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• Free Speech

Freedom of speech is a crucial principle of a liberal democracy that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction.

Folau free speech debate: both sides need to show tolerance
Simon Cowan, Monica WilkieApril 21, 2019CANBERRA TIMES

It will be deeply ironic if rugby union star Israel Folau is fired for condemning...

Left must stop crucifying voices of dissent
Peter KurtiApril 18, 2019The Daily Telegraph

Easter is the perfect time for protest and dissent. It’s when Christians celebrate the resurrection...

Israel Folau and the tyranny of tolerance
Peter KurtiApril 18, 2019SPECTATOR FLAT WHITE

Rugby Australia’s attempt to remove Israel Folau from the game is now being presented as...

It’s your life you’ve got to figure out how to live it.
Dave Rubin, Monica Wilkie, Tom SwitzerMarch 5, 2019

Dave Rubin of the Rubin Report sat down with CIS Policy Analyst Monica Wilkie to...

Individualism and the paradox of affirmative action
Daniel Hannan, Nick Cater, Tom SwitzerNovember 1, 2018

All across the western world, the progressive left is placing great stress on race, gender,...

The Manchurian Campus? Threats to Free Speech in Higher Education
Tom Switzer, Rob StokesOctober 22, 2018

Amidst the debate about Chinese influence in Australia, former NSW Minister for Education, the Hon....

University Freedom Charters: How best to protect free speech on Australian campuses
Jeremy SammutOctober 7, 2018PP10

This POLICY Paper recommends how and why a ‘university freedom charters’ policy that is backed...

Conflict vs Mistake: Academic cultures and explanatory conflict
Claire LehmannSeptember 11, 2018OP167

The 2018 Helen Hughes Lecture explains why and how universities are fuelling the corrosive identity...

Let Money Speak
Simon CowanApril 25, 2018PP2

The government’s proposal to ban foreign donations and limit political contributions from charities is a...

What’s happened to the University?
Frank Furedi, Marguerite Johnson, Steven SchwartzFebruary 5, 2018OP163

Trigger warnings, cultural appropriation and safe spaces. Who decided to bestow guardian status to Australian...

Liberty and Surveillance: What should governments and private corporations know about you?
Tom SimpsonJanuary 30, 2018OP162

Whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA hacked the internet as a key part of...

The Limits of Australian Anti-discrimination Law
Helen AndrewsAugust 3, 2016Research Report 17

Anti-discrimination law has existed in Australia for only fifty years, and yet in that comparatively...

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...
Hanson’s burqa antics dodges hard questions on multiculturalism
Peter KurtiNovember 27, 2025AFR

Eight years after her first burqa stunt, Pauline Hanson pulled it out of the wardrobe...

Tolerance ends where darkest hatred begins
Peter KurtiNovember 12, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Tolerance is often treated as an unqualified virtue. But even virtues have limits. When men...

Lattouf judgment evidence of an ABC that has badly lost its way
Tom SwitzerJune 26, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

The Federal Court’s judgment in favour of journalist Antoinette Lattouf represents not just humiliation for...

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...

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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...

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