Recent publications
Should government force companies to be responsible?
Since at least the 1960s, advocates have called for firms to be socially responsible. Governments have responded. But what does it mean for firms to be socially responsible? And do government subsidies and regulations help? Calls for firms to be...
The Chinese capitalist miracle
The Chinese economic miracle is the latest and most comprehensive success story since the end of World War II. Veteran economists Ronald Coase and Ning Wang explain how in the space of three decades one of the world's poorest countries became the...
Gillard government's new censorship regime worse than internet filter
The Gillard government's new online censorship policy may result in Australians having even more restrictions on their internet use than under the government's original internet filter policy, according to Simon Breheny, Director of the Legal...
Mining Tax branded an "unmitigated disaster"
The Minerals Resource Rent Tax has been an utter failure; not raising a cent in government revenue while increasing Australia's sovereign risk, according to John Shipp, Director of ANDEV/IPA North Australia Project. Mr Shipp's comments came as...
A roadmap to peace in the war on drugs
The war on drugs has been raging for decades. Tens of millions of lives have been lost or ruined. Because both the effect of the drugs and the effect of criminalisation have contributed to the toll, both prohibitionists and those for...
ASIC push for surveillance powers goes too far
"The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's push to access the personal data of all Australian web users shows exactly why the government's proposed mandatory data retention regime should not go ahead," said Simon Breheny, Director of...
Regulator lets the cat out of the bag: data retention not just about national security
"The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's demand to access Attorney-General Nicola Roxon's proposed data retention regime reveals how dangerous this regime could be," said Simon Breheny, Director of the Rule of Law Project at the free...
Roxon's data retention scheme worse than Australia card
"Attorney-General Nicola Roxon's proposal to force internet service providers to log details of every Australian's internet usage is one of the most significant threats to individual liberty in Australian history," said Simon Breheny, director of...
Gillard government internet surveillance laws unprecedented threat to civil liberties
"The Gillard Government's proposed internet surveillance laws will fundamentally erode civil liberties and should be rejected outright," said Simon Breheny, director of the Rule of Law Project at the free market think tank the Institute of Public...
Poll: Australians thank mining industry, not Gillard, for strong economy
A new poll conducted by Galaxy Research for the Institute of Public Affairs reveals the overwhelming majority of Australians believe the mining industry deserves the credit for Australia's strong economy, not the Gillard government. Galaxy...