Latest Reports
1 July 2018
Mostly working: Australia’s wholesale electricity market
Wholesale electricity prices rose by 130 per cent between 2015 and 2017. But governments can’t fix the problem, because most of the price rises are caused by issues beyond their control. Politicians should tell Australians the harsh truth: high electricity prices are the new normal.
29 April 2018
Dropping out: the benefits and costs of trying university
More than 50,000 students who started university in Australia this year will drop out. Part-time students are particularly at risk. Policy makers should do more to reduce the number of young people who leave university with nothing but debt and regret.
25 March 2018
Down to the wire: A sustainable electricity network for Australia
State governments have spent up to $20 billion more than was needed on the electricity grid. Customers are paying up to $400 more for their power each year than they should. They should get a rebate, or governments should write down the value of the assets to reduce electricity bills.
12 March 2018
A crisis of trust: The rise of protest politics in Australia
Protest politics is on the rise in Australia, and the main cause is collapsing trust in politicians and the major parties. If the major parties and politicians want to rebuild trust with voters, they’ll need to change the way they do politics.
4 March 2018
Housing affordability: re-imagining the Australian dream
Low interest rates, policy changes and restrictive planning have doubled house prices in 20 years. It’s time for governments to open the gate to more housing and stem rising public anxiety about housing affordability.
25 February 2018
Unfreezing discount rates: transport infrastructure for tomorrow
Australia is taking the wrong approach to valuing roads, railways and other big infrastructure. Change will help governments pick the right projects in the right order.
11 February 2018
The Commonwealth’s role in improving schools
The Commonwealth should not use the extra money it is spending on schools as an excuse to intervene in school education. The danger is that the ‘Gonski 2.0 Review’ could be used as a platform for Commonwealth interventions that sound good, but don’t actually help on the ground.
9 February 2018
What’s the best way to close the gender gap in retirement incomes?
Australia’s retirement income system is not working for the poorest Australians, who are disproportionately women. Australia has a persistent gender gap in retirement savings and incomes. This means that women, particularly single women, are at greater risk of poverty, housing stress and homelessness in retirement.
4 February 2018
All complications should count: Using our data to make hospitals safer
One in nine patients who go into hospital suffers a complication, and the risk varies dramatically depending on the hospital. An extra 250,000 patients would leave hospital complication-free each year if all hospitals lifted their performance to match the best 10 per cent of hospitals.
1 February 2018
Designing a more reliable National Electricity Market
Australia is seeking to design a ‘reliability mechanism’ as part of the National Energy Guarantee. This Working Paper provides suggestions on how to design the mechanism and how it might work. On balance, we support a well-designed retailer obligation that utilises commercial market drivers. But we recognise there are risks in this approach. Policy makers will need to consult widely to ensure the new mechanism achieves the right balance between higher reliability and lower costs.