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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.

Playing with Fire: Churches, Welfare Services and Government Contracts
Samuel GreggAugust 14, 2000IA14

Striking a balance between state funding and religious autonomy is the latest challenge for church-based...

The Truth about Private Schools in Australia
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 1, 2000IA13

Private schools in Australia consistently outperform public schools not due to better financial resources or...

Degrees of Difficulty: The Labour Market Problems of Arts and Social Science Graduates
Andrew NortonJuly 19, 2000IA12

That the Australian higher education system is comprehensively rigged against students is evident from the...

Trailing the Class: Sole Parent Families and Educational Disadvantage
Alison RichJune 26, 2000IA11

The association between family structure and educational performance has been the focus of much research...

Boy Troubles: Understanding Rising Suicide, Rising Crime and Educational Failure
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJune 14, 2000PM46

Australian boys are at greater risk of doing badly at school, participating in juvenile crime,...

The Moral Foundations of Freedom: Lessons from the Religious Encounter with Democracy
George WeigelMay 30, 2000OP76

What happens when a society loses it moral capital? Can democracy thrive in a value-neutral...

Religious tests a red line we shouldn’t cross
Peter KurtiJanuary 29, 2026DAILY TELEGRAPH
Morrison deserves credit for insisting accusations of Islamophobia must not shut down necessary debate. But...
It’s judgment day: time for unis to kick politics off campus
Steven SchwartzJanuary 29, 2026THE AUSTRALIAN
The problem is not academic freedom itself. The problem is that universities have forgotten what...
Fear after Bondi is putting free speech on trial
Peter KurtiJanuary 14, 2026AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Instead of rushing to add new laws to an already swollen statute book, we should...
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 —...
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...
Australia’s complacency and the Bondi beach shooting
Peter KurtiDecember 15, 2025WALL STREET JOURNAL
Whether Australia responds to the murders at Bondi with clarity or caution will reveal not...
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...

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...

The future does not belong to the axis of autocracy: Andrew Neil on a World in Disorder!
Andrew Neil, Michael StutchburyDecember 1, 2025

Veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil joins CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury for a conversation about the...

Rebuilding the Open Society | Roger Partridge
Robert ForsythNovember 19, 2025

In this episode of Liberalism in Question, we dive into Roger Partridge’s provocative Quillette essay,...

Dave Rubin and Andrew Neil debate Trump, Free Speech, Conservatism & Net Zero!
Dave Rubin, Andrew Neil, Michael StutchburyNovember 13, 2025

Broadcaster Andrew Neil and commentator Dave Rubin ‪@RubinReport‬ join Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging conversation...

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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