Centre for Independent Studies

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!
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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.
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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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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.
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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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John Howard’s Landslide Election Victory | John Howard | Conversations at CIS

March, 4th 2021 marked the 25th anniversary of the Howard Coalition government’s election. In honour of the occasion, former prime minister John Howard and CIS executive director Tom Switzer sat down for a conversation about the policy successes (and failures) of his government as well as the current economic, cultural and foreign policy challenges facing Australia.
In 1995, Mr. Howard had inherited a party that had chalked up its fifth election defeat, only to lead it to win four elections on the trot. From March 1996 to November 2007, his government fundamentally transformed the political landscape. It cut taxes, reformed welfare, balanced the national books, wiped out government debt, loosened the trade unions’ grip on business, and presided over the longest economic boom since the gold rushes of the 19th century.
Under John Howard’s leadership, Australia led the 1999 peacekeeping effort in East Timor and was deeply involved in countering terrorism in Australia’s local neighbourhood and in farther flung areas, like the Middle East and Afghanistan.

42. On Liberty | Zoe Daniel | How An Unprecedented Presidency Changed Everything.

Donald Trump turned America on its head and shocked the world, taking an isolationist approach to foreign policy, shaking up global institutions and fomenting the rise of ‘fake news’. How did the reality TV star win over the hearts and minds of so many regular Americans from Ohio to Florida? And how, after four years, does he have more supporters than ever?
This week, three-time foreign correspondent and former ABC News US Bureau Chief, Zoe Daniel joins us to discuss her recent book Greetings from Trumpland explores how an unprecedented presidency changed everything. Through interviews with regular Americans who backed the mercurial president in mid-west America, to those who felt the wrath of his no-holds-barred presidency, this book is an inside look at the historic one-term presidency that changed the world and an insightful examination into how America, and the world, can move forward.
Join us as Salvatore Babones speaks to Zoe Daniel about this new book and her experience witnessing the unlikely rise of Donald Trump to the presidency, reporting week in and week out on this renegade 'anti-politician'. From historic summits on the world stage with Kim Jong Un, to the rusted steel mills of Pennsylvania, Zoe and co-author Roscoe Whalan were ringside as Donald Trump navigated his way through four years in the Oval Office.
Zoe Daniel is a three-time foreign correspondent and former ABC News United States Bureau Chief. She was based in Washington DC from late 2015 until the end of 2019. Zoe was ABC’s Southeast Asia correspondent from 2009 to 2013. Zoe has written two other books including her 2014 memoir, Storyteller.
Read Zoe's book here: https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780733341519/greetings-from-trumpland/

📖 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.
Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/
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41. On Liberty | Peter Murphy | The Paradox Of Prosperity

Does prosperity depend on discipline, rational planning, and strict adherence to scientific principles? Or is it more about having an "ambidextrous frame of mind"?
Professor Peter Murphy joins us this week to discuss his book The Political Economy of Prosperity: Successful Societies and Productive Cultures. Prof. Murphy talks to us about the paradoxes that shape our daily lives. Anyone who has ever been asked to "do more with less" or engage in "creative destruction" has had to embrace paradox to promote productivity. But is it really that easy?
On Liberty host, Salvatore Babones will be asking Prof. Murphy about his uniquely metaphysical understanding of the modern economy. Why isn't the Western Enlightenment heritage good enough to drive growth? Is irony really an important economic asset? How rare is real creativity, and where does it come from? And most importantly of all: where are we going from here?
Peter Murphy is Adjunct Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University and Adjunct Professor at the Cairns Institute at James Cook University.
His book The Political Economy of Prosperity: Successful Societies and Productive Cultures is available at: https://www.routledge.com/The-Political-Economy-of-Prosperity-Successful-Societies-and-Productive/Murphy/p/book/9781138581258
📖 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.
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⏲️ Missed last week? Watch and listen to Episode 39, with Joshua Forrester:
https://youtu.be/IFu-XfLrkaE
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/
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40. On Liberty | John Lee | Biden Shows He Is No Barack Obama

