Latest news with #InstituteOfPublicAffairs
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Eye-watering amount Aussie taxpayers have forked out for an Indigenous treaty as state edges closer to finalising negotiations
The Victorian government has already spent at least $382million of taxpayer money negotiating an Indigenous treaty, according to new analysis. A treaty is expected to be finalised later in 2025, nine years after the state government became the first in the country to formally commit to treaty talks in 2016. According to treaty reports and budget papers, $382.4 million has been given to the 'self-determination' process over the past decade, The Herald Sun reported. Some money has gone towards setting up the Treaty Authority, which is overseeing negotiations, with members of the panel earning up to $380,000 a year. Funding has also supported preparations by First Nations groups for negotiations, public events to inform Indigenous communities about the process, and roundtable discussions on the treaty framework. Right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs suggested the total figure could be higher. Their report found that 727 meetings related to treaty development were held between July 2016 and June 2025. That number could reach 968 by June 2026 if it continues at its current pace, with one meeting taking place every two to three business days. The Institute's review of government budget papers estimated that a combined $776 million has been spent over the past decade on the treaty, 'self-determination' programs, and Indigenous community initiatives. However, the documents do not provide a detailed breakdown of spending. Institute of Public Affairs Research Fellow Margaret Chambers criticised the government's handling of the process. 'The Victorian government is not being honest and upfront with Victorians about its plan to divide the community on racial grounds,' Ms Chambers told the Herald Sun. 'With a treaty scheduled to be finalised inside the next 12 months, and despite the volume of secret meetings over the past decade, very little is known about what this treaty will entail. 'Any treaty will fundamentally change Victoria's legal structure and will likely require already financially stretched Victorian taxpayers to pay billions of dollars to activists aligned to the Allan government.' New legislation related to the treaty is expected to go before Victoria's parliament in the coming months. It is understood the bill will enshrine an expanded First Peoples' Assembly. That would effectively establish a state-based version of the Voice, which was rejected in a national referendum in 2023. The Victorian government is also negotiating separate treaties with local Indigenous groups. The details of these agreements and associated costs have not been disclosed. At the beginning of July, the Victorian government released the findings from the Yoorrook Justice Commission investigating the state's colonial roots. The Truth Be Told report detailed massacres and frontier violence, labelling it a 'genocide' and investigating the ongoing harms against Aboriginal people. A Victorian government spokesman slammed the 'cherry-picked analysis from the Liberal Party-aligned think tank'. 'If you listen to the people directly affected by policies, you get better outcomes - that's commonsense,' he said. 'Treaty is about making a better and fairer state for all Victorians - negotiations are underway and we look forward to bringing treaty to the Parliament.'
Daily Telegraph
15-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Overseas arrivals into Australia fuel new concerns over housing supply
Australia has recorded another month of record long-term overseas arrivals – fresh off the back of announcements that the country is falling further behind critical housing requirements for the coming years. New ABS Overseas Arrivals and Departures data for May 2025 released Tuesday showed net permanent and long-term arrivals in May 2025 were 33,230. This was the highest May net arrival number on record, surpassing the previous record of 31,310 in 2023 by 6 per cent, according to analysis of the figures by policy think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. Net permanent and long-term arrivals in the year to May 2025 were 245,890 – also the highest on record, IPA analysis revealed. Many of the arrivals were international students. MORE: Hidden cost bleeding Aussies of $71 a day MORE: Aus suburbs where your home makes more than you It should be noted that these figures are different to the ABS measure of permanent migration intake, but do point to the amount of strain being put on the housing market – especially the rental market. The figures come as housing approval data indicated the country was already 55,000 homes behind target just one year into the National Housing Accord plan to build 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade. The shortfall will mean recent arrival numbers could put further strain on the current supply of housing, experts said. IPA deputy executive director David Wild said recent migration was 'excessive' and was 'exacerbating the housing and rental crises being experienced by Australians and new migrants alike'. 'Migration has played a significant role in pummelling Australia's economic productivity (and) creating extended periods of negative per capita economic growth,' Mr Wild said. Mr Wild's comments have followed leaked Treasury advice showing the federal government's National Housing Accord target of building 1.2 million homes between 2024 and 2029 will not be met. 