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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.

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...

Bob Carr’s genocide claims are dangerous for social cohesion
Peter KurtiJuly 29, 2025AFR

Labor’s Friends of Israel group has made this point forcefully. They call for principled criticism,...

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...

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...
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...

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...

Lord Sumption speaks at the Centre for Independent Studies
Rule of Law in a Time of Crisis: a conversation with Lord Sumption
Lord SumptionNovember 8, 2022OP191
Lord Sumption became what is widely regarded as a brilliant QC before he served as...
Radical Conservatism: 
Tradition as a guide for managing change
Damien FreemanJuly 13, 2022OP188
This paper revisits conservative philosopher, Edmund Burke, to distil a “cast of mind” — a...
Raging against the past: Guilt, justice, and the postcolonial reformation
Peter KurtiApril 7, 2022AP35

Postcolonial Theory wages relentless campaigns of reformation against Enlightenment conceptions of reason, tolerance, and liberty....

The Threat of Identity Politics
Simon HefferSeptember 1, 2021OP184

Global outrage over the killing of George Floyd by a white policeman in America last...

AP25
Attitudes to a post-Covid Australia
Robert Carling, Simon CowanAugust 26, 2021AP25
This report explores what sort of post-Covid future Australians expect, based on YouGov polling conducted...
The Psychology of Populism: Tribal Challenges to Liberal Democracy
Joseph P. ForgasAugust 19, 2021OP183

The resurgence of both left-wing and right-wing populism presents a serious challenge for liberal democracies....

A glimmer of hope on the mean streets
Nicole BillanteMarch 6, 2003The Australian

Statistics coming out of NSW this week suggest that the 40-year trend of rising crime...

Leaks look lousy for lingerers – reform starts with naughty students
February 26, 2003The Australian

If the leaks from Canberra are to be believed, the Government is planning to track...

Fertility incentives off the mark
Jennifer Buckingham OAMFebruary 20, 2003The Newcastle Herald

The low fertility rate in this country is just as much about women having fewer...

Tax is the key to welfare reform
Peter SaundersJanuary 20, 2003The Australian Financial Review

Tony Abbott wants to reform tax and welfare so that it pays to work. His...

Working to beat the poverty trap
Peter SaundersDecember 11, 2002

Two misconceptions continually cloud debates about poverty in Australia.  One is that poverty is widespread...

Pay increases don’t help the unemployed
Kayoko TsumoriDecember 5, 2002The Australian Financial Review

A few weeks ago, the Australian Council of Trade Unions announced yet another 'living wage'...

Antisemitism Is Not a Jewish Problem, It’s an Australian Problem | Frydenberg, Finlay & Sackville
Peter Kurti, Michael Stutchbury, Josh Frydenberg, Lorraine Finlay, Ronald Sackville AO KCApril 10, 2026

Michael Stutchbury, Executive Director of the Centre for Independent Studies, opens this panel discussion with...

Australia’s Hate Speech Failure | Dimitri Burshtein
Dimitri BurshteinMarch 31, 2026

The tragic events at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025 expose a deepening crisis in...

Angus Taylor at CIS: Economic Reform, Immigration, and Australia’s Cost of Living Crisis
Angus Taylor, Michael StutchburyFebruary 19, 2026

Speaking at his first address outside Canberra since being elected Leader of the Opposition by...

Education Reform in Australia | Jennifer Buckingham
Robert Forsyth, Jennifer Buckingham OAMFebruary 17, 2026

Join us on Liberalism in Question for an enlightening discussion with Dr. Jennifer Buckingham, former...

Australia’s Liberal Odyssey: Tracing Freedom’s Path
Robert Forsyth, Greg MelleuishFebruary 10, 2026

In this thought-provoking episode of Liberalism in Question, we delve into the rich tapestry of...

Our Civic Compact is Shattered
Peter KurtiFebruary 10, 2026

Explosive 316% Jump in Antisemitic Attacks: Could This Be the End of Australia’s Harmony? Dive...

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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