The CIS Event Experience

Watch here: https://youtu.be/NpXfg20UPWg As Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to hand down his fifth federal budget on 12 May 2026, four of Australia's leading economists gather at the Centre for Independent Studies to ask: is this budget up to the challenge? Hosted by CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury, this roundtable brings together Robert Carling (CIS Senior Fellow, former Treasury and IM...

Michael Stutchbury, Executive Director of the Centre for Independent Studies, opens this panel discussion with a sobering observation: the Bondi massacre did not come from nowhere. The attack on 14 December 2025 was the violent endpoint of a cascade of hatred that had been building across Australian society for years, and it has forced a confrontation with a question our institutions can no longer...

David Didau — education consultant, teacher trainer, and author of Making Kids Cleverer and Intelligent Accountability — and Dr Jenny Donovan — inaugural CEO of the Australian Education Research Organisation and former head of the NSW Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation — join the Centre for Independent Studies to make the case for systemic reform over individual teacher improvement. Di...

Marian Tupy — editor of HumanProgress.org, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and co-author of Superabundance — makes a data-driven case that human ingenuity consistently outpaces resource constraints. Presenting as the CIS Max Hartwell Scholar-in-Residence for 2026, Tupy argues that more people, given freedom, generate more ideas, more innovation, and rising living standards for everyone. Using...

Speaking at his first address outside Canberra since being elected Leader of the Opposition by the Liberal Party room, Angus Taylor joins CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging conversation on the Liberal Party's direction under new leadership, Australia's cost of living crisis, and the policy reforms needed to restore the country's prosperity and way of life. Taylor outlines...

Alexander Downer and former Prime Minister John Howard join author Tony Parkinson and CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging discussion on Australian foreign policy, alliance politics, and the shifting global order, marking the launch of A Step to the Right, Tony Parkinson’s new biography of Australia’s longest-serving foreign minister. Drawing on their shared experience duri...

As part of the Centre for Independent Studies annual Christmas Soirée, this episode explores the ever expanding reach of the modern nanny state through the lens of the 2025 Nanny State Award shortlist. Presented by Peter Kurti, Director of CIS’s Culture, Prosperity and Civil Society program, the discussion surveys some of the most striking examples of government and institutional overreach from th...

Senator Andrew Bragg and economist Peter Tulip join Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging conversation on Australia’s housing crisis, the politics of supply, and the future of home ownership. Senator Bragg outlines a centre-right vision for reviving the Australian dream, arguing that housing policy should prioritise freeing up land, cutting red tape, and empowering the private sector to build. Tul...

Three leading education ministers — Sir Nick Gibb (UK), Erica Stanford (New Zealand), and Jason Clare (Australia) — come together for a rare and deeply insightful conversation about how to rebuild school systems, lift student achievement, and close the disadvantage gap. Hosted by the Centre for Independent Studies at NSW Parliament House, this discussion explores the real evidence behind what work...

Veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil joins CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury for a sweeping conversation about the future of the West at a moment of profound geopolitical danger. Drawing on five decades in journalism, Neil examines the rise of a newly assertive “axis of autocracy,” the retreat of American leadership, and the mounting strategic dilemmas facing democracies from Europe to the Indo...

Education writer Natalie Wexler, New Zealand Education Minister Erica Stanford and literacy expert Lorraine Hammond discuss why phonics alone isn't for reading success. Recorded at  @CISAus  in Sydney, this conversation reveals the realities about how schools teach reading comprehension and what needs to change. In this presentation Wexler presents evidence from US literacy reforms: states that fi...

In this episode, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley delivers a major economic address on restoring Australia's productivity and living standards, followed by an extended Q&A with CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury. Recorded live in Sydney, Ley argues Australia has reached an economic "turning point," with productivity growth at its weakest in 60 years and the biggest fall in living standards...

Broadcaster Andrew Neil and commentator Dave Rubin ‪@RubinReport‬ join Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging conversation about Donald Trump's presidency, the state of Western politics, and the future of free speech. This discussion explores Trump's character and policies, the January 6th controversy, media bias, climate change and net zero policies, and the battle for free speech reshaping Wester...

