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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 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...

Free to Shop
Geoff HogbinMay 18, 1983PM 4

Shopping hours and standards in Australia are far behind those of other countries. The trend...

The Christian and the State
Geoffrey BrennanApril 1, 1983OP7

What should be the nature of social and political action which flows from Christian commitment?...

The Politics of Multiculturalism
Raymond SestitoJune 4, 1982PM3

People of other than Anglo-Saxon origin are actively encouraged by the state to preserve their...

Liberty, Justice and the Market
Lauchlan ChipmanSeptember 26, 1981OP6

Professor Chipman challenges some views which have become orthodox in academic and intellectual circles and...

The Profit Motive
Antony FlewSeptember 26, 1980OP3

This paper is published as a contribution to the debate on economic and social issues...

Social Justice, Socialism and Democracy: Three Australian Lectures
F.A. HayekJanuary 5, 1979OP2

“The term “social justice” is today generally used as a synonym of what used to...

Talking Trash: When Standards are set by the Underclass
Charles MurrayMay 23, 2001The Sydney Morning Herald

Many elites in the United States are disavowing what is best in our culture and...

Time to fit the crime
Barry MaleyFebruary 2, 2001The Courier Mail

The first duty of government is to protect the citizen’s person and property, and to...

Children Missing in the Young Country
Barry MaleyJanuary 9, 2001The Courier Mail

To keep the level of Australia’s population steady, without immigration, an average of 2.1 births...

Democracy’s Dark Shadow
George WeigelOctober 24, 2000The Australian Financial Review

The collapse of communist regimes in east central Europe in the revolution of 1989, followed...

Spending More on Healthcare is Good For You
Steven SchwartzOctober 19, 2000The Australian

Australian healthcare spending has increased in real terms every year since Medicare was introduced. Rationing,...

Why Learning is a Hard Haul Without a Dad
Alison RichJuly 15, 2000The Age

Research over the last few years has shown that, on average, children from sole parent...

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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