Democracy & Accountability

Claire Stuchbery

A new bargaining levy aims to safeguard quality Australian journalism, but risks entrenching media concentration and limiting diversity if local, independent and emerging publishers miss out on the funding raised.

Amy Remeikis

Labor’s obstinance on gas tax reform reflects a broader pattern of political incrementalism, their capture by fossil fuel interests, and a desire to attract more conservative votes — a pattern that will likely come back to bite them later.

Bill Browne

The High Court has struck down Victoria’s donation laws, leaving Victorian Parliament to reconsider how political donations should be regulated ahead of the next election

Allan Fels

Following several recent high-profile whistleblowing cases, Australia must now reckon with its flawed whistleblower protections regime and seek to do better. A single policy solution stands to make a big impact. A whistleblower reward scheme for Australia has long been debated, but has always been nipped at the bud, citing concerns that rewarding whistleblowing is fundamentally ‘un-Australian’, and that it may encourage bad faith claims and unreliable information.

Amy Remeikis

Anthony Albanese ruling out a tax on gas companies, with a narrative adopted by the incurious that it is “not the right time” because of the “global sensitivities” is not good policy or even a smart one. It is, however, what he considers to be a safe one, helped along by a media narrative that presents keeping the status quo as the “sensible” choice.

Nick Feik, Michelle Fahy & Elizabeth Minter

The National Anti-Corruption Commission’s performance since its inception has been widely condemned. The leadership of Commissioner Paul Brereton, in particular, has drawn heavy criticism. Indeed, the NACC’s three current deputy commissioners as a group represent the least qualified combination of deputies permitted under the NACC Act.

Bill Browne

Faced with a complex world, the modern instinct is to match it with complicated, artificial systems imposed from above. This ideology is not just misguided; it can be homicidal.