Centre for Independent Studies

Shaping the Next Generation: Inside CIS’s Liberty & Society Conference | The Stutchbury Sessions

At the Centre for Independent Studies' annual Liberty and Society student conference, 38 students from Australia and New Zealand explored classical liberal philosophy, free markets and social cohesion through talks and debates led by leading scholars and former officials.
Speakers traced the historical shift from Keynesian to pro-market ideas, discussed free speech and the rule of law, and challenged students to lead a renewed classical liberal movement for their generation.

The Temptations of Unfreedom Revisited | Dr Oliver Hartwich

Watch here: https://youtu.be/pfX-nzrgFPM"[Dahrendorf] had protected an idea: that intellectual work and practical engagement could combine without abandoning intellectual standards, that boundaries could be crossed with integrity intact."
Join Dr Oliver Hartwich for a conversation about Dahrendorf, Trump and the multitudes of intellectuals who have abandoned their principles. . 
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👉 Further reading: https://oliverhartwich.com/2026/02/27/the-temptations-of-unfreedom-revisited/

Generation Trapped: Why Young Australians Can't Get Ahead

In this Stutch Sessions episode Parnell Palm McGuinness, author of the CIS report Generation Trapped, explains how young Australians (18–34) split into six distinct 'tribes' all still aspire to homeownership, family, meaningful work and financial security, but feel blocked by high housing costs and limited agency.
The conversation covers the political fallout from recent tax changes (capital gains and negative gearing), young entrepreneurs' resentment at perceived penalties on risk-taking, rising distrust in government spending, and the broader implications for policy: boosting opportunity and agency rather than punitive measures.

What classical liberals get wrong about the rest of the World | Alexandre Lefebvre

What classical liberals get wrong about the rest of the World | Alexandre Lefebvre
Professor of Politics and Philosophy at the University of Sydney and author of Liberalism as a Way of Life, Alexandre Lefebvre explores how classical liberalism shapes not just politics, but our everyday values, ethics, and way of life.
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Australia's Broken Budget | Chris Richardson, Michael Stutchbury, Robert Carling & Richard Holden

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 IMF official), Professor Richard Holden (UNSW Business School), and Chris Richardson (Principal, Rich Insight and Australia's most cited budget economist) for a frank, wide-ranging conversation on the fiscal pressures facing Australia.
They discuss rising inflation, a productivity slowdown, a housing crisis, a federal debt approaching $1 trillion, and whether Chalmers' promises on savings, tax reform, and intergenerational equity stack up.
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CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can prosper.

Is Australia Doomed? | Marian L. Tupy

People have a lot of opinions and a lot of anecdotes that may not necessarily be true. Politicians deal with feelings. Economists and analysts should deal with facts. We have looked at the data and things are becoming cheaper, more affordable, more abundant in Australia... 
👉 Read more: 🔹 Humankind and the infinite resource base: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/humankind-and-the-infinite-resource-base/🔹 Hours, Not Dollars: Rethinking the cost-of-living debate: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/hours-not-dollars-rethinking-the-cost-of-living-debate/🔹 Growth that Builds: Beyond the immigration blame game: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/growth-that-builds-beyond-the-immigration-blame-game/🔹 In Conversation with Marian L. Tupy: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/in-conversation-with-marian-l-tupy/
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Australia is a High Tax Country | The Stutchbury Sessions

As much as anything, the Centre for Independent Studies’ first 50 years has been dedicated to restraining the growth in the size, reach and financing of government to provide room for private enterprise and individual choice. 
Now, as in the mid-1970s, the size of government has been ratcheted up. And politicians are increasing taxes to pay for it.  
This week, CIS senior fellow Robert Carling has delivered an important corrective to the mantra that taxes aren’t really much of a burden in Australia. 
Read more here: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/high-taxing-australia-how-we-measure-up/ 

Grim reality of the NDIS leviathan | The Stutchbury Sessions

Grim reality of the NDIS leviathan
“It will start big and get bigger and grow to become the new leviathan of the Australian welfare state,” CIS scholar Andrew Baker further predicted of Labor’s National Disability Insurance Scheme in his 2012 policy monograph.Even the Productivity Commission failed to pick the looming NDIS fiscal disaster from the worthy goal of providing support to permanently and significantly disabled Australians...
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Defending 'Neoliberalism' from the Left and Right

The hard lesson of Australia’s protectionist past is that propping up uncompetitive and high cost industries invariably poses a burden on other sectors, including on the mining, gas and farm exporters that actually support our prosperity.  
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The Australian Dream is Dead | Parnell Palme McGuinness

Over the past several decades, Australian society has undergone profound economic, social, and cultural change. Education pathways have lengthened, housing costs have far outpaced wages, family formation has been delayed or disrupted, and government intervention has expanded across nearly every stage of life. Public policy has attempted to keep pace with these changes. But there is a growing mismatch between the aspirations young Australians hold and the reality they experience.
This CIS research (https://www.cis.org.au/publication/generation-trapped-housing-handouts-and-the-collapse-of-young-australians-life-satisfaction/) examines the lives, aspirations, values, and perceived barriers of Australians aged 18–34. Drawing on original qualitative interviews using conversational AI and quantitative research conducted by Spectre Strategy on behalf of the Centre for Independent Studies, it finds young Australians do not aspire to radically different lives than previous generations. Financial security, home ownership, meaningful work, family, and children remain core goals. What has changed is the degree to which these goals feel attainable.
👉 Read the research: https://www.cis.org.au/tribes
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