'Despite the fact that the federal government has failed to deliver on a single target under its Accord, it continues to ramp up migration intakes, at a time when the nation is simply not building the houses it needs to accommodate a rapidly rising population,' Mr Wild said. 'Migration-induced demand injected into the housing market, combined with sluggish supply – due to red tape and competition from bloated government infrastructure projects – have created a perfect storm of too many new people and not enough new homes.' PPD Real Estate economist Dr Diaswait Mardiasmo said overseas long-term arrivals figures underlined why the planning system for new housing needed to be turbocharged. 'Projects are taking quite a while to be approved, due to red tape and other factors, and still quite expensive to ensure that it comes out of the ground,' she said. 'These figures stress the need for more housing, and correct type of housing at that, to accommodate more people into the country.' Dr Mardiasmo said renters would be most affected by the influx of new arrivals. 'Most international migrants who come to the country are likely to be renters – therefore this will put more stress on the rental market,' she said. Mr Wild clarified that the issue was down to numbers and how prepared the country was to accommodate growth. 'Australia is a tolerant and welcoming society. However, migration intake must be properly planned,' he said. The IPA pointed to the federal government's net overseas migration budget forecast for FY25 (335,000 arrivals). The think tank claimed this figure has already been exceeded by 88,990 net permanent and long-term arrivals, with another month of data still to be published. Mr Wild said there would be economic implications: 'Australians are already struggling with rapidly rising house prices and rents.'
News.com.au
15-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Overseas arrivals into Australia fuel new concerns over housing supply
Australia has recorded another month of record long-term overseas arrivals – fresh off the back of announcements that the country is falling further behind critical housing requirements for the coming years. New ABS Overseas Arrivals and Departures data for May 2025 released Tuesday showed net permanent and long-term arrivals in May 2025 were 33,230. This was the highest May net arrival number on record, surpassing the previous record of 31,310 in 2023 by 6 per cent, according to analysis of the figures by policy think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. Net permanent and long-term arrivals in the year to May 2025 were 245,890 – also the highest on record, IPA analysis revealed. Many of the arrivals were international students. It should be noted that these figures are different to the ABS measure of permanent migration intake, but do point to the amount of strain being put on the housing market – especially the rental market. The figures come as housing approval data indicated the country was already 55,000 homes behind target just one year into the National Housing Accord plan to build 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade. The shortfall will mean recent arrival numbers could put further strain on the current supply of housing, experts said. IPA deputy executive director David Wild said recent migration was 'excessive' and was 'exacerbating the housing and rental crises being experienced by Australians and new migrants alike'. 'Migration has played a significant role in pummelling Australia's economic productivity (and) creating extended periods of negative per capita economic growth,' Mr Wild said. Mr Wild's comments have followed leaked Treasury advice showing the federal government's National Housing Accord target of building 1.2 million homes between 2024 and 2029 will not be met. 'Despite the fact that the federal government has failed to deliver on a single target under its Accord, it continues to ramp up migration intakes, at a time when the nation is simply not building the houses it needs to accommodate a rapidly rising population,' Mr Wild said. 'Migration-induced demand injected into the housing market, combined with sluggish supply – due to red tape and competition from bloated government infrastructure projects – have created a perfect storm of too many new people and not enough new homes.' PPD Real Estate economist Dr Diaswait Mardiasmo said overseas long-term arrivals figures underlined why the planning system for new housing needed to be turbocharged. 'Projects are taking quite a while to be approved, due to red tape and other factors, and still quite expensive to ensure that it comes out of the ground,' she said. 'These figures stress the need for more housing, and correct type of housing at that, to accommodate more people into the country.' Dr Mardiasmo said renters would be most affected by the influx of new arrivals. 'Most international migrants who come to the country are likely to be renters – therefore this will put more stress on the rental market,' she said. Mr Wild clarified that the issue was down to numbers and how prepared the country was to accommodate growth. 'Australia is a tolerant and welcoming society. However, migration intake must be properly planned,' he said. The IPA pointed to the federal government's net overseas migration budget forecast for FY25 (335,000 arrivals). The think tank claimed this figure has already been exceeded by 88,990 net permanent and long-term arrivals, with another month of data still to be published. Mr Wild said there would be economic implications: 'Australians are already struggling with rapidly rising house prices and rents.'
