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• Economic Policy

CIS is guided by the philosophy of global free markets and individual responsibility. Our economic policy research centres on ideas for continuing reform that will strengthen Australia’s economic independence and prosperity, and challenge the over-reach of big government.

The Tax Wilderness – How to Restore the Rule of Law
Geoffrey de Quincey WalkerMarch 18, 2004PM60

The importance of Geoffrey Walker’s paper is that it shows the price we are paying...

Who pays the lion’s share of personal income tax?
Sinclair DavidsonMarch 1, 2004PM63

In the fourth in a series of short Policy Monographs which aims to consider various...

How Union Campaigns on Hours and Casuals are Threatening Low-skilled Jobs
Kayoko TsumoriJanuary 22, 2004IA44

For several years now Australian unions have been waging campaigns to limit working hours and...

Poor Laws (3) How to Reform the Award System and Create More Jobs
Kayoko TsumoriNovember 10, 2003IA41

Despite the hype about enterprise bargaining and the individualisation of employment arrangements since the early...

How To Reduce Long Term Unemployment
Peter SaundersSeptember 11, 2003IA40

More than half the people claiming unemployment allowances in Australia have been on benefits for...

In Defence of Secure Property Rights
Wolfgang KasperJune 3, 2003OP84

Secure private property rights are vital to the development of a growing, healthy Australian economy....

Why We Should Not Increase Capital Gains Tax
Robert CarlingMarch 11, 2026PP64
Debate about capital gains tax rarely occurs in isolation. It typically emerges during periods of...
10 CGT Myths Busted
Robert CarlingMarch 11, 2026IA155

The criticisms and characterisation of the 50% capital gains tax discount over many years have...

Growth that Builds: Beyond the immigration blame game 
Marian L. TupyMarch 5, 2026PP63
This paper argues that Australia’s housing crisis is primarily a supply failure, not simply a...
Reform of Heritage Legislation
Peter TulipFebruary 26, 2026PP62

Introduction Several states have recently overhauled their planning legislation. However, the flaws in their heritage...

Hours, Not Dollars: Rethinking the cost-of-living debate 
Marian L. TupyFebruary 23, 2026AP102

Executive Summary Public debate about the ‘cost-of-living crisis’ often confuses nominal price increases with declining...

Drowning in a Sea of Diagnoses. How medicalising distress is overwhelming Australia’s mental health system and failing those most in need
Steven SchwartzFebruary 12, 2026AP100

Executive Summary At the centre of Australia’s mental health system lies a paradox. Government...

This Millennial moved to regional Australia to own a home
Trisha JhaMarch 2, 2026AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

A brief glance at the past fortnight’s headlines is revealing. High-speed rail is connecting Sydney...

The RBA had no choice but to tighten the screws
Robert Carling, Michael StutchburyFebruary 6, 2026THE CANBERRA TIMES
The government has been rightly blamed for fuelling the inflation flames with too rapid growth...
The only things going up now are the prices
Robert CarlingFebruary 3, 2026DAILY TELEGRAPH
The decisions that made higher rates unavoidable were taken in Canberra. If inflation is the...
Economic exceptionalism is dead – and rate cuts died with it
Michael StutchburyJanuary 31, 2026AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Jim Chalmers doesn’t have a central bank governor to blame for his forward misguidance or...
Do we entrench our advantages or let them slip?
Michael StutchburyJanuary 23, 2026ABC RADIO NATIONAL
We’re not in danger of becoming a banana republic, like Paul Keating warned in 1986....
Black market lit up by backfiring ciggies tax
Michael StutchburyDecember 2, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Jacking up the price of a product usually ensures that less of it is sold....

“The 50% discount is unfair” and other CGT myths | Robert Carling & Michael Stutchbury
Robert Carling, Michael StutchburyMarch 11, 2026

The criticisms and characterization of the 50% capital gains tax discount over many years have...

The Case for Optimism: More People, More Ideas, More Wealth | Marian Tupy
Marian L. Tupy, Michael StutchburyMarch 6, 2026

Marian Tupy — editor of HumanProgress.org, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and co-author of...

Old buildings and the housing crisis with Peter Tulip
Peter TulipMarch 4, 2026

Peter Tulip explains how several states have recently overhauled their planning legislation. However, the flaws...

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...

Reflecting Back: John Howard and Alexander Downer on Power, Alliances and Australia
John Howard OM AC, Alexander DownerFebruary 6, 2026

Alexander Downer and former Prime Minister John Howard join author Tony Parkinson and CIS Executive...

‘NIMBYism is a cancer’: Bragg outlines housing policy vision with Peter Tulip & Michael Stutchbury
Andrew Bragg, Peter Tulip, Michael StutchburyDecember 12, 2025

Senator Andrew Bragg and economist Peter Tulip join Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging conversation on...

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 Financial System Inquiry Final Report
Patrick CarvalhoMay 3, 2015

Submission to the Financial System Inquiry Final Report      

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Submission to the Re:think Tax Discussion Paper
Robert CarlingMay 1, 2015The Centre for Independent Studies

This submission responds to the invitation for comments on the Re:think tax discussion paper released...

Submission to the National Commission of Audit
Alexander Philipatos, Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Jeremy Sammut, Robert Carling, Simon Cowan, Stephen Kirchner, Trisha JhaApril 1, 2014T30.08

The federal government’s Commission of Audit (CoA) was established in 2013 to review the performance...

Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012
Andrew BakerJanuary 25, 2013

Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill...

Submission to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee
Andrew BakerSeptember 10, 2012

Submission to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee

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