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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 Freedom Trap: The Chains of Choice | Priyan Max Jeganathan
Robert ForsythJune 25, 2025

“Freedom or death!” The rallying cry of revolutions, constitutions, and rights movements shaped the modern...

Grounded Liberty: Liberalism’s Moral Roots | Michael Bird
Robert ForsythJune 18, 2025

Robert Forsyth interviews Dr. Michael Bird, who reflects on the relationship between liberalism and Christianity....

The science of learning will set students free | Glenn Fahey
Robert Forsyth, Glenn FaheyJune 13, 2025

Robert Forsyth interviews Glenn Fahey, director of the education program at the Centre for Independent...

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...

The ties that bind. Reconciling value pluralism and national identity
Peter KurtiJune 12, 2025AP81

Executive summary Australia’s multicultural democracy is under increasing pressure, not only from economic uncertainty but...

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...
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...

The Annual Acton Lecture on Religion & Freedom: Q&A
August 5, 2011
The Annual Acton Lecture on Religion & Freedom
August 4, 2011
Q&A – Big Ideas Forum – You Can’t Say That: Freedom of Speech & the Invisible Muzzle
August 4, 2011
Dr Oliver Marc Hartwich and Dr Václav Klaus on the Czech President’s 3rd visit to Australia
July 27, 2011
Matt Ridley: The Rational Optimist book talk (with Q&A)
June 18, 2011
Q&A – Peter Saunders – Debunking the equality myth: A critique of ‘The Spirit Level’
June 15, 2011
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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