In this episode, Senator Jonathon Duniam, Shadow Federal Minister for Education, joins the Centre for Independent Studies to outline the Coalition’s approach to education reform. In conversation with CIS Director of Education Glenn Fahey, Duniam sets out a vision for restoring excellence in Australian classrooms. He argues that despite record funding over the past two decades, student achievement...

The Liberals are in their deepest political valley while Labor sits atop the highest mountain after their emphatic May 2025 federal election victory. But history tells us this certainty is an illusion. At this CIS forum, Tom Switzer presented his analysis of political upheaval and the unpredictability of democratic politics, before joining CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury and former NSW P...

In this episode, NSW Premier Chris Minns and New Zealand Housing Minister Chris Bishop hosted CIS Chief Economist Peter Tulip for a wide-ranging discussion on housing affordability and reform. Together, the panel explored the challenges of housing policy, the role of politics and community attitudes, and what governments can do to make homes more accessible for the next generation. Premier Minns s...

India maintains the world's largest democracy with 75 years of continuous constitutional rule - yet international democracy rankings place it alongside countries with military coups and authoritarian regimes. What's really going on? Former CIS executive director Tom Switzer sits down with author Salvatore Babones as part of the launch of his new book "Dharma Democracy: How India Built the Third Wo...

In this episode, British educator Dr Carl Hendrick and Australian policy advisor Dr Simon Breakspear join CIS's Glenn Fahey to unpack the rise of the ‘science of learning’ and its promise to transform Australian education. Drawing from global research and classroom practice, the panel explores how cognitive science is reshaping how we think about effective teaching—challenging outdated methods and...

In this episode, nuclear industry leader and Canadian trailblazer Tracy Primeau re-joins the CIS to share a compelling insider’s view of Canada’s nuclear energy success—and what Australia could learn from it. In conversation with CIS Director of Energy Research Aidan Morrison, Primeau reflects on her 35-year career. As a member of the Nipissing First Nation, she offers a rare dual perspective: a d...

In this episode, British historian and author Dr Simon Heffer returns to CIS for a provocative deep dive into the cultural and political currents reshaping the Western world. In conversation with CIS Executive Director Tom Switzer, Heffer offers sharp insights into the global conservative backlash against identity politics, elite overreach, and the hollowing out of free speech across universities...

In this episode, Dr Chris Keefer, emergency physician, founder of Canadians for Nuclear Energy, and host of the Decouple podcast, joins the Centre for Independent Studies for an insightful exploration of Canada’s nuclear success story. In conversation with CIS Director of Energy Research Aidan Morrison, Keefer reflects on Canada’s bold energy choices—from phasing out coal and developing its own re...

In this episode, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens joins CIS executive director Tom Switzer to confront the most contentious narratives surrounding the Israel-Gaza war and the future of liberal democracy. Drawing on his experience as a journalist and foreign policy analyst, Stephens reflects on the challenges of achieving lasting peace, the role of outside powers, and the difficult choices fa...

In this episode, historian and Telegraph columnist Simon Heffer joins CIS Executive Director Tom Switzer to discuss the rising conservative momentum across democracies like the US, Italy, Germany, and Australia. After years of dominance by progressive ideas on identity politics, diversity, and historical revisionism, political winds appear to be shifting. Voters in countries like New Zealand and A...

In this episode, CIS executive director Tom Switzer sits down with researchers Simon Cowan and Emilie Dye to explore the rising backlash against corporate social activism in Australia. Drawing on findings from their new report Business Means Business, Cowan and Dye reveal what Australians really think about ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives. Their exclusive polling shows that...

As strategic competition intensifies in the Indo-Pacific, Australia is being forced to rethink long-held assumptions about its alliance with the United States. In this panel hosted by the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS), three experts—Doug Abdiel, Lt Col in the US Marine Corps; Sam Roggeveen, Director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute; and Aidan Morrison, Director of...