Text taken from souvenir booklet published to commemorate the Centre's 25th anniversary celebrations in 2001.

This year CIS turns 25. In that time it has moved from Greg Lindsay's backyard shed to less rustic premises in St Leonards; from photocopied conference papers to a publishing programme including the quarterly journal Policy and about ten other publications a year; from occasional conferences to regular seminars, Bert Kelly Lectures, the annual John Bonython and Acton Lectures, and the premier public policy conference Consilium; and from obscurity to an established place in Australia's intellectual and political life as a leading independent think tank with a formidable international reputation.

"The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else."
John Maynard Keynes, General Theory

From backyard beginnings...

The shed where it all began
Most backyard sheds contain lawnmowers and the odd spider, not the seeds of Australasia's leading think tank on public policy. Yet from these humble beginnings, The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) has developed into an organisation at the forefront of social and economic debate.

Founded in 1976 by Greg Lindsay, a young schoolteacher with an interest in classical liberal ideas, CIS was established in a period marked by much social and political discontent. The turmoil and controversy of the Whitlam years had given way to disappointment and stagnation under the Fraser government, yet the notion that governments were the solution to any problem prevailed, particularly in the media.

Influenced by libertarian thinkers such as Murray Rothbard, Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman as well as classical liberal philosophers such as Adam Smith, David Hume and John Locke, Greg Lindsay realised that he was facing an intellectual problem, not a political problem. In particular, Hayek's famous essay, 'The Intellectuals and Socialism', helped to crystallise some thoughts on the role of ideas in politics that he had had for some time.

In April 1976, he wrote to Lauchlan Chipman, then a Professor of Philosophy at Wollongong University, to request a meeting to discuss his plans to form a centre 'to promote the study of liberty'. Things moved quickly. By October of that year, Chipman had delivered a paper entitled Liberty, Justice and the Market at the Centre's inaugural seminar, held at Macquarie University. The CIS was up and running.

...to respected research institute or 'think tank'

A conference on the role of government in 1978 proved to be a turning point for the fledgling think tank. The theme for the weekend meeting was 'What Price Intervention? Government and the economy'. Participants included economists such as Ross Parish, Michael Porter and Warren Hogan.

A hundred people showed up, including Paddy McGuinness, then Economics Editor of the Australian Financial Review. He wrote a famous article, 'Where Friedman is a Pinko', giving the phone number and address of CIS at the end. There were days of messages.

Not long after, Greg Lindsay walked through the gates of Richmond High School for the last time as a mathematics teacher to concentrate on the task of raising the seed money necessary to begin building up CIS as an institution.

By 1980, after receiving some much-needed financial assistance from early supporters such as Ross Graham-Taylor, Neville Kennard and Hugh Morgan, CIS finally went from being a 'spare time' backyard operation to a full-blown organisation in offices above Uncle Pete's Toys in St Leonards.

"The thing that I find most satisfying is the feeling that I have been able to germinate an idea and with tender care, watch it grow. Maybe the time was right for something like CIS."
Greg Lindsay in a letter to Bettina Greaves at the Foundation for Economic Education in the US, 28 March 1977.

From a wholesaler of ideas...

The 'C' in CIS stands for Centre. And, indeed, this is what it has become„a centre for the transmission of ideas to the opinion-formers, the media and academics, as well as policymakers.

Over the past 25 years, CIS has played an important role in changing the climate of opinion, not only towards market solutions to economic problems but also in promoting the principles and institutions underlying a free and open society.

Seminars, lectures and conferences all play a part in the circulation of these ideas, such as the annual John Bonython Lecture (JBL), named after the Centre's first Chairman of the then Board of Trustees. It has become one of the most anticipated events ever initiated by CIS. Even the inaugural JBL in 1984, delivered by American economist Israel Kirzner, created a buzz that attracted the likes of the legendary Australian cricketer, the late Sir Donald Bradman!

