Centre for Independent Studies

On Liberty Ep.51 | Dr John Humphreys | Federal Budget 2021 Recap

From childcare subsidies to jobseeker increases and big infrastructure spending this years' 2021 Federal Budget is being touted as one of the largest in our nation's history. While elevated iron ore prices will help to offset its impact we are staring down multiyear deficits and debt. Join guest host, Simon Cowan and CIS research associate, John Humphreys as they cover what the mainstream media has missed.

50. On Liberty | Peter Khalil MP | Democracy Under Threat In Myanmar And Throughout The Region

As Myanmar's military takeover risks spinning into civil war, what can Australia do to help? Do "middle powers" matter? How secure is our region, and what can we do to improve it? If democracy really is threatened in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, what can Australia do to help preserve it?
Join us for our 50th episode this week as we ask Mr Peter Khalil MP what Australia can do to promote democracy in an increasingly benighted region. Khalil is the Member for Wills in Victoria and Deputy Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. He has a background in international law and has been a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. He was awarded the Australian Overseas Humanitarian Services Medal for his service in Iraq.
Khalil worries that authoritarianism is on the rise globally, and argues that liberal democracies can and should defend their ways of life. He has called for Australia to take a stand on China's persecution of Uyghurs and pushed for the country to pursue a more moral foreign policy. But can a mid-sized country like Australia really make a difference in international affairs? And do the generals in Myanmar really care what we think?

49. On Liberty | Star Wars Day | Libertarian Edition

Science fiction is often seen as the domain of - the nerds. But, the genre has a long and inextricable link with libertarianism. This is the argument made by podcaster, writer, and teacher, Jordan Alexander Hill in his brilliant Quillette essay, "The Libertarian History of Science Fiction."
Jordan joins us to discuss his essay and we voyage from the early days of science fiction; the impact of the pulps; the influence of John Campbell; the Prometheus awards, and beyond.
May the force be with you.

On Liberty Ep.48 | Dr Fiona Mueller | Education Or Enstupidation? English In The Curriculum

How can students be expected to develop into intellectual adults if they are never exposed to the best reading that the English language has to offer?
The New South Wales curriculum acknowledges that English is the national language of Australia, but what is it actually doing to educate the state's children in its use?
Join us this week as we "talk English" with educationalist Dr Fiona Mueller, author of "From Education to Enstupidation -- Teaching English Language and Literature in Australia." Our regular host Salvatore Babones will be asking Dr Mueller about the proper role of English in school and university education, how reading improves writing, and the importance of great literature in the formation of young people's very identities.
Dr Mueller writes that "in Australia, the globalists and quackademics now advocate unsubstantiated approaches to teaching and learning that have no grounding in national identity, intellectual rigor, and a strong moral and ethical sense of character based on disciplined, wide reading." Is that just the age-old yearning for a lost golden age? Or are we really witnessing the hollowing-out of education, and with it the betrayal of our own children?
Fiona Mueller has a comprehensive background in schools, universities, and government bodies as well as a longstanding commitment to research and writing. Most recently, Fiona co-authored a policy paper on school education for the Page Research Centre. Fiona is an Adjunct Scholar with the CIS and previously held a national role as Director of Curriculum at the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

47. On Liberty | Dr Zachary Gorman | Magna Carta; 800 Years Of Freedom.

The Magna Carta has become an enduring symbol of freedom, a triumph over power and tyranny. But would you be surprised to learn that, not only did the great charter have many lives it, "was completely misrepresented?"
This is the story, beautifully and methodical told, in historian Dr Zachary Gorman's latest book: Summoning Magna Carta: Freedom's Symbol over a Millennium.
Through impeccable research that takes the reader from Runnymede; through England's 17th century civil war and the Crusades; and everywhere in between, Gorman incisively depicts the many lives and impact of the Magna Carta.

46. On Liberty | Natasha Jha Bhaskar | India And Australia What Are The Opportunities?

India is on everyone's agenda here in Australia, but do we really understand the country -- and the opportunities it offers? We're joined this week by Natasha Jha Bhaskar, general manager of Newland Global Group (NGG) and a frequent commentator on Australia-India relations. With 12 years of experience working in the Indian Parliament, Natasha now helps Australian organizations understand the Indian business environment and build partnerships in India.
What are the opportunities for Australian exports to India? And for investment in India? What can the Australian government do to better facilitate Indian investment here in Australia? And what is India looking for from Australia?
Cross-cultural understanding can go a long way toward answering these questions. That gives Australia a massive (but largely untapped) strategic resource in its the 660,000 Indian-born citizens and residents. Australia's governments and businesses must be proactive and sincerely committed in order to leverage this resource to its full potential. As Natasha herself has written: "Curiosity and continuity are key."

