Institute of Public Affairs

Australians are proud of our national anthem. 🇦🇺 New IPA polling shows overwhelming support for Advance Australia Fair, with strong majorities saying it unites the nation and should remain a central part of Australian public life. We hit the streets to ask Australians what they think. Check out our polling here: bit.ly/4tRHMBQ

Australia has vast energy reserves. There should be no need to import nearly 80% of our oil. It's a sovereign risk we shouldn't need to take. It's the inevitable result of poor policies, anti-development activism, and governments that abandoned energy security for ideology.

“This idea that these tax changes are going to make housing affordable is absolute bunkum.” The government claims higher taxes on property investors will help young Australians buy homes. Yet Treasury’s own modelling predicts just 75,000 additional buyers over a decade, which will have next to no impact on the housing crisis. On this episode of the Australia's Future podcast series, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Daniel Wild discuss that, without more supply and lower migration-driven demand, these policies risk making affordability even worse. 📺 Watch now: bit.ly/4uYfxCh

“The plan won’t shift the ownership dial in any perceptible way, but it will undermine saving opportunities for the young.” The government says it wants to improve intergenerational equity. Yet increasing taxes on investment while ignoring the structural causes of housing affordability risks leaving young Australians worse off, not better. 📰 Adam Creighton writes in @TheAustralian: bit.ly/4wPcxKu

“Young Australians aren’t dumb. They know when they’re being misled.” More migration, more spending, more debt. And no serious plan to improve affordability, productivity, or long-term prosperity. 📺 Daniel Wild on The Rita Panahi Show: bit.ly/4v0YyiD

"Children's mental health must never be sacrificed to political agendas." Children are being told the world is in crisis, and are then being asked to fix it. New IPA research reveals how climate anxiety programs are abandoning established clinical standards, and risking greater psychological distress for vulnerable children. 🆕 Download the report here: bit.ly/4wK4azF

"The government's own words show these reforms are going to make next to no difference to home ownership in Australia." After months of promises about a 'big reform budget', all we're left with is higher taxes, more political theatre, and virtually no improvement in housing affordability. On the latest episode of The Mainstream, Daniel Wild and IPA Director of Research Morgan Begg discuss how if the goal is to help young Australians buy a home, why is the government's own modelling so underwhelming? 📺 Watch more: bit.ly/4tnLlQk

“Victoria is not just a basket case in its own right. It's a basket case that’s going to drag down the national economy.” Other states making better economic decisions are subsidising Victoria’s failures through the GST system. Literally every Australian taxpayer is paying the price. 📺 Daniel Wild discusses on Credlin Sky News Australia: bit.ly/4fuxmEs

What are the most important ideas discussed on recent IPA podcasts? We’ve pulled together the Top 5 moments covering the issues which matter most to Australians. Which do you agree with the most? 📺 Watch now

"More than three quarters of Australians want to keep our national anthem." While Canberra focuses on tax hikes and housing policies that divide generations, new IPA research shows Australians still value the traditions and institutions that unite us as a nation. This week's biggest stories in Australia, explained in under a minute.

“China’s values, at least while the CCP is in charge, are very, very different from ours.” Foreign policy based on hope rather than strategic reality is a dangerous mistake. The West must approach China with clarity, strength, and realism. 📺 On this episode of the Australia's Future podcast series, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Daniel Wild discuss how Australia and the West cannot afford to misunderstand the strategic reality of the Chinese Communist Party: bit.ly/4uYfxCh

“With courage let us all combine.” At a time when Australia is being pushed towards division, the enduring message of Advance Australia Fair still matters. The IPA’s latest research essay, In History’s Page: An anthem to unite Australians, explores why our national anthem continues to resonate so strongly with Australians today. 🇦🇺 ⬇️ Download your copy now: bit.ly/49cTHmj

77% of Australians want to KEEP our national anthem. 🇦🇺 At a time when so many institutions are trying to divide Australians, Advance Australia Fair still unites us. An IPA-commissioned national poll found strong support for Australia’s national anthem, with a majority of Australians believing it should be retained, helps unite the nation, and should play a central role in schools and sporting events. Read more on our poll here: bit.ly/4tRHMBQ

“Teaching boys respect is very different from telling them they are inherently toxic.” Parents want schools to teach responsibility, humility, courage, and self-control. Instead, boys are being told that masculinity itself is a problem. 📺 Bella d’Abrera on The Jaimee Rogers Show Sky News Australia: bit.ly/4udkDL0

The numbers don’t lie. Australia has abundant energy resources, but years of anti-fossil fuel policy have driven supply offshore. All Australians and the industry sector are paying for it with higher prices and weakened energy security. It’s time to put affordable and reliable energy first.

“Protecting children’s wellbeing requires restoring both educational integrity and clinical standards.” The IPA’s latest report examines how climate anxiety is being treated in schools and clinical settings while raising serious concerns about approaches that may be reinforcing distress rather than alleviating it. Children deserve evidence-based support, not fear-based activism. 🆕 Read the full report here: bit.ly/4unlAjS

“It all feels like monopoly money at the moment.” Billions in spending, trillion-dollar debt, stagnant economic growth. Australians are paying the price through higher taxes and lower living standards. 📺 Daniel Wild discusses on Credlin Sky News Australia: bit.ly/495bADA

“Mainstream Australians have already rejected the Voice to Parliament and believe all Australians are equal.” The federal budget has quietly dropped the government’s once central “voice, treaty, truth” agenda. After Australians overwhelmingly voted No in 2023, the Albanese government appears to be walking back a divisive project that sought to divide Australians by race. Margaret Chambers writes that while Canberra may be retreating, several states are still pressing ahead with treaty and Voice-style initiatives despite the referendum result. Read more: bit.ly/4eIXueD

“We already have a problem with innovation and productivity in Australia. This is going to make that far worse.” The government says it wants growth and opportunity, but its tax changes will hit startups, small business owners, and the next generation of Australian enterprise hardest. Higher taxes are not a productivity strategy. 📺 Adam Creighton on Sharri Sky News: bit.ly/4dPEYAg

“Far from improving intergenerational equity, the budget has made housing an even more lucrative tax shelter.” Young Australians already locked out of housing are now being hit with higher taxes on investment and enterprise while existing wealth is protected. Adam Creighton writes in @TheAustralian on how the federal budget entrenches privilege and discourages aspiration. 📰 Read more: bit.ly/4dl1OOM