Become a Member Donate Now

• 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.

Dark Forces at Work? Sir Frank Lowy on the Return of Antisemitism | The Stutchbury Sessions
Michael StutchburyOctober 10, 2025Liberalism in Question

You can listen to The Stutchbury Sessions on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM or listen...

Drawing the Line: Moral Conflict and the Fragility of Liberal Tolerance
Peter KurtiOctober 9, 2025AP90
Liberal democracies face an unprecedented challenge: how to govern societies where citizens no longer disagree...
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...

Protests, Polarisation and Immigration | The Stutchbury Sessions
Michael StutchburySeptember 15, 2025

You can listen to The Stutchbury Sessions on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM or listen...

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...

The rule of law, excessive regulation and free speech
Paul TaylorSeptember 11, 2025AP88

Foreword In the day that the 2024 parliamentary session concluded, more than 30 bills were...

The Egalitarian Conceit: False and True Equalities
Kenneth MinogueSeptember 15, 1989OP25

In this CIS Occasional Paper, Professor Kenneth Minogue traces the roots of modern egalitarianism to...

The Ethics of Economic Freedom
Herbert GierschMarch 3, 1989OP24

An economic order is always based on a certian set of moral principles. This applies...

Endangered Freedom
Thomas SowellNovember 1, 1988OP22

In the fifth John Bonython Lecture, Thomas Sowell argues that public life in Western countries...

The Long Debate on Poverty
R.M. HartwellMay 10, 1988OP21

The Centre for Independent Studies Occasional Papers series provides an opportunity for authors to present...

Social Welfare: The Changing Debate
David GreenMay 5, 1988OP20

The Centre for Independent Studies Social Welfare Program has commissioned studies by qualified economists and...

The Enemies of Progress
Ralph HarrisJuly 4, 1986OP16

Why is it that politicians of all parties still shrink from giving enterprise, competition and...

A clumsy hand is no help: Governments are no good at social policy
Peter SaundersDecember 6, 2001The Australian

US founding father and third president Thomas Jefferson was right after all: “The government that...

Threshold issues for a tax system that creates jobs
Peter SaundersNovember 30, 2001The Australian Financial Review

An important debate is taking place in Australia about the future of welfare, taxation and...

Report card for schools
Jennifer Buckingham OAMNovember 30, 2001

For school funding fetishists who just happen to have eight or 10 hours to spare,...

What’s fair about defining disadvantage?
November 30, 2001Melbourne University Campus Review

Under draft policies, for the first time a ‘low SES’ classification would deliver significant benefits...

Why multicultural Australia is less welcome
Helen HughesNovember 29, 2001The Age

Now that the electorate has shown resounding support for a principled approach to asylum seekers,...

Set our unis free
November 21, 2001The Australian

It takes some imagination to describe Australia’s universities as showing ‘clear indications of market failure’,...

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....

No Podcasts Available

• Subscribe

Subscribe now and stay in the loop with our giving appeals, event alerts, newsletters and research updates.

We are always pleased to hear from you. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us here:

+61 2 9438 4377
CIS Office
cis@cis.org.au
CIS Media
kpincott@cis.org.au