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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.

Big spending, poor results
Stephen KirchnerDecember 16, 2009The Australian

Treasury Secretary Ken Henry observed in a recent speech to the Whitlam Institute that the...

Hostility to aspiration and the tall poppy syndrome hold New Zealand back
Luke MalpassDecember 13, 2009The Sunday Star Times

In last week’s Sunday Star Times, Rod Oram wrote a remarkable column slating the 2025...

Greek tragedy for the world economy
Oliver Marc HartwichDecember 11, 2009

Just when many thought the global financial crisis was over, it re-emerges with a bang....

Property bias
Oliver Marc HartwichDecember 4, 2009The Australian

Spare a thought for savers and tenants Whenever the Reserve Bank of Australia lifts interest...

Like the Curate’s Egg: A Market-based Response and Alternative to the Bennett Report
Jeremy SammutNovember 26, 2009PM104

The final report of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission (NHHRC or the Commission),...

Let internet replace journals
Oliver Marc HartwichNovember 25, 2009The Australian

He who pays the piper usually also gets to hear the tune. Not so when...

Gorillas In The Mist. How government obscures its spending
Gene TunnyNovember 21, 2024PP59

Executive Summary Government overreach: The federal government’s planned $78 billion of off-budget measures over the...

Land Use Restrictions and the Australian Housing Policy Debate
Peter TulipOctober 15, 2024FABIAN SOCIETY
Planning restrictions are a major reason why housing in Australia is so expensive. For example,...
scales
Government spending and inflation
Robert CarlingSeptember 4, 2024PP58
That government expenditure in Australia has grown apace in recent years is well-known. The growth...
Business Means Business. Why Corporates Should Avoid Social Activism
Simon Cowan, Emilie DyeJuly 18, 2024AP72
Senior management should be concerned they are putting their companies at risk of reputational harm...
scales
Budget Fails Important Policy Tests
Robert Carling, Gene TunnyMay 28, 2024IA150
The deficit budgeted for 2024-25, amounting to over $28 billion ($28,000 million), translates to a...
closing the gap
From Measuring to Merely Meeting: Productivity Commission misses mark on Closing the Gap
Nyunggai Warren Mundine AOMay 16, 2024PP57
Why, despite decades of expenditure on Aboriginal affairs, do solutions to ‘Closing the Gap’ in...
Subsidies, safety nets and stagnation: Australia’s new economic model
Michael StutchburyApril 11, 2026AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Protecting one industry imposes a burden on the competitive sectors that actually prop up our...
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...

“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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