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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.

Working Youth: Tackling Australian Youth Unemployment
Helen HughesMay 1, 1996PM34

Youth unemployment is a major social and economic problem. The official statistics put youth unemployment...

Free to Work. The liberalisation of New Zealand’s labour market
Wolfgang KasperJanuary 1, 1996PM32

In 1902 New Zealand’s first Minister of Labour, Pember Reeves, described the Australasian states as...

The Social Roots of Prosperity
Brigette BergerAugust 30, 1995OP55

It is a great honour to have been invited to give the 1995 John Bonython...

Buy Australian? Myths and realities
Terry BlackFebruary 1, 1995PM30

Rarely has the one-sided view presented in the popular media that buying Australian is good...

Failure, Chaos and Leadership: Ingredients of Democratic Reform
Kenneth BaxterAugust 1, 1994OP49

In this Occasional Paper, delivered as a Bert Kelly Lecture in June 1994, Kenneth P....

The Market for Employment
Gerald GarveyMay 1, 1994PM27

Australia’s labour market remains highly regulated. In most economic relationships, the parties are free to...

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...

Pacific anxiety: Should we worry about China?
Hugh MorrisonAugust 17, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

China’s increasing aid and infrastructure projects in the Pacific have stirred considerable media attention. But...

Guessing growth is not the answer
Eugenie JosephAugust 10, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

This week, Australia’s population clock ticked over to 25 million: a moment of celebration for...

5 facts on school funding
Blaise JosephAugust 10, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

“Facts complicate things. All the press, the people, and their leaders want to know is:...

ILC poor land management model
Charles JacobsAugust 10, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

The recent controversy surrounding the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) in Cape York is emblematic of...

Guessing game population predictions are not good government
Eugenie JosephAugust 7, 2018The Spectator Australia

Australia’s population clock will tick over to 25 million today — more than 20 years...

Global tenet (barely) keeping world on its best behaviour
Tom SwitzerJuly 31, 2018The Australian

How often do you hear about the “rules-based international order”? It just rolls off the...

“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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