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Backlash over call to pull ‘confronting' subject from Aussie schools
Climate change is said to be scaring young children in Australia, and a leading expert has come up with a controversial solution — don't tell them about it. 'It's really difficult to see kids who are very fearful at such young ages in front of me who have sleep disorders, who have clinical ranges of anxiety over this,' psychologist Clare Rowe told Yahoo News. She's the author of a controversial report published by conservative think-tank the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), which argues climate change should not be taught to primary school children. In response, 150 experts in mental health, medicine and education have published an open letter rejecting this claim, arguing that what's actually scaring children is their lived experience of environmental disasters, the failure of government to act, and adults not listening to their concerns. There's no doubt that climate and the environment are worrying Aussie kids — a 2024 survey of 15 to 19-year-olds found it's their greatest concern after cost of living, with one in four respondents concerned about the issue. One of the signatories of the open letter, the University of Tasmania's Dr Chloe Lucas, runs workshops that answer questions from school children about climate change. She argues kids 'don't live in a vacuum' and regularly absorb information from social media, the news, and their peers, so they need to have access to fact-based educators so they feel empowered. 'Climate change is part of public discourse, I don't think they can hide from it,' she told Yahoo. 'When I go into schools and talk to children, I'm told about them having to evacuate their homes because of a flood, or losing their house in a bushfire. Children will experience seven times more extreme weather events on average than their grandparents. We're living in a different world, and it's getting worse.' The vast majority of scientists agree that humans are causing climate change. But when it comes to how it will impact the next generation, Rowe doesn't feel equipped to answer. 'It would be absolutely stepping outside of my remit as a psychologist and I would encourage every other psychologist to do the same and stick to our lane,' she said. Unlike her critics, she argues kids aren't absorbing information about climate change through social media and friends. 'When we're talking about six, seven and eight-year-olds, it's what they're taught at school that's making them alarmed. They're not getting it elsewhere, not at that age,' she said. The children Rowe treats in her clinic have presented with fear that they won't reach adulthood because they fear the world will be destroyed by climate change. She claims a primary reason for their distress is that the problem appears beyond their control, as they're being told to use less electricity, not ride in the family car, and to eat less meat. 'These are not empowered, hopeful minds. If we want to solve the issue of climate change. We are not creating young people who are motivated to do it,' she said. They are anxious and they are paralysed by despair. With children of that age, it is appropriate to shield them from that information.' The open letter has been signed by experts from the Black Dog Institute and universities and hospitals around the country. They agree that climate education must be improved because it is 'inconsistent' and not solutions-focused. But they argue 'safe' teaching is necessary and can be gradually introduced during primary and secondary school. 'Yes, climate change is confronting, but so are topics like death or illness, and we don't shield children from those,' the letter states. 'There is strong evidence that children, even in primary school, are capable of engaging with complex topics when supported by honest, developmentally appropriate teaching." Details in satellite photos spark 'worrying' prediction about colony of thousands Aussie kid's clever driveway idea raises $1,600 for critical cause Grim underwater find prompts calls to make $43.9 million change in Victorian waters Georgia Monaghan is a signatory to the letter and is the co-founder of ECOMIND, a company that aims to promote 'emotional resilience' in children in the face of climate change. She doesn't believe climate change denial has the same traction it once did. Instead, she believes there's a push to 'disempower' the public by removing knowledge and education about the subject. 'We're seeing that particularly in the United States. Fossil fuel companies feel threatened by young voices, and so if you remove their education, you're stopping them from doing amazing work,' she said. She argues climate distress is a 'very rational response' to the 'crisis' and that young people need to feel equipped to tackle the problem. 'We need psychologically safe, developmentally appropriate climate science that empowers and creates hope in young people. We have a lot of difficult things happening in the world right now, and the answer is not to just ignore them,' she said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
