Opinion & Commentary
Opinion and Commentary contains media articles written by CIS researchers.
Categories
Seizing a Sino free trade moment
Australia’s regulation of foreign direct investment is a critical stumbling block in a free trade agreement with China.... Read More
Smaller government is vital for business growth
Australia is at risk of waking up from the mining boom with nothing to show but a debt hangover and an economic headache.... Read More
Our fear of adoptions is hurting vulnerable children
Rather than further pursuing often futile parental rehabilitation programs, we need to get children out of harm's way through adoption.... Read More
Should teenaged shop workers receive a pay rise?
A wages claim to pay young retail workers equally to adults may sound like a good idea, but it will be a hard sell.... Read More
Nothing to fear from China's foreign policy
Chinese President Xi Jinping knows Asian stability will only help his ambitions.... Read More
Youth disgust weakens democracy
Political parties have become self-serving cliques whose methods, motives and messages have not changed since their grandfathers lit up their back room cigars.... Read More
Moral mission of small government
Regardless of which party wins the election in September, the new government will have much more important issues to deal with than whose turn it is to be leader.... Read More
Why tax-free imports are a retail red herring
Retailers would be better served lobbying government for policies other than raising inefficient taxes on low value imports.... Read More
Union campaign emotive but misleading
It is misleading to assert that Australian workers are being overworked in insecure jobs.... Read More
Taxpayer money wasted chasing film productions
Should the Australian public be supporting Hollywood productions with only dubious benefit to Australia?... Read More
Dumping on free trade
Australia’s anti-dumping system will continue to serve the interests of a small number of Australian producers at the expense of other Australian businesses and consumers.... Read More
Stamp out the anti-dumping dinosaur laws
Australia’s economic welfare is enhanced as a result of ‘dumping’ by foreign producers.... Read More
Politics over policy in industrial relations
Employers should be able to determine wages and conditions for new projects. It simply does not make sense that unions must be involved in every new greenfields agreements.... Read More
Awards don't deliver fair go
It is possible to increase labour market flexibility, create more jobs and keep the fair go alive by abolishing the outdated industrial award system.... Read More
It's time to put the break on corporate welfare
Corporate welfare for a favoured few - like Australia's car manufacturers - cannot be justified.... Read More
My School sheds a welcome light
If governments gather important information about schools and students, it should be available to everyone. The My School site simply gives parents easy access.If governments gather important information...... Read More
The fair go is fact, not political platitude
Australia's social escalator moves so quickly that the poorest Australians can find fortune in just a few years. With the controversy over the adequacy of unemployment benefits heating up again, the divide...... Read More
Gillard Deal Risks NDIS Timebomb
In its eagerness to lock in the funding and governance arrangements for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the Gillard government seems to have created a fiscal time bomb, where future federal...... Read More
Sorry, Mr Swan, the Australian fair go is still going strong
In the lead up to what is likely to be a budget bloodbath on 14 May, Treasurer Wayne Swan has come out swinging. Instead of trying to steer Australia back into the black, he has resorted to the electoral...... Read More
Without a no-fly zone, Syria will burn
As news emerges that a fourth Australian has been killed in Syria, concerns are also mounting that the war-torn country is becoming a hotspot for the global jihadist movement. The head of the Nusra Front,...... Read More