The occasional Bert Kelly Lectures, in honour of the former parliamentarian probably best known for his Modest Member columns in the Australian Financial Review, and the recently initiated annual Acton Lecture on Religion and Freedom, continue this tradition.

The fundamental aim of these events is to foster debate on what makes a free and open society. Discussion is always lively, and there have been many memorable moments, such as Paddy McGuinness telling Milton Friedman in 1981 that he sounded like a 'kind of socialist or perhaps a Christian'!

...to a community of scholars

Distinguished economist Milton Friedman at a CIS gathering in 1981
Distinguished economist Milton Friedman addressing a CIS gathering in 1981

The growth of CIS over the past 25 years would not have been possible without the extraordinary network of human capital that has gradually been built up„from a small in-house team to outside volunteers and contributors from academia, business and many other walks of life. CIS also benefits from strong links with respected scholars and commentators from around the world.

Through the early work and dedication of economists like Wolfgang Kasper, Ray Ball, Ross Parish, Malcolm Fisher, Warren Hogan, and Peter Swan; philosophers like Lauchlan Chipman; and lawyers like Geoffrey de Q. Walker, CIS became known not only for its focus on economic policy, but also philosophical and constitutional issues.

Indeed, the Centre has always been about the support of a free and open society. In the mid to late 1980s the focus began shifting to social policy issues, with programmes such as Barry Maley's Taking Children Seriously playing an influential part in the social reform process in both Australia and New Zealand.

In circulating ideas and influencing elite opinion, CIS has always believed that the printed word„and permanency„is important. And, indeed, a quick glance at the hundreds of publications that CIS has produced over the past 25 years is all that is needed to realise that the Centre has published very few throwaway papers. These publications„from Policy Monographs to Occasional Papers to the quarterly journal Policy„stand as a record of the Centre's research, recommendations and ideas for future reference.

From past strategies...

From the very beginning, Greg Lindsay set out to make the 'I' in the Centre's title mean something. CIS receives no government funding and has no association with any political party. Corporate and individual supporters do not direct its research in any way. Although good ideas are always welcome, CIS remains the master of its own destiny, and jealously guards its reputation for independence.

The first CIS Board consisted of Neville Kennard, Maurice Newman and Ross Graham-Taylor. John Bonython joined later, becoming the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Since then, the Board of Directors has grown to include many prominent members of the business and wider community.

While the Board oversees the direction of the Centre, the role of the Academic Advisory Council is to assist in the Centre's research work. A long list of distinguished academics„and some honorary members such as Friedrich Hayek„have been on hand over the years to review CIS publications and to offer their expertise more generally.

...to future directions

from left to right: Samuel Gregg and 2000 Acton Lecturer George Weigel chat with Archbishop Goodhew and Bishop Forsyth
from left to right: Samuel Gregg and 2000 Acton Lecturer George Weigel chat with Archbishop Goodhew and Bishop Forsyth

Not content to rest on its laurels, CIS is entering another growth phase in its 25th year. As it prepares to branch out with an expanded social policy programme, it is putting in place its first forays into defence and foreign policy issues. A refocussing of its economic policy work is already underway. Economic Freedom Watch will be launched on November 1, 2001.

Its conference and seminar programmes will undergo considerable enhancement in 2002. From in-house workshops and seminars to its annual flagship lectures, the John Bonython and Acton Lectures, to Consilium, a public policy conference of world standing, the Centre's interface with the public will grow in the coming years. Its student programme, Liberty & Society, has received increased support during 2001 and will assume a bigger role in CIS activities in the years to come.

Pathbreaking work has been the hallmark of the Centre and its reputation for lively, imaginative and scholarly work having widespread influence on public affairs will develop unabated into its second 25 years.

"Unless we can make the philosophic foundations of a free society once more a living intellectual issue, and its implementation a task which challenges the ingenuity and imagination of our liveliest minds, the prospects of freedom are indeed dark. But if we can regain that belief in the power of ideas which was the mark of liberalism at its best, the battle is not lost."

F.A. Hayek, 'The Intellectuals and Socialism' (1949).