The Australia Institute

The Australia Institute is an Australian think tank conducting public policy research, funded by grants from philanthropic trusts, memberships and commissioned research. In particular, it has been largely funded by the Poola Foundation - a philanthropic organisation run by the Kantors, an offshoot of Rupert Murdoch's family, see Brad Norington, "Think Tank Secrets", The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 August 2003, http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/11/1060588322537.html

The Institute begun in 1994 to construct and commission research and policy analysis on public debates and political and social issues and trends. The Institute seeks government, business or union grants to conduct research and analysis. The Institute is located on the campus of Australian National University in Canberra.

Philosophy

The Institute is considered a left leaning think tank with its general direction described as:"Private markets, while effective at encouraging efficiency in many circumstances, frequently fail to reflect adequately the ethical, social and environmental priorities of the community ... Market outcomes are not value free and the Institute reasserts the place of ethics in making public and private decisions". [ [http://www.tai.org.au/ The Australia Institute ] ] The Institute has close associations to The Australian Greens: http://greens.org.au/

Climate change

The Institute is active in promoting climate change mitigation measures, and has been critical of the Australian federal government's perceived lack of action on climate change. The Institute was critical of the Howard Government's decision to refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. It supports the view that the former Prime Minister and some senior ministers are climate change skeptics, and that the resources sector drives government energy policy, using the leaked minutes of a meeting between the Energy Minister, the Prime Minister and fossil fuel lobbyists to support their claim. [http://www.tai.org.au/documents/downloads/WP56.pdf] [http://www.tai.org.au/documents/downloads/WP84.pdf]

The Institute has been active in promoting renewable energy development, and other mitigation measures, and it has campaigned strongly against developing a nuclear industry in Australia. [http://www.tai.org.au/documents/downloads/MR235.pdf]

Media Regulation

The Australia Institute was sued by David Jones for allegedly engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct: David Jones Ltd v The Australia Institute Ltd [2007] FCA 962. David Jones objected to a media release by the Australia Institute entitled "Corporate paedophilia – Sexualising children by advertising and marketing". The press release contained the statements: "It is particularly disturbing that this exploitation of young children appears to be becoming accepted or mainstream. Major retail chains such as David Jones and Myer have jumped on the bandwagon. When family department stores show no conscience on these issues, or are inured to the effects of their behaviour, the situation is very unhealthy." David Jones claimed that this statement contained a number of misleading and deceptive representations - including that "David Jones eroticises children in order to obtain profits". The matter was later settled.

Electronic Frontiers Australia criticised the Australia Institute for its proposal for mandatory filtering of Internet Access by Internet service providers: ""The proposed implementation of [this] system... would block innocuous and educational information and infringe Internet users' privacy": http://www.efa.org.au/Publish/ispblocking.html

Directors

* Meredith Edwards, acting chair
* Clive Hamilton, former executive director
* Sharan Burrow, president, Australian Council of Trade Unions
* Molly Harriss Olson, director, EcoFutures Limited and Convenor
* Tony McMichael, director, National Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health, ANU
* Barbara Pocock, associate professor, University of Adelaide
* Hugh Saddler, managing director, Energy Strategies Limited
* Mark Wootton, director, Poola Foundation

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.tai.org.au/ TAI website]