Institute of Public Affairs

"Everybody wants house prices to fall until you've got one." Housing is a balancing act. 📺 Colleen Harkin on the Rita Panahi Show says sharp price falls might sound appealing, but weak consumer confidence and policy uncertainty can create bigger economic problems for homeowners and the broader economy: bit.ly/4w5V1AF

"Official data only exposes the tip of the iceberg. The entire system needs to be overturned". If Australia really is focused on skilled migration, why do critical workforce shortages persist? Dr Kevin You argues the current migration program is failing to deliver the highly skilled workers Australia actually needs. A complete rethink of the migration system is well overdue. 📰 Read more: bit.ly/4vplZlB

"We've got the highest inflation rate in the developed world for core inflation." While politicians celebrate headline figures, Australians continue to pay the real and painful cost. Adam Creighton on Sharri breaks down why weak wages, persistent inflation and slowing growth mean the cost-of-living crisis is far from over, and why consumer confidence remains near record lows. 📺 Watch the full interview here: bit.ly/3R9Pzh3

54% of Australians no longer recognise the country they grew up in. That should concern all of us. The values, institutions and national identity that shaped this country are worth protecting and restoring for future generations.

“Imagine what $12 million could fund rather than changing the name on the front gate.” Scholarships. Indigenous education programs. Regional outreach. Clare Rowe on Credlin says universities should focus on educating students for the future, not spending millions trying to rename the past. 📺 Watch more: bit.ly/4gpSkFf

"The danger is that the royal commission will end up treating antisemitism as a content moderation problem." Social media can amplify hatred, but it didn't create it. Sinclair Davidson argues that if the focus remains on algorithms and platform moderation, we'll ignore the deeper failure of the institutions that once helped build social cohesion and shared civic values. 📰 Read more: bit.ly/4wdnQLq

“We used to have the cheapest energy in the world. We used to have one of the highest standards of living in the world.” Australians are facing falling living standards and an extraordinary cost-of-living burden. Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show says frustration is growing because Australians know the country can do better and are increasingly demanding change. 📺 Watch more: bit.ly/3T9m13z

Australians are speaking up, and the message is impossible to ignore. Rising housing costs. Cost of living pressures. Infrastructure struggling to keep up. More Australians now question if the government's migration program is delivering what it promised. Swipe through to see the reaction to the latest immigration statistics.

"The official data reveals what Australians have long suspected: the government's migration program is a complete rort." The numbers don't match the rhetoric. New IPA research has found that in 2025, only 46% of visas granted under the so-called skilled migration program went to migrants who satisfied Home Affairs' skills requirements. The majority were family members and other dependants. Read our full research: bit.ly/3SOm05c

“This is not where we should be. We shouldn’t have these statistics, and we really need to change things drastically.” Australians are getting poorer as inflation erodes wages and GDP per capita falls. Adam Creighton on Sharri Sky News Australia explains why mass migration, government deficits and endless spending are contributing to Australia’s declining living standards. 📺 Watch more: bit.ly/4phkC7m

“You work hard, you save up, you buy a home, and you hope or know that your children are going to have a better life than you are.” That was the promise of the Australian dream. Clare Rowe on Credlin says declining living standards are eroding the social contract Australians once took for granted—and with it, hope for the next generation. 📺 Watch more: bit.ly/4gpSkFf

“It’s a good reminder that we need to be constantly defending our national symbols.” 🇦🇺 Our national symbols help unite Australians across generations. If we become complacent, we risk losing the traditions and institutions that have shaped our country.

"Albanese's mistake wasn't that he acknowledged attraction. It was that he forgot the office he occupies." The Prime Minister's podcast appearance deserved scrutiny. But does the backlash also reveal a broader cultural double standard in how men and women are judged for saying similar things? 📰 Read Clare Rowe's latest article from @FinancialReview:bit.ly/4eYY3Rl

“What they want is to control the parameters of public debate.” From anti-racism strategies to misinformation laws and digital duty of care proposals, In this episode of The Mainstream Morgan Begg and Saxon Davidson warn of a growing suite of laws could restrict legitimate political debate in Australia. Freedom of speech means protecting the right to express views the government disagrees with. 📺 Watch more now: bit.ly/4vvl438

Australia is in the middle of a housing and infrastructure crisis, yet the equivalent of more than two full passenger planes of migrants who stay in Australia are arriving every day. Mass migration is putting further pressure on housing, roads and essential services. It is time to restore balance to Australia’s migration program.

“When you look at the whole programme, only one-third of those 180,000 people are actually skilled.” Australians are constantly told mass migration is necessary to fill critical skills shortages. But the reality of the so-called skilled migration programme tells a very different story. 📺 Adam Creighton on Sharri Sky News Australia explains why the system is a farce and in desperate need of a major overhaul: bit.ly/4phkC7m

“The average Australian has no understanding about how those numbers are being manipulated—and it is genuinely a con.” Australians are told mass migration is necessary to fill critical skills shortages. But Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show says the reality of the so-called skilled migration programme is very different from what Australians have been led to believe. 📺 Watch more: bit.ly/3T9m13z

“These changes represent a doubling down on an approach that’s really failing.” On the Jaimee Rogers Show this week, Dr Andrew Bushnell warns that the government’s response to its failing social media ban - handing even more power to the eSafety Commissioner - may have serious consequences for our freedom of speech online. 📺 Watch the full interview here: bit.ly/4vPbtoH

“Voters will take risks on political outsiders when they feel that the traditional system is not delivering anymore.” When hard work no longer delivers a better life, disillusionment grows. 📺 Clare Rowe on Credlin on explains why declining living standards and a political system that has abandoned aspiration are driving Australians to look for change: bit.ly/4gpSkFf

“We don’t improve education by asking teachers to become psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers and behaviour specialists all at once.” Supporting children with autism and ADHD matters. But so does ensuring teachers have the time and capacity to teach. 📰 Clare Rowe in the Courier Mail argues good intentions are not enough if inclusion policies cannot work in real classrooms: bit.ly/4aHCt10