic is the decision by BHP Billiton, Olympic...

This paper identifies the fuels that are taxed, the forms that the taxes take and, where possible, quantifies the amounts collected. There are various estimates of the value of government subsidies to fossil fuels in Australia. These estimates range from around $8 billion to $12 billion annually. Fossil fuels are also taxed. The Australian Government...

Australia is experiencing its largest mining boom for more than a century and a half. This paper explores, from a national perspective, important economic differences that arise when a mining boom, such as the current one, is generated by sustained export price increases (trading gains) rather than export volume increases. Since 2003 the terms of...

The inaugural National Water Planning Report Card 2011 provides a summary of the status of water plans across Australia. The Report Card is a response to a COAG request for an independent assessment of water planning to inform an objective discussion on the quality of existing water plans, their implementation, and areas for future improvement...

Renewable energy provided almost 10 per cent of Australia’s electricity in the last 12 months and more than half a million household solar power systems are now installed on Australian rooftops – around 35 times the amount just three years ago at the end of 2008. Over one million Australians now live in a solar...