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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.

Commercialising highways
Robert W. PooleNovember 20, 2000

Most people consider the modern auto-highway system a great success. In the United States, automobiles...

Trading Phobias: Governments, NGOs and Globalisation
Anne KruegerOctober 11, 2000The Australian Financial Review

  Almost any dispassionate analysis of the evolution of the world economy will find that...

Staying in the Dark on School Performance
Alison RichOctober 5, 2000The Sydney Morning Herald

There is a movement in Australian education for increased assessment and accountability. Assessment and reporting...

Trading Phobias: Governments, NGOs and Globalisation
October 3, 2000OP75

We live in an era of unprecedented material prosperity, and yet the post-war multilateral trading...

Setting the Record Straight: Free Trade and the WTO
David RobertsonSeptember 4, 2000IA15

By allowing social issues into the WTO agenda using tenuous links to trade policy, the...

Gambles with the Economic Constitution: The Reregulation of Labour in New Zealand
Wolfgang KasperAugust 29, 2000PM47

The proposed Employment Relations Bill will prove costly for New Zealand citizens and workers. This...

Wage-Price Control: Myth and Reality
Sudha R. Shenoy, Samuel Brittan, Michael R. Darby, Lee Eckermann, Malcolm Fisher, Milton Friedman, C. Jackson Grayson, Horst Mendershausen, Michael Parkin, Peter Samuel, Robert SchuettingerFebruary 1, 1978R1

The Centre for Independent Studies was set up with the object of providing a stream...

Tip from a friend: Australia’s economy is in a slow race to ruin
Michael StutchburyNovember 29, 2025THE AUSTRALIAN
Sometimes it takes outsiders to say the obvious but unwelcome things: high spending, low growth...
Why the war on wokeness is actually killing conservatives in Australia
Simon CowanNovember 29, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
Australian conservatives — however much they might be impressed by the way MAGA has fought...
Confessions of an Industrial Relations Club reporter
Michael StutchburyNovember 21, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
A half-century on from stagflation, outdated workplace rules and union monopolies remain the biggest barrier...
Australian money
Double the debt and half the fiscal clues
Robert CarlingNovember 21, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH
The Labor government’s early surpluses now look like a flash in the pan and the...
A good budget means setting some rules and adhering to them
Robert Carling, Simon CowanNovember 15, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
There is a long history of fiscal rules, but the overall record is patchy, with...
SUPER WARS
Productivity Commission piles in to Labor’s schizophrenic war on big business
Michael StutchburyNovember 7, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Industry Minister Tim Ayres rightly says that Australia is in competition for global capital as...

“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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