Cancel Culture Crusades | Claire Lehmann | CIS

Many cultural forces continue to weed out books, tear down statues and shame celebrities, who buck fashionable opinion. As a result, the cultural putsch in many western institutions strikes at liberal values. We are told these purges are necessary to “prevent harm.” In any case, society has “moved on” from the past.
But is cancel culture simply about fending off “harm”? Is it just about redressing past western sins? Or is what the critics say is a ferocious campaign of political conformity threatening the fabric of our liberal public discourse and civil society? Is it a proxy war on the Western liberal democratic tradition? Is anyone or anything safe from cancellation?

45. On Liberty | Monica Wilkie | What Do Australians Really Think About Social Media?

What do Australians really think about social media?
We're joined this week by CIS policy analyst Monica Wilkie, who will share the results of her new CIS survey on the subject.
Does social media connect or isolate? Is its impact on society mostly positive or negative? Which generation relies on social media the most, and for what purposes? And at a time when two-thirds of Australians want Facebook and Twitter to maintain political neutrality, are the networking giants delivering?
Monica Wilkie is the CIS media analyst behind "The Woke Wars" and "If I Ran the Woke Zoo." Her new policy paper Australians’ Attitudes to Social Media: Connection or Curse? is available for free download from the CIS website. Conducted in February 2021, it reports the results of a survey of 1024 Australian adults just before the Commonwealth passed the News Media Bargaining Code. The findings may surprise you!
📖 See more from CIS here: https://www.cis.org.au/
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____________________
The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom 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 continue to prosper into the future.
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44. On Liberty | Grahame Campbell | Australia’s Groundwater Crisis In The Making

The dry continent is home to massive groundwater resources, but we don't even know how much freshwater rests right under our feet. Grahame Campbell FRSN is a tireless advocate for data-driven resource management, but when it comes to groundwater, we just don't have the data. Despite spending billions on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Australia's governments still don't understand how the surface water ecosystems of the Murray and Darling rivers interact with the environment they flow on, though, and under.
Grahame Campbell, a long-time CIS friend, author, engineer and musician, joins us this week to discuss his current passion for properly managing Australia's groundwater. We will also discuss his recent memoir Clarinets, Pipelines and Unforeseen Places: The Evolution of an Engineer. With backdrops including Australia, Iraq, USA, Trinidad, Indonesia and Bangladesh, Grahame journeyed through his career as a pipeline engineer meeting characters from Dizzy Gillespie and Mick Jagger to Rex ‘The Strangler’ Connor and Andrew Forrest.
Grahame Campbell studied engineering at the University of New South Wales while also fostering a love of music and went on to work for the NSW Railways before joining CMPS, a consultancy where he would eventually rise to become CEO. His later career has involved directorships at CMPS&F, Anaconda Nickel, ACEA, SWR, USC and Iluka Resources.
📖 See more from CIS here: https://www.cis.org.au/
💬 Join in the conversation live every Wednesday at 12:30 pm AEST, on YouTube or Facebook.
👍 Like this video if you enjoyed it and want to see more, it really helps us out
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Tune in live On Liberty, every Wednesday at 12:30 pm.
____________________
The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom 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 continue to prosper into the future.
Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/
Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/
Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/
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43. On Liberty | Matthew Lesh | How Big Is Big Enough Government?

“The goal should be to shrink, focus and improve the state.”
On the show this Wednesday, we welcome Adam Smith Institute’s Matthew Lesh. Recently, writing in the IPA Review and The Australian, Matt says assessing public policy responses to covid comes down to the competence, rather than size, of government. Despite countless alternative explanations — such as differences in population size, style of government, and even the gender of political leaders — he argues covid outcomes crucially depend on the quality of governance.
Pointing to a stark contrast between NSW and Victoria, government competence has been the difference between life and death, freedom and tyranny. Matt challenges tired debates that pit big government against small government, and state intervention against market forces. Instead, he says, we must question how well government meets the needs of service-users and delivers bang-for-the-buck for taxpayers.
Join us on YouTube at 12.30pm Wednesday 17 March, when guest host, Glenn Fahey asks how we should assess the competence of the state? Should limited government enthusiasts be concerned about an ever-expansive government? How big is big enough government?
Matt Lesh is Head of Research at the UK’s Adam Smith Institute and is an adjunct fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs. He is a past CIS guest and author of the 2019 book, Democracy in a Divided Australia.
📖 See more from CIS here: https://www.cis.org.au/
💬 Join in the conversation live every Wednesday at 12:30 pm AEST, on YouTube or Facebook.
👍 Like this video if you enjoyed it and want to see more, it really helps us out
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Tune in live On Liberty, every Wednesday at 12:30 pm.
____________________
The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom 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 continue to prosper into the future.
Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/
Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/
Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/
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Follow CIS on Socials
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