Lobbying
The issues Anyone is free to lobby their local member, the parliament or even the Prime Minister. Lobbyists and activists alike operate to influence. They may be urging the government …
Schooling
The issues Most young Australians receive a good education and perform above the OECD average for mathematics, reading and science. However, performance has declined at all levels of achievement compared …
Climate protesters criminalised
Governments across Australia have criminalised people who are peacefully protesting by proliferating a worrying number of anti-protest laws. Over the past two decades, 49 laws affecting protest have been introduced …
Let’s have truth in political advertising
The issues | We are now in an era of post-truth, an age of disinformation. Political advertising campaigns should be presented in an objective, fair and accessible manner and justified …
Housing security
The issues | The fact that one of the least populated countries on Earth contains the world’s second most expensive housing is a national calamity, and a stunning failure of …
Reducing gambling harm
The issues Australians bet a staggering $244.3 billion in 2022-23 on legal forms of gambling and lost around A$25 billion that year, representing the largest per person losses in the world. Gambling has grown …
Australia needs a climate plan
Human-caused global warming is already irreversible on the timescale of people alive today and will worsen in decades to come (NASA). The world must change its approach to energy, recognise the limits to endless growth, …
Political party financing
The issues Without spending caps, our election debates are dominated by those with the biggest bank balance, not those with the best ideas. Alice Drury, Human Rights Law Centre There …
Whistleblower and journalist protection
The issues “Australia is now 39th in Reporters Sans Frontiers’ World Press Freedom Index, a staggering decline of 20 places since 2018. This reflects a fact acknowledged by both the …
Phase out coal, cut oil and gas
Australia and other major producers are together set to increase the size of the fossil fuel industry to about twice what would be consistent with their pledge to try to …