News.com.au
01-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Construction times for houses have grown by 50 per cent in the last decade, building costs 53 per cent more expensive, IPA finds
Construction time for an average home has increased by a whopping 50 per cent in the past year, with Australia's ambitious 1.2 million homes target already 55,300 homes behind just one year in. While a house took about 8.5 months to build from approval to completion in 2014, it took an average of 12.7 months in 2024, data compiled by the Institute of Public Affairs has revealed. Costs for building materials had also increased by 53 per cent in the same period. Construction times increased across the board in 2021 as a result of supply-chain issues during the Covid pandemic. The lacklustre figures come as Australia marks one year into the five-year National Housing Accords, in which states and territories must build a combined 1.2 million well-located homes by June 30, 2029. The Commonwealth government has also encouraged states and territories with a $3.5bn funding pot as a carrot for reaching the goal. Using building activity data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the IPA found Western Australia was leading the construction lag, with an unenviable increase of 85 per cent to 17.8 months. Building costs have also increased by 45 per cent. South Australia had the next slowest builds of 15.8 months, a hike of 74 per cent, with cost going up by 51 per cent. Over 10 years, the cost of materials had increased by 58 per cent in both NSW and Queensland, where it now respectively takes 12.7 months and 10.2 months to build a detached home. It takes 11.3 months to build a home in Victoria, and 12.6 months to complete a home in Tasmania, with material prices increasing by 56 per cent and 55 per cent. IPA research director Morgan Begg said it was 'little wonder' that Australia was in a housing crisis, with the 'unprecedented demand' for housing being exacerbated by increased construction time and costs. 'The federal government's National Housing Accord will mark its first-year anniversary being tens of thousands of homes behind schedule, as red tape strangles new home builds, with construction times ballooning by 50 per cent,' he said. 'Home ownership is fundamental to the Australian way of life. It gives people a stake in our country and provides long-term financial security for families.' Mr Begg said 'all levels of government must do their part to fix this crisis,' highlighting action points like reducing migration, urging state and local governments to open up more land and cut red tape to boost construction. 'Over the past decade Australia has seen demand-driven cost increases to construction material and labour caused by large, inefficient government projects, creating the perfect storm of rising prices and rents, particularly in the post-pandemic period,' he said. 'Across the board, the latest figures reinforce the depth of Australia's housing crisis, brought about by out-of-control migration intakes, a construction sector burdened by red tape, and competition for resources from large, expensive, and inefficient taxpayer-funded projects.' Coalition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg said the housing targets were a 'dead duck,' adding that completed dwellings had dropped by 1 per cent over the last 12 months, according to the ABS. 'A year since Labor's Housing Accord 'officially began', building approvals and activity have gone backwards,' he said. 'Labor is more interested in announcing targets and building bureaucracies than actually erecting any homes. 'Labor's actions show they don't support private developers and builders. They think they know better. No wonder the construction industry has consistently led the nation in insolvencies.' Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has previously said reducing the 'thicket of regulation' around building homes will be a key priority in Labor's next term of government. As of June, the Hotham MP will also oversee planning policy after she inherited it from the the treasurer's portfolio. A spokesman for Ms O'Neil said on Tuesday Labor had been 'very frank' that building homes both costed too much and took too long. He said Labor was focused on 'working closely with all levels of government and builders to try and fix that,' while also 'increasing productivity, encouraging the building sector to look at more modern methods of building and improving planning pathways and removing red tape'. 'The Liberals can run their mouths, but the reality is they haven't put forward a single legitimate proposition that would increase the number of homes being built in Australia – in fact, their solution was to rip billions of dollars from funding for tens of thousands of social and affordable homes,' he said. 'Talk to anyone who knows the residential building sector and they will tell you that structural reform takes time, and building homes takes time, and the Commonwealth is doing that work. In contrast, the Liberal Party didn't touch that work in their last decade in office.'
