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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.

Reconnecting Compassion and Charity
Roger KerrJanuary 1, 1999OP67

Supporters of big government and the welfare state regularly accuse their opponents of lacking ‘compassion’....

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...

Rear Vision on Trade Policy: Wrong Way, Go Forward
Ron DuncanSeptember 25, 1998IA5

Pig farmers seeking to stop imports of pork into Australia are standing candidates in 15...

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...

Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value: Moving Toward, Or Away From, Wage Justice for Women?
Helen HughesJune 26, 1998IA2

Equal pay for equal work initiatives in the 1970s gave Australia a lead in closing...

Open for Business? Australian Interests and the OECD’s Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI)
Wolfgang KasperApril 17, 1998IA1

This first Issue Analysis deals with the OECD’s Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) which the...

Humankind and the infinite resource base
Marian L. TupyApril 2, 2026OP212

This paper examines the human ability to expand our resource base into infinity. Given human...

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...

There’s no such thing as a free healthcare system
August 27, 2011Sydney Morning Herald

Shelter, food and health are essentials. A rich people, Australians naturally recoil at hunger and...

Why bother?
August 26, 2011

Privatisation in New Zealand is a political swear-word. Its very mention is meant to invoke...

Covert methods to curb criticism
Alexander PhilipatosAugust 26, 2011

The government has found a rather creative way of limiting policy criticism. New changes to...

A poisoned chalice of EU power
Oliver Marc HartwichAugust 25, 2011Business Spectator

The much hyped meeting last week between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy would have made...

Who needs credit ratings? They should be optional
August 23, 2011Crikey

Banks and investors should thrive or die by the quality of their own assessments of...

America and Europe jump together
Oliver Marc HartwichAugust 19, 2011

Reading news from both sides of the North Atlantic, it looks as if America and...

“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 Senate Inquiry into Illegal Tobacco Crisis in Australia
Michael StutchburyJanuary 15, 2026
The federal government should pause increases in tobacco excise to weaken the profit of the...
Submission to Senate Education and Employment References Committee
Michael Wu October 22, 2025CIS

Despite good intentions, Australia’s Early Childhood Education and Care system has expanded well beyond its...

Submission to Productivity Commission’s Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation Interim Report
September 15, 2025

The Productivity Commission’s statement that careful emissions reduction policy design will enable gains in productivity...

Submission to Heritage NSW
Peter TulipJuly 18, 2025CIS

This submission argues that NSW’s heritage legislation has serious flaws. In particular, costs of listing...

Submission to Victorian Legislative Council Select Committee Inquiry
Peter TulipMay 5, 2025CIS

Victoria Planning Provisions Amendments VC257, VC267 and VC274: Submission to Victorian Legislative Council Select Committee...

Submission to the Inquiry into financial regulation and home ownership
Peter TulipOctober 15, 2024
Regulation of the financial system is needed to protect depositors and avoid financial crises. However,...
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