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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.

Children’s rights. Where the law is heading and what it means for families
Barry MaleyJanuary 1, 1999PM43

Children’s rights have become an important topic of public policy and one of particular interest...

The Road Not Taken- Hayek’s Slippery Slope to Serfdom
Neil McInnesNovember 1, 1998OP65

In 1944 Friedrich Hayek published The Road to Serfdom, a warning against the totalitarian dangers...

Freedom of Speech in the Constitution
Nicholas AroneyOctober 13, 1998PM40

In recent years, the decisions and methods of the High Court of Australia have been...

The Modern Mask of Socialism
Antonio MartinoOctober 1, 1998OP66

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, many...

The Last Refuge: Hard and Soft Hansonism in Contemporary Australian Politics
Chandran KukathasSeptember 21, 1998IA4

The arrival of Pauline Hanson's One Nation on the Australian political scene has been the...

Tax Injustice: Keeping the Family Cap-in-Hand
Lucy SullivanJuly 10, 1998IA3

There is a growing awareness of financial pressure on the family, together with anomalies in...

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...
Under-16 Social Media Ban: Protecting Youth or Controlling Speech?
Peter KurtiOctober 17, 2025

Peter Kurti from the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) exposes the hidden threats behind Australia’s...

Mark Leach on the Erosion of Australian Values Copy
Robert ForsythSeptember 9, 2025
In this episode of Liberalism in Question, host Robert Forsyth engages in a thought-provoking discussion...
Democracy’s Silent Guardian: Education | Trisha Jha
Robert Forsyth, Trisha JhaAugust 20, 2025

In this episode, Rob sits down with Trisha Jha, a policy analyst at the Centre...

The Alarming Rise in Government Spending | Robert Carling
Robert CarlingAugust 13, 2025

In this episode of Liberalism in Question from the Centre for Independent Studies, economist Robert...

National Identity vs Moral Diversity: Can Australia Hold Together? | Peter Kurti & Jude Blik
Peter Kurti, Jude BlikJuly 24, 2025

When Peter Kurti published “The Ties That Bind: Reconciling Value Pluralism and National Identity in...

The Journalist, the Jew and an Argument About Identity | Tim Franks
Tom SwitzerJuly 9, 2025

Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, Israel’s war in Gaza and escalating regional tensions...

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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