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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.

Marian Tupy: More People, More Ideas, More Abundance – Sydney
Peter Kurti, Marian TupyJanuary 13, 2026
Join Marian Tupy & Peter Kurti for data-driven optimism. Why human ingenuity and free markets...
The royal commission into the Bondi attack should probe the uncomfortable question
Peter Kurti, Michael StutchburyJanuary 10, 2026CANBERRA TIMES
What should Australia have done over the past two years to prevent this moment —...
Trump and the red wave | Dave Rubin
Robert Forsyth, Dave RubinJanuary 6, 2026

From Donald Trump to the lockdowns, Dave Rubin sits down with Robert Forsyth to discuss...

It is time for good people to act 
Julie ClaridgeDecember 24, 2025ONLINE OPINION
What we saw that Sunday at Bondi not only highlighted the immediate and palpable threats...
The Tradition of Liberty | Senator James Paterson
Robert Forsyth, James PatersonDecember 23, 2025

Senator James Paterson joins Liberalism in Question to discuss the core principles of classical liberalism...

The Tension Between Classical Liberalism and Conservatism | Gray Connolly
December 17, 2025

From surrogacy to free speech, Rob Forsyth and Gray Connolly discuss the differences between classical...

Shaping the Social Virtues
Andrew Norton, Barry MaleyOctober 1, 1994PM28

This is a collection of three essays by David Popenoe, Andrew Norton and Barry Maley...

The Moral Sense: An Essay
James Q. WilsonAugust 1, 1994OP50

What are the sources of moral order? This is an important question when violence, dishonesty,...

Literature and Freedom
Mario Vargas LlosaFebruary 1, 1994OP48

In this CIS Occasional Paper, Mario Vargas Llosa highlights the mutually beneficial relationship between literature...

Private Welfare
James CoxNovember 16, 1993PM22

When we speak of welfare, we usually have in mind the benefits dispensed by the...

Questions of Conquest and Culture
Mario Vargas LlosaSeptember 9, 1993OP47

In the tenth John Bonython Lecture, the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa reflects on mestizaje,...

Economics, Faith and Moral Responsibility
Robert SiricoAugust 1, 1993OP46

In this CIS Occasional Paper, Robert Sirico defends the institutions of the free and open...

Poverty lines tangled: An influential report claiming that one in eight Australians lives in poverty is wrong
Kayoko TsumoriJanuary 17, 2002The Age

Our paper, Poor Arguments: A Response to the Smith Family Report on Poverty in Australia...

For richer or poorer, we’re still a lucky country: Don’t exaggerate the extent of poverty in Australia
Peter SaundersJanuary 16, 2002The Australian

The Australian economy experienced remarkable growth during most of the 1990s.  Yet social researchers are...

A generation drowns in boos: Repairing society’s attitude to rearing children would be revolutionary
Frank DevineDecember 13, 2001The Australian

Peter Saunders, Professor of sociology at the University of Sussex, said something dreadful at a...

The great drink-driving scandal: Police road blitzes are wasteful and an affront to our liberties
Peter SaundersDecember 13, 2001The Age

Over the last Labour Day weekend in NSW, 106,396 people were apprehended by the police...

Children pay the price of gender feminism war
Barry MaleyDecember 12, 2001The Sydney Morning Herald

For some radical feminists, males are patriarchal oppressors and the family is their torture chamber....

The damage done by the decline of marriage
Barry MaleyDecember 8, 2001The Age

In the past generation, Australian family life and marriage have undergone a revolution that has...

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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