Skye Predavec
Skye Predavec is a Researcher at the Australia Institute. Her publications cover a range of topics, including Australian elections, democracy, media, arts, firearm laws, and education. Prior to the Australia Institute, she worked mainly in campaigns and advocacy on issues such as public transport, education, housing and queer rights.
Factcheck: Do Australians 'overwhelmingly support' gun control? Yes they do.
Yes, they do. Polling surveys consistently show that Australians support strengthened gun control.
Factcheck: Angus Taylor’s claim that expanding Parliament “could cost $620 million” is misleading
Liberal leader Angus Taylor claims that expanding Parliament “could cost taxpayers more than $620 million”. This figure is misleading, relying on unclear assumptions and omitting important context.
Factcheck: It's true. A 25% gas export tax could be a game-changer for the arts.
A "25% tax on gas export would make “17 billion dollars a year”, and, as ARIA-award-winning musician Montaigne claims, “if even a fraction of [that money] was directed to music and the arts, it could change the game”. They're right — if less than one fiftieth of the potential annual revenue from the 25% gas exports tax went to arts funding, that alone could be transformative.
Philanthropy cannot replace government funding in Australia’s arts sector
Artists, authors, musicians and other creatives have a huge impact on Australian culture, how Australians see themselves, and how the world sees Australians. Australia’s arts and culture cannot be produced overseas, and cannot be moved offshore. It can only be made here.
Factcheck: The crossbench called it -- High Court rules curfew measures unconstitutional, again
On the 18th of March, the High Court released its judgment on EGH19 v Commonwealth of Australia, ruling that conditions requiring a curfew and ankle-bracelet monitoring on someone released from indefinite immigration detention were not compatible with the Constitution.
The gaping hole in Australia’s gun laws explained
To get a gun licence in Australia, an applicant must have a “genuine reason” to use a gun. You can’t just have a gun because you want one -- firearm ownership is a privilege in Australia, not the sort of right that United States gun owners never tire of talking about.
What to expect from the Farrer by-election
One month ago, Sussan Ley was the leader of the Liberal Party. Two weeks later, she retired from Parliament altogether after losing the leadership to Angus Taylor. And now, Speaker of the House Milton Dick has announced the date for the by-election to replace her: Saturday the 9th of May
3 reasons to be glad the Government's FOI changes have been scrapped
Today, the Albanese Government pulled its “friendless” Freedom of Information Amendment Bill.
Mapped: The private gun stockpiles of inner-Sydney
If you live in Sydney, do you know how many guns are being stockpiled just down the road?
Australia’s Winter Olympians are overwhelmingly private school educated
Australia’s privatised schooling system makes our high schools the most expensive in the developed world. These high costs have far-reaching consequences for inequality in our society, including in who ends up in Australia’s Olympic squads.
Why Australian high schools cost families more than anywhere else in the developed world: explained in 3 charts
On average, each year of sending a child to high school costs Australian families just under $5,000, almost four times the OECD average. Who's to blame?
What are the proposed gun control reforms and how did we get here?
The Albanese Government’s omnibus ‘Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill’ includes the most significant reforms to Australia’s gun control laws since 1996.
Will Labor’s changes make it easier for governments to flout freedom of information laws?
The claim comes from Kerry O’Brien’s speech at the Walkleys, where he criticised the Albanese Government for not living up to the benchmarks they set while in opposition,
Nicolette Boele is right: we do not have a gas supply problem
The claim: “We do not have a gas supply problem. We have a gas export problem.” That’s from Independent member for Bradfield, Nicolette Boele, who moved a private member’s motion in the House of Representatives on Monday, calling on the Government to restrict gas exports to solve shortages.
The Chief Executive of the NACC apologises for giving inaccurate testimony
This follows a series of scandals in the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s upper management.
Nationals members have set the Coalition’s climate policy, but there’s half as many as there were a decade ago
The NSW Nationals is facing a stark membership decline.
Timeline: How Australia’s failed COP bid overshadowed our climate action failure
Why did Australia, the world’s second-largest exporter of fossil fuels by emissions, want to host COP?
Five times freedom of information shone a light on secretive government processes
The Government is proposing to make the FOI process lengthier, more expensive, and more secretive. These examples demonstrate why that's bad news.
Whistleblower protections are an opportunity, not a cost
Government’s delays on whistleblower protections could be leaving millions of dollars on the table
Does the gas industry really support 215,000 jobs?
A new campaign, “Australia runs on natural gas”, uses this figure to argue that Australia needs new gas. But is it true?
What Australia can learn from the US about money in politics
Zohran Mamdani’s successful campaign benefited greatly from New York’s funding innovations.
New research shows the Coalition’s women problem has a name: Donald Trump
The Coalition’s problem with women voters is well-known. Female MPs are still outnumbered two-to-one in Liberal and National party rooms, and polling consistently shows women are less likely to vote for either party.
Will Net Zero cost $9 trillion to Australia?
As the Nationals abandon their commitment to achieving net zero by 2050, leader David Littleproud has cited a stunning $9 trillion dollar price tag on the policy as a key reason for the move.
PM Albanese’s culture of secrecy, in three charts
If he doesn’t change course, the Prime Minister may end up leading exactly the kind of 'shadow government' that he derided his predecessor for.
The Federal Government spends more on shredders than FOI training
The Federal Government has spent $2.3 million on shredders over the last five years, almost double the $1.3 million spent on freedom of information training over the same period.
What is the PBS and why does Trump hate it so much?
This is part of America’s long-standing grudge against Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
Factcheck: Are Freedom of Information requests truly out of control, like the Government claims?
There have been allegations that “foreign actors, foreign powers, [and] criminal gangs” may be behind FOI requests. Is this the case?
What is inflation and why is everyone so scared of it?
Inflation has been on everyone’s lips as supermarket prices have spiked and Australians have felt the cost-of-living squeeze.
Australia has a politician problem: not too many, but too few
Each of Australia’s 150 members of Parliament (MPs) must split their attention between more constituents than ever before: 120,659 voters per MP, over six thousand more than in 2022.
The rise of early voting in Australian elections
Are voters missing out on more than their democracy sausage?
