Centre for Independent Studies

The Bondi Beach attack of 14 December 2025 forced a reckoning that many Australians had been quietly avoiding. Antisemitism was not, it turned out, a relic of European history or a pathology confined to the political fringes. It was here, active and emboldened. The question that followed — “what must we do about it?” — has since animated parliamentary inquiries, legislative proposals, and now a Ro...

RBA governor Michele Bullock has jacked up her cash rate by 25 basis points for the second month in a row because of two words that can strike fear into the heart of central bankers: “inflation expectations”.  What does this mean for you?  👉 Join CIS: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: htt...

The criticisms and characterization of the 50% capital gains tax discount over many years have been full of misunderstandings, myths and distortions in the conventional narrative on how capital gains tax works, how it compares with the capital gains tax that it replaced in 1999, and the economic consequences of making the capital gains tax burden heavier. The myths and distortions are biasing the...

Read the paper at www.cis.org.au  Executive Summary. This paper is an expanded version of a submission to the Senate Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount. The author gave evidence to the Committee at a hearing on 25 February, 2026. Although there is much public discussion of the capital gains tax discount, there is no proposal from government on the table for us to r...

Immigration and housing affordability have become politically inseparable in contemporary Australia. With rents high, home ownership increasingly out of reach, and housing supply persistently undershooting official targets, it is tempting to conclude that fewer migrants would mean lower prices. That argument has intuitive appeal. More people require more homes. In tightly-constrained markets, addi...

Join us on Liberalism in Question for an enlightening discussion with Dr. Jennifer Buckingham, former Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies and a leading voice in Australian education policy.  From critiquing barriers in public schooling to advocating for phonics-based reading instruction and greater parental choice, this episode examines the role of liberalism in fostering...

In this thought-provoking episode of Liberalism in Question, we delve into the rich tapestry of Australia's liberal history with esteemed guest Dr Greg Melleuish, Associate Professor of History and Politics at the University of Wollongong. Explore how liberalism shaped Australia's political landscape, influenced key figures like Alfred Deakin and Robert Menzies, and continues to inform contemporar...

In this thought-provoking episode of Liberalism in Question, we welcome Emma Dawson, Executive Director of the progressive think tank Per Capita (and formerly of the Chifley Research Centre), to offer a contrasting social democratic perspective. Challenging classical liberal skepticism toward government overreach, Dawson argues that the state can—and should—play a constructive, helpful role in add...

Join us on Liberalism in Question as Senator Kerrynne Liddle shares her insights on why one-size-fits-all policies fall short in a diverse nation like Australia. Liddle critiques excessive bureaucracy, advocating for greater personal and community responsibility to drive real progress and prosperity.  This episode challenges conventional thinking on Indigenous affairs and explores how classical li...

Get your tickets to see Alexander Downer in Sydney: https://events.humanitix.com/alexander-downer-leadership-between-allies-and-the-region  In this episode of Liberalism in Question, former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer joins us to dissect the ever-shifting landscape of political ideologies. From the rise of Trump's nationalist movement and its global ripple effects, to the enduring...

In the second half of the twentieth century, Australia’s cheap, reliable electricity attracted heavy industry to our shores. By 1990, power-hungry copper, aluminium, lead, manganese and zinc smelters had popped up in each of the eastern states that would one day form the National Electricity Market (NEM). As Matthew Warren, former chief executive of the Australian Energy Council, the Energy Supply...

In this episode of Liberalism in Question, we dive deep into the complex and often overlooked history of liberalism in the Middle East with renowned expert Joshua Landis. As a professor of Middle East history at the University of Oklahoma and director of the Center for Middle East Studies, Landis brings decades of insight from his work on Syria, sectarianism, and regional politics. Join us as we e...

From Donald Trump to the lockdowns, Dave Rubin sits down with Robert Forsyth to discuss classical liberalism in the American context.  👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member:  https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/  🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/  🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/ 

Senator James Paterson joins Liberalism in Question to discuss the core principles of classical liberalism — individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and the rule of law — and how they apply to Australia’s current political debates. The conversation explores where liberalism is being challenged, misunderstood, or defended, and what its future looks like in a changing political landsca...

