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• Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society

This program defends and promotes the traditional values and principles of a free and liberal democratic society and open economy in Australia.

In a related area of research we investigate the place of religion in society.

Trump’s Tariffs Hurt Consumers | Johan Norberg
Robert Forsyth, Johan NorbergApril 9, 2025

Author and historian of ideas Johan Norberg dives into Donald Trump’s tariffs, the ongoing challenges...

Double Standards: Rabbi Elton’s analysis of antisemitism past and present
Peter Kurti, Doctor Benjamin Elton April 3, 2025

In our 2025 Acton Lecture, Rabbi Dr. Benjamin Elton analyses antisemitism’s persistence from medieval times...

The History of Liberalism (Part 2) | Simon Heffer
Robert Forsyth, Simon HefferApril 2, 2025

In this episode of Liberalism in Question, Rob sits down with historian and journalist Simon...

Biological reality vs progressive ideals | Louise Perry & Claire Lehmann
Louise Perry, Claire Lehmann, Tom SwitzerMarch 28, 2025

In this discussion hosted by ‪@CISAus‬ & ‪@Quillette‬ , British author Louise Perry (of ‪@maidenmothermatriarch‬)...

The History of Liberalism (Part 1) | Simon Heffer
Simon Heffer, Robert ForsythMarch 24, 2025

In this episode of Liberalism in Question, Rob sits down with historian and journalist Simon...

The Darkest Path: The Puzzling Resilience of Antisemitism. Acton Lecture 2025
Rabbi Benjamin EltonMarch 19, 2025OP206

Foreword The annual Acton Lecture, presented by the Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program at...

In Conversation with Marian L. Tupy
Marian L. TupyApril 16, 2026OP103

Introduction This publication covers edited extracts from three Marian L Tupy presentations as 2026 Max...

After Bondi: What must the Royal Commission achieve
Josh Frydenberg, Lorraine Finlay, Ronald Sackville AO KC, Peter KurtiApril 9, 2026OP213

Foreword On Tuesday 31 March 2026, the Centre for Independent Studies hosted a forum at...

The Legislative Fantasy. Hate Speech, Culture, and Institutional Failure
Dimitri BurshteinMarch 26, 2026AP103

Foreword The Bondi Beach attack of 14 December 2025 forced a reckoning that many Australians...

Overcoming Enmity and Restoring Tolerance. Antisemitism’s challenge for the civic compact
Damien FreemanFebruary 5, 2026AP99

Foreword When the Book of Genesis speaks of enmity between the serpent and the descendants...

Progressive Intolerance. The contemporary antisemitism landscape in Australia
Philip MendesJanuary 22, 2026AP98
The evidence is comprehensive and damning. From universities to trade unions, from civil society organisations...
Reframing an Ancient Hatred: the intersection of left-wing antisemitism and anti-Zionism
Julie ClaridgeDecember 11, 2025AP97
Anti-Zionism has evolved to create a further mutation of antisemitism, cloaking bias and discrimination in...
Back the plan and save Australia from hatred
Peter KurtiJuly 14, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH
Our Jewish neighbours, colleagues and friends are facing harassment, threats and exclusion in ways this...
Lattouf judgment evidence of an ABC that has badly lost its way
Tom SwitzerJune 26, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

The Federal Court’s judgment in favour of journalist Antoinette Lattouf represents not just humiliation for...

When hatred finds a home in our institutions
Peter KurtiJune 12, 2025SPECTATOR

I recently watched the documentary October 8, a searing and distressing film about the aftermath...

When it feels like Australia is falling apart, hard truths can bring us back
Peter KurtiJune 12, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Faced with violent protests, rising antisemitism and growing cultural division, Australians are entitled to ask...

Why hope still matters in a divided world
Peter KurtiApril 17, 2025AFR

Hope is easily dismissed as illusory when the grounds for holding fast to it appear...

Identity politics, enclaves, undermine common values
Peter KurtiMarch 12, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Hastily-convened citizenship ceremonies around the nation raised suspicions that the federal government was trying to...

Under-16 Social Media Ban: Protecting Youth or Controlling Speech?
Peter KurtiOctober 17, 2025

Peter Kurti from the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) exposes the hidden threats behind Australia’s...

Mark Leach on the Erosion of Australian Values Copy
Robert ForsythSeptember 9, 2025
In this episode of Liberalism in Question, host Robert Forsyth engages in a thought-provoking discussion...
Democracy’s Silent Guardian: Education | Trisha Jha
Robert Forsyth, Trisha JhaAugust 20, 2025

In this episode, Rob sits down with Trisha Jha, a policy analyst at the Centre...

The Alarming Rise in Government Spending | Robert Carling
Robert CarlingAugust 13, 2025

In this episode of Liberalism in Question from the Centre for Independent Studies, economist Robert...

National Identity vs Moral Diversity: Can Australia Hold Together? | Peter Kurti & Jude Blik
Peter Kurti, Jude BlikJuly 24, 2025

When Peter Kurti published “The Ties That Bind: Reconciling Value Pluralism and National Identity in...

The Journalist, the Jew and an Argument About Identity | Tim Franks
Tom SwitzerJuly 9, 2025

Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, Israel’s war in Gaza and escalating regional tensions...

Submission to the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM)
Peter KurtiSeptember 25, 2025

Submission to the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM) Review of the definition of a...

Submission to the Senate Inquiry on Information Integrity
Michael StutchburySeptember 12, 2025

On behalf of the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS), we are pleased to provide the...

Submission to the Senate Economics References Committee Inquiry into Personal Choice and Community Impacts 2015
August 11, 2015

The CIS submission into the Senate Economics References Committee Inquiry proposed two tightly targeted areas...

Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the value of a justice reinvestment approach to criminal justice in Australia
Sara HudsonNovember 17, 2013

To address the underlying causes of Indigenous offending, we need to focus on education and...

Submission to Native Title Leading Practice Agreements Discussion Paper 2010
Helen Hughes, Mark Hughes, Sara HudsonNovember 30, 2010

The Native Title process is only one of the processes returning land to traditional owners....

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