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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.

Threshold issues for a tax system that creates jobs
Peter SaundersNovember 30, 2001The Australian Financial Review

An important debate is taking place in Australia about the future of welfare, taxation and...

A tax credit system should be the basis for funding education
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 20, 2001The Australian Financial Review

There is not much for parents or schools to get excited about in the education...

Modern perils in a lucky country
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 31, 2001The Daily Telegraph

What is the state of our nation? For the most part, Australians are better off...

Equity and the costs of learning
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 31, 2001The Daily Telegraph

Once again the knives have come out over school funding. But what is the real...

Taxing the family : Australia’s forgotten people in the income spectrum
Lucy SullivanAugust 22, 2001PM50

Over the last two decades, the tax burden has shifted from taxpayers without to taxpayers...

Knowledge is a costly affair
July 3, 2001The Australian Financial Review

The Knowledge Nation Taskforce’s comprehensive agenda for upskilling Australia was widely welcomed yesterday. But the...

Future No Longer Made in Australia: How we lost our low-cost electricity advantage
Zoe Hilton, Michael StutchburyDecember 18, 2025IA154
Trouble has been brewing in Australia’s smelting paradise over the last two decades, as rising...
Politics of Pressure: how government intervention left us short of gas
Grahame CampbellDecember 4, 2025AP96

Introduction Australia’s natural gas sector has transformed dramatically between 1975 and 2025. What began...

Taxing Tobacco into Illegality: how split responsibilities and high excise created Australia’s tobacco wars
Sinclair DavidsonNovember 27, 2025AP95

Executive Summary Australia’s tobacco control policy has reached a breaking point. For decades, bans on...

Childcare in Australia: A new approach
Gigi FosterNovember 20, 2025RR51

Executive summary Several well-known bodies, from the Productivity Commission to the Australian Competition and Consumer...

Keeping Budgets on the Rails: Rules for Fiscal Responsibility
Robert CarlingNovember 13, 2025AP94

Executive Summary Fiscal rules are numerical limits to one or more of government spending, revenue,...

The Unworkable Solution: An Economic Assessment of a Cashflow Tax for Australia
Sinclair DavidsonNovember 6, 2025AP93

Executive Summary Australia faces persistent economic challenges. Productivity growth has slowed, business investment is uneven,...

The mental health system may be making us sicker
Steven SchwartzApril 6, 2026CANBERRA TIMES

Australia has a mental health crisis, but not the one we think. Despite decades of...

Housing negative gearing tax
Reducing the discount would likely not have any lasting impact in lowering house prices
Robert Carling, Michael StutchburyMarch 21, 2026CANBERRA TIMES

Anyone watching the smoke signals from Canberra knows that moves are afoot to try and...

Alarm bells ringing on more interest rate pain
Michael StutchburyMarch 18, 2026DAILY TELEGRAPH
Australians were losing faith that the combination of Labor’s economic policies and the RBA monetary...
Labor’s capital gains tax myths need busting
Robert CarlingMarch 11, 2026DAILY TELEGRAPH

Labor has long held an axe over the capital gains tax 50% discount and negative...

Measuring affordability in time, not dollars paints a different inflation picture
Marian L. TupyMarch 9, 2026CANBERRA TIMES

Even before new Middle East conflict sparked concern about petrol prices, Australia’s latest CPI release...

Blame diagnostic inflation for the NDIS’ $10b Autism bill
Steven SchwartzMarch 5, 2026AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

As recently reported in The Australian Financial Review, autism costs the National Disability Insurance Scheme...

Decoding Science: Navigating Imperfections, Truths, and Challenges in COVID
Matt Ridley, Peter KurtiDecember 14, 2023

CIS welcomed Matt Ridley for a thought-provoking discussion on the critical role of Government in...

bracket creep, emilie dye, tax, hidden tax, bracket, tax bracket
Bracket Creep Explained: The hidden tax cutting into your earnings
Emilie Dye, Randall EvansDecember 12, 2023

Bracket Creep Explained: The hidden tax cutting into your earnings. Bracket creep chips away at...

Free to Grow: Unlocking Economic Prosperity
Professor John H. Cochrane, Gene TunnyNovember 29, 2023

On Tuesday, 26 September CIS hosted a special evening featuring Professor John Cochrane for a...

If everything was working out for everyone it would be a Miracle! Marian Tupy | Fraser Nelson
Fraser Nelson, Marian Tupy, Tom SwitzerNovember 10, 2023

This special event featured Marian Tupy and Fraser Nelson in a thought-provoking conversation, led by...

The New Superannuation Tax Targets Your Savings
Robert CarlingJuly 30, 2023
Complex tax changes always have unintended consequences, but in this case it is difficult to...
A million extra homes won’t fix housing affordability!
Maya KuranaJuly 23, 2023
The budget's announcement of one million houses over the next five years will do very...
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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