Watch here: https://youtu.be/NVFhjvDxGX4 From surrogacy to free speech, Rob Forsyth and Gray Connolly discuss the differences between classical liberalism and conservatism in the Australian context.  👉 Support Sound Research: 🔹 Become a member:  https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/  🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/  🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/  A...

Shortly before 7pm on Sunday, a Hanukah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach was attacked by two alleged gunmen, believed to be a father and son. At the time of recording, 16 people aged between 10 and 87 are confirmed dead, including one of the alleged attackers, and at least 42 others are being treated in hospital for their injuries. In this episode of The Stutchbury Sessions, Michael Stutchbury...

In this episode of  The Stutchbury Sessions: Michael Stutchbury examines Senator Andrew Bragg’s provocative event at CIS on the future of housing policy — a speech that openly challenged the Liberal Party’s long-standing comfort with rising house prices and called for an unapologetic YIMBY agenda to win back younger voters.  👉 Join CIS: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step...

In this episode of The Stutchbury Sessions: Are the Liberals sabotaging their path back to government by walking away from net zero? Or are they facing reality about Australia’s costly clean-energy transition? In this episode, we dissect whether the Coalition’s internal divisions on climate and energy policy are overshadowing Labor’s failure to retain Australia’s traditional cheap energy advantage...

👉 Watch here: https://youtu.be/bGv018CfXg8  In this episode of Liberalism in Question, we dive into Roger Partridge's provocative Quillette essay, "Classical Liberalism Without Strong Gods", where he challenges the rise of "strong gods" like religion and nationalism as antidotes to liberal society's spiritual void. You can read the article here: https://quillette.com/2025/06/10/classical-liberali...

Watch here: https://youtu.be/ybqWLEwL28Y   From economic reform and rising government spending to cultural shifts and the decline of liberalism, Costello reflects on the ideas that shaped the Howard years and what’s needed to renew them today. 👉 Support Sound Economic Research: 🔹 Become a member:  https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/  🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/don...

Is the 2020s an echo of the 1970s for classical liberalism? In this episode of The Stutchbury Sessions , Michael Stutchbury recaps the CIS Consilium, exploring how free enterprise, free trade, and limited government are under assault from both the left and the populist right. Featuring insights from Andrew Neil on the plight of mainstream conservatism and Dave Rubin on the liberal side of MAGA, St...

Subscribe to The Stutchbury Sessions on  Apple ,  Spotify ,  Amazon ,  iHeartRadio ,  PlayerFM  or listen in your  browser .   Where is the line between risk and regulation? In this episode of The Stutchbury Sessions , Fred Roeder from the Consumer Choice Center dives into how consumers should stand against overregulation and embrace technological innovation for a more prosperous and free future....

Subscribe to The Stutchbury Sessions on  Apple ,  Spotify ,  Amazon ,  iHeartRadio ,  PlayerFM  or listen in your  browser .   In this episode of The Stutchbury Sessions, host Michael Stutchbury reflects on his recent conversation with Sir Frank Lowy — the 95-year-old founder of the Westfield shopping centre empire and one of Australia’s most successful 20th-century immigrants. Speaking from his S...

Australia’s “renewables honeymoon” is ending and the energy bill is coming due. In this episode of The Stutchbury Sessions, we unpack the myth that government planning can fix every problem, from the $52 billion NDIS blowout to Labor’s net zero ambitions. Drawing on Friedrich Hayek’s timeless warning against the “conceit of planners,” Michael Stutchbury explores how Australia’s big-spending polici...

Iron, Ideas, and Abundance: Supply Side Mistakes and Lessons. This week on The Stutchbury Sessions , Michael reflects on his recent visit to Western Australia, the engine room of the nation’s prosperity.  From the billion tonnes of iron ore dug out of the Pilbara to the decades-long export ban that once kept Australia poor, this episode revisits how lifting restrictions unlocked one of the greates...