Government and Politics

Individual freedom and prosperity depends on having healthy institutions. Ever expanding government and regulation leads to less competition and in turn a less responsive public sector. The CIS examines the way government poses threats to maintaining a healthy civil society.
Publications
-
Trans-Atlantic Fiscal Follies: The Sequel
| 30 Nov 2011 | Policy ForumWhat started as the US subprime crisis became the global financial crisis and has now developed into the Trans-Atlantic sovereign... Read More...
-
Submission to the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government
| 17 Oct 2011 | SubmissionsShould local government be recognised in the Constitution? And would such recognition make a practical difference? International... Read More...
-
Working Towards Self-Reliance: Three Lessons for Disability Pension Reform
| 05 Oct 2011 | Policy MonographsTo successful reduce the number of pensioners on disability support, policymakers must apply the lessons of other welfare... Read More...
-
The Kingdom of God is Forcefully Advancing and Forceful Men Lay Hold of It
| 14 Sep 2011 | Occasional PapersIn the CIS’s annual Acton Lecture on Religion and Freedom, Senator David Coltart discusses the application of biblical... Read More...
-
When Prophecy Fails
| 09 Sep 2011 | Special PublicationsIn their 2009 book, The Spirit Level, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett argued for the ‘benefits’ of income redistribution.... Read More...
Opinion & Commentary
-
Italy defaults on debt and sends lenders broke? So be it
| 15 Nov 2011 | CrikeyThe federal government will need to cut spending to ensure a surplus in 2012-13.... Read More
-
Focus on 'prevention' abusing kids
| 09 Nov 2011 | On Line OpinionDespite increasing government spending on programs meant to prevent child abuse and entries into care, record numbers of ... Read More
-
Budget surplus fetish means more harsh spending cuts
| 09 Nov 2011 | CrikeyThe federal government will need to cut spending to ensure a surplus in 2012-13.... Read More
-
Myths, lies and adoption
| 08 Nov 2011 | The Geelong AdvertiserIN 2009-10, 36,000 children were in out-of-home care in Australia and more than two-thirds had been there for at least two ... Read More
-
Sydney misses the boat on ferry reform
| 26 Oct 2011 | Australian Financial ReviewSydney’s ferry system should go private to lowers costs for tax payers.... Read More
Ideas@TheCentre
-
Hardly fair to vulnerable children
| 03 Feb 2012Restore citizen-control over the child protection services or watch it fail....
-
Time to drop the Dick
| 03 Feb 2012Time for Dick Smith to go – he may have been a brilliant entrepreneur, but his past achievements sadly do not give his ...
-
How (not) to pick a nanny-state winner
| 20 Jan 2012Government can’t control everything. People who want to gamble online will gamble online....
-
Nudge, nudge, here come the Germans
| 20 Jan 2012Germans can teach us a lot when it comes to family and social policy....
-
A Kiwi approach on emissions
| 16 Dec 2011Australia needs to learn from New Zealand’s subtle reversal on emissions trading....