On the show this Wednesday, we welcome former CIS scholar John Lee. Recently writing in The Australian, John highlighted the new US administration has not removed Trump’s tariffs and other economic measures against China. Instead it has reaffirmed a previous assessment by then secretary of state Mike Pompeo that genocide is being committed in Xinjiang and the US Navy recently sailed a guided-missile destroyer through the Taiwan Straits.
Despite former national security advisor, John Bolton's 2019 speculations that a Biden administration would behave in much the same way as the second-term Obama administration (Which was not a compliment), Biden is going out of his way to dispel fears about a lack of resolve.
Join us on YouTube at 12:30 pm Wednesday 24 February, we explore Biden's commitment to reinvigorate US alliances and partnerships, about the importance of domestic renewal and protecting oneself from external threats and advancing sovereign capabilities, in the face of rising global competition.
John Lee is an adjunct professor and non-resident senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. From 2016 to 2018 he was senior adviser to the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop.
📖 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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⏲️ Missed last week? Watch and listen to Episode 39, with Joshua Forrester:
https://youtu.be/IFu-XfLrkaE
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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China, Climate & Digital Technology | Salvatore Babones | Events at CIS

📩 Download the new report now: https://www.cis.org.au/publications/occasional-papers/the-new-president-what-bidens-foreign-policy-agenda-means-for-australia/
Joe Biden comes to the presidency amid great expectations for a return to normalcy in American foreign policy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a more benign international environment for Australia. The United States has global priorities and responsibilities, but there are three areas in particular where the Biden administration’s policy choices are most likely to affect Australia: China policy; climate policy; and digital platforms.
About the author: Salvatore Babones is an Adjunct Scholar at the Centre for Independent Studies and an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. An expert on globalisation and China, he is an elected member of the National Committee on US-China Relations and writes a column on Indo-Pacific affairs for Foreign Policy magazine. He has authored four previous CIS Analysis Papers, including most recently A House Divided: The AFRB and China’s Subnational Diplomacy in Australia (November 2020).

39. On Liberty | Joshua Forrester | Safe From Harm Concept Creep And The Threat To Liberty

This week, legal scholar Joshua Forrester joins us to discuss how words like harm and safety have been redefined by political activists to attack fundamental freedoms. Citing no less authorities than Plato and Confucius, he argues that 'concept creep' has undermined not only our language, but our politics. Emblematic of the dangers of redefinition is the warping of John Stewart Mill's classically liberal 'harm principle' to cover hurt feelings and justify the creation of 'safe spaces'.
Join us as we explore the importance of language for practical politics. Should words be as elastic as the concepts they cover? Was Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass right? Do words mean just what we choose them to mean? How did the 'harm principle' lead us to the creation of 'safe spaces'? Is the activists' commitment to preventing harm any more than 'skin' deep? And what would Mill make of all this?
Joshua Forrester is a PhD candidate in law who has published academic work on freedom of expression and the implied constitutional freedom of political communication. He is the lead author of No Offence Intended: Why 18C is Wrong and co-editor of Fundamental Rights in the Age of COVID-19, published by Connor Court.

Advancing Indigenous Education Outcomes | Lorraine Hammond, Warren Mundine, Jacinta Nampijinpa Praice | Events at CIS

Indigenous educational disadvantage has persisted despite countless initiatives, programmes, and spending from governments and communities. For solutions to help truly close the gap, CIS hosts a stellar panel in our latest webinar: Dr Lorraine Hammond AM, Nyunggai Warren Mundine AO, and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
The educational plight of indigenous students has endured despite countless initiatives and programs from governments and communities. Despite the best intentions of policymakers, we haven't produced a fundamental shift to policy or to the narrative needed to overcome indigenous educational disadvantage. Truly closing the gap will only be achievable with new policy directions, renewed community leadership, and capacity development of educators.
We are delighted to host Lorraine, Warren, and Jacinta to discuss the challenges of educational disadvantage within majority indigenous schools and communities. What are the big issues faced by teachers, schools, and parents in majority-indigenous communities? What can educators, communities, and policymakers do to better meet the educational needs of students?
The conversation is moderated by CIS education research fellow, Glenn Fahey.

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Dr Lorraine Hammond AM, leads professional learning and coaching for literacy instruction for teachers and school leaders in some of Australia’s most disadvantaged indigenous communities in the Kimberley region.
Nyunggai Warren Mundine AO, is Chair of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and formerly chaired the Australian Government’s Indigenous Advisory Council.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, is Director of the CIS’ Indigenous Affairs research programme, serves as Deputy Mayor of Alice Springs City Council, and is an experienced cross-cultural consultant.
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