Centre for Independent Studies

Michael Stutchbury interviews the Hon Graeme Watson, former Vice President of the Fair Work Commission, about how Australia’s workplace relations system is holding back productivity, real wages, investment and business growth.
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👉 Further reading: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/wrong-way-go-back-how-australias-workplace-relations-system-is-holding-back-growth-wages-and-opportunity/_______________________________________________

Has Australia’s experiment with multiculturalism reached a breaking point?
In this episode of Liberalism in Question, economist and public intellectual Henry Ergas AO joins the conversation to examine one of the most sensitive and consequential questions facing classical liberalism in Australia today: how a free and open society can sustain social cohesion amid rapid demographic change, cultural fragmentation, and the rise of identity politics.
Ergas, a long-time columnist for The Australian, former OECD economist, and one of the country’s most rigorous public thinkers, argues that the post-Whitlam model of multiculturalism has shifted from a pragmatic policy of tolerance and integration to an ideology that celebrates difference while weakening the shared civic culture that once held Australia together. He explores the consequences for immigration policy, national identity, and the liberal order itself, including the alarming surge in antisemitism and the broader erosion of social trust.
A clear-eyed and unflinching conversation about culture, belonging, and the future of liberal democracy in Australia.
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In this episode of Liberalism in Question, Joseph Healy examines what Adam Smith would make of modern Australia.
Drawing on both The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments, he diagnoses today’s economic and social challenges and outlines a more balanced path forward.
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Michael Stutchbury interviews Dr Peter Tulip about new NSW data showing development applications and lodgements rising sharply, with building approvals expected to climb but still falling short of the federal housing target. The conversation explains recent NSW reforms like transport‑oriented development and low/mid‑rise housing, and why supply constraints from local councils matter for affordability.
The episode also reveals a ‘naughty list’ of lagging councils, outlines graduated remedies (naming, inspections, state intervention), and explores the debate between concentrating high‑rise near transport hubs versus spreading townhouses more widely across suburbs.
👉 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/ 
👉 Further reading: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/will-nsw-meet-its-housing-target/______________________________________________________________________________________________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. Follow CIS on our Socials; 
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Watch here: https://youtu.be/n_l-fl2w6Z0
From de Tocqueville to Lord Acton and beyond, the idea of Democracy has developed, not always ideally, and signs of its demise are evident in Australia, making its defence a priority.
Rachael Kohn AO FRSN is an author, commentator, and award-winning producer and broadcaster, best known for her long tenure at the ABC. She has written three books, edited a fourth, and holds a PhD in religious studies from a Canadian university.
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👉 Key points: 🔹Civic decline and identity-based education have fuelled the rise of antisemitism in Australia.🔹Antisemitism grows when Australians stop seeing each other first as equal citizens with shared civic obligations.🔹Rebuilding civic knowledge and a common national identity strengthens resistance to antisemitism and social division.
👉 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/ 
👉 Further reading: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/a-nation-of-strangers-how-a-civic-vacuum-enabled-antisemitism/

👉 Watch Part 1: https://youtu.be/zhxJXyavYzI
Is Islam compatible with liberalism? In this episode of Liberalism in Question, Dr Mark Durie joins the Centre for Independent Studies to examine the fundamental tensions between Islamic theology, sharia, and core liberal principles such as individual freedom, equality, and freedom of religion.
Mark Durie is a pastor and academic. He writes and speaks on a wide range of topics which include the connection between faith and culture, freedom of religion, the persecution of religious minorities, particularly non-Muslims living under the Islamic sharia, the origin and history of Islam, and discipling new Christians.
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👉Watch part 2 here: https://youtu.be/rIWyypaLy5kIs Islam Compatible with Classical Liberalism? | Dr. Samir Mahmoud
What is the relationship between Islam and Classical Liberalism? Is there an incompatibility, or just a misunderstanding between manifestations of Islam on the margins? 
Dr. Samir Mahmoud is the Education Advisor to the Office of the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. He has a BA (Hons) in Anthropology & Politics with a focus on multicultural theory and comparative religion, and an MA in Architectural History, Theory & Urban Design with a focus on the traditional townscape from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia. He also holds an MPhil in Theology & Religious Studies with a focus on comparative philosophy and aesthetics. He completed a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Winter (Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad).
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Watch here: https://youtu.be/zhxJXyavYzI

Banana Republic Redux: How Australia is surrendering gains of the reform era | Alex SanchezRead here: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/banana-republic-redux-how-australia-is-surrendering-gains-of-the-reform-era/Key points
• Australia is losing the economic gains achieved during the Hawke-Keating reform era of the mid-1980s after the Banana Republic shock comment.• High taxes and regulations are reducing Australia’s global competitiveness.• Genuine reform requires reducing government size and fostering market-driven growth.
Also …
• The policies of the past decade are reversing the cost-cutting and economic openness achieved during the reform era.• Increased regulation and government intervention raise business costs, deterring investment and innovation.• Higher taxes and expanded public spending fail to address stagnant productivity and economic growth.• Restoring competitiveness requires deregulation, reducing costs for businesses, and limiting government intervention in the economy.Read here: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/banana-republic-redux-how-australia-is-surrendering-gains-of-the-reform-era/

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.