Institute of Public Affairs

“We’re worse off in terms of GDP per person than we were 3 years ago.” More people but not more prosperity. That is the reality in Australia.

"The younger cohort are losing confidence in our democratic institutions". Expensive education, low starting wages, locked out of housing. And a system that's not responding at all. 📺 Daniel Wild on Paul Murray Live Sky News Australia: bit.ly/4cObORB

“Warnings were not matched with urgency.” The risks were known the signals were clear, but the response never came. Peter Jennings in @TheAustralian argues repeated intelligence warnings have not been met with the decisive policy action required to keep Australians safe. 📰 Read more: bit.ly/4er2e8v

“Their selective defence of freedom of speech has shown it’s all about self interest.” When corporate media power trumps principles, fewer people believe what they're being told. On the latest episode of The Mainstream podcast, Daniel Wild and John Roskam argue that mainstream journalists undermine public trust by applying double standards on scrutiny, and selectively defend free speech in ways that serve their own interests. 📺 Watch more here: bit.ly/4ncQf0Q

“Education should lift students up, not weigh them down.” Classrooms are defined more than ever by pressure and expectation. What teachers need is support, not more burdens. Colleen Harkin in Education Today argues that rising demands on schools are overwhelming teachers, meaning the focus is on anxiety instead of building confidence. 📰 Read more: bit.ly/4thrS3t

“The fuel crisis actually has been a really big negative for the solar and wind groups.” Reality is cutting through the narrative. Australia runs on diesel. Fossil fuels still matter. And policy decisions are leaving us exposed. 📺 Adam Creighton on the Power Hour Sky News Australia: bit.ly/4t8LmqG

“Fuel is the headline vulnerability we are facing.” Australia imports most of its fuel. Now we are taxing what little we produce. And calling it progress. Saxon Davidson in this IPA media release highlights how current policy settings are exposing Australia to serious fuel security risks. Read more here: bit.ly/4mZvK7r

“We’ve had more new migrants arrive since 2000 than in the previous 100 years combined”. Housing under strain, infrastructure stretched, social cohesion tested. When growth outpaces capacity the consequences are real. 📺 Daniel Wild on Credlin Sky News Australia: bit.ly/48BfzaC

“The scale of the intake compromises the nation’s ability to maintain the values which make the Australian way of life the envy of the world.” This is not about individuals. It is about whether the system can keep up. And whether Australia can sustain what made it strong. Australia’s overseas-born population has surged so rapidly since 2000 that it now exceeds the total increase from Federation to 2000, raising concerns about the nation’s ability to sustain living standards, infrastructure and social cohesion. Read more here: bit.ly/4w3Ynoi

“There’s a lot of tension… and a sea of red in the budget no matter what they do.” More taxes likely, cuts pushed into the future. And the fundamentals remain untouched. 📺 Daniel Wild on Credlin Sky News Australia: bit.ly/48BfzaC

“More migrants have come to Australia in the last 25 years than in the previous century." Record migration puts huge pressure on infrastructure, and social cohesion suffers. Plus this week, some much-needed progress on Australia's fuel security. 💻 For more: bit.ly/4tnLlQk

“The government really has never had any long term vision for how to fix the housing crisis.” 20 monthly targets. Every single one missed. The National Housing Accord is in tatters. 📺 Daniel Wild on The Rita Panahi Show this week: bit.ly/42Dlto5

“Stamp duty is...the worst tax on the statute books.” It punishes those who want to move, locks people into homes that no longer suit them, and makes housing less efficient. In other words, bad policy with real consequences. In this discussion, Adam Creighton and Tom Clougherty break down one of the most misunderstood parts of the tax system: capital gains tax and whether it should exist at all. 📺 More: bit.ly/4tJBwNl

“Critics underestimate children’s intelligence and over estimate the risk of discomfort.” Kids know the difference between fiction and real life. Not everything needs to be filtered through a modern political lens. Colleen Harkin quoted in @theheraldsun where Susie O'Brien argues that over analysing children’s books risks replacing imagination with unnecessary censorship. 📰 Read more here: bit.ly/4d5huGW

“80% of people still acknowledge the importance of our alliance with the United States.” Despite the pressure, Australians understand what matters. Security. Stability. Strong alliances. 📺 Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show: bit.ly/4cHpyMR

“The NDIS… remains a policy disaster of epic proportions, and threatens to corrupt the entire nation.” Falling productivity, rising costs, policy driven decline. Australians are feeling it. 📰 Adam Creighton in @TheAustralian argues that falling living standards are the direct result of government policy choices, not external shocks: bit.ly/4uh86Gd

“People are now seeing how it affects their lives in a way that it didn’t before.” Censorship is no longer theoretical. It is real, it is visible and people are noticing. On the latest episode of The Mainstream podcast, Daniel Wild and John Roskam continue their discussion of the significant changes which have taken place in Australia over the past generation, and what Australia might look like over the next twenty years. 📺 More: bit.ly/41T4DkW

“There’s been warnings about the unsustainability of the NDIS program for a long time.” Now it’s ballooning. Policy drift. No fiscal discipline. And no clear plan to fix it. 📺 Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show: bit.ly/4cHpyMR

“Labor could actually lose the federal election on those numbers.” Support is fragmenting. Voters are looking elsewhere. This election is far from settled. 📺 Adam Creighton on the The Rita Panahi Show: bit.ly/4cvBLFA

“Inheritance is a powerful force for good.” We are entering the largest transfer of wealth in history. The question is not whether it happens but whether we use it to build something that lasts. In the latest edition of the IPA Review, Cian Hussey argues that inheritance when guided by strong values and responsibility is essential to preserving family stability community strength and long term prosperity across generations. 📰 Read more: bit.ly/41SgzU4