Institute of Public Affairs
Established | 1943 |
---|---|
Focus | The free market of ideas, the free flow of capital, a limited and efficient government, evidence-based public policy, the rule of law, and representative democracy. |
Chair | Rod Kemp |
Executive Director | John Roskam |
Budget | FYE June 2012 Income: A$4,002,427 Expenses: A$3,689,095[1] |
Location | Level 2, 410 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia |
Coordinates | 37°49′01″S 144°57′38″E / 37.8170°S 144.9606°E |
Website | www.ipa.org.au |
The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is a public policy think tank[2][3][4] based in Melbourne, Australia. It advocates free market economic policies such as privatisation and deregulation of state-owned enterprises, trade liberalisation and deregulated workplaces, climate change skepticism,[5] the abolition of the minimum wage,[6] the repeal of parts of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975,[7] In its own words, the Institute believes in "the free market of ideas, the free flow of capital, a limited and efficient government, the rule of law, and representative democracy."[2]
History
The IPA was founded in 1943, partly in response to the collapse of Australia's main conservative party, the United Australia Party.[8] The IPA was one of a number of groups which came together to form the Liberal Party of Australia, and became an important fund raising body for the Liberal Party in Victoria.[9] The IPA returned to prominence as a thinktank in the 1990s, following a merger with the Australian Institute of Public Policy, headed by John Hyde who became Executive Director.[8]
Donors
The IPA funded by its membership which include both private individuals and businesses. Among these businesses are ExxonMobil,[10] Telstra, WMC Resources, BHP Billiton, Phillip Morris,[11] Murray Irrigation Limited,[12] and Visy Industries.
IPA donors have also included Clough Engineering, Caltex, Shell, and Esso.[3] Other donors were electricity and mining companies, as well as British American Tobacco (BAT).[3]
In 2003, the Australian Government paid $50,000 to the Institute of Public Affairs to review the accountability of NGOs.[4][13]
Political links
The Institute has close ideological and political affinities with the Liberal Party in Australia. For example, IPA Executive Director John Roskam's byline on a 2005 opinion column in the Australian Financial Review declares that, "during the 2001 federal election he worked on the Liberals' federal campaign".[14] He has also run for Liberal Party preselection.[15] Prime Minister John Howard (Liberal Party) delivered the 60th C D Kemp lecture to the Institute in 2004, titled Iraq: The Importance of Seeing it Through.[16]
Research focus
Since the early 1980s, the Institute has argued the case for a range of free-market and libertarian public policies, such as:[citation needed]
- lower taxation;
- deregulation of the Australian economy particularly as affecting industrial relations and trade unionism;
- privatisation of government businesses and reduced government spending;
- greater transparency in government;
- privatisation of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation;[17]
- a free market approach to environmental problems, and criticism of aspects of climate change science;
- the elimination of existing programs of welfare targeted at Indigenous Australians, with the aim of encouraging transition to work, self-reliance and high incomes.
- the reduction of Australian Public Service benefits and allowances.[18]
The IPA has affiliations with think tanks in the U.S., Canada, UK and Asia.[citation needed] It has a close relationship with the American Enterprise Institute, a right-wing US think-tank.[citation needed]
The IPA has made the following criticisms of proposals by the Australian government to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products:
- Plain packaging may not affect the consumption of those products and [19]
- Plain packaging may infringe intellectual property rights in tobacco trademarks and logos.
The IPA adopts a position of doubt about climate change and finances several Australian climate change science doubters.[20]
In 2008, the institute facilitated a donation of $350,000 by Dr G. Bryant Macfie, a climate change sceptic, to the University of Queensland for environmental research. The money is to fund three environmental doctoral projects, with the IPA suggesting two of the three agreed topics.[21]
In 2014 the IPA called for the abolition of the minimum wage in Australia.[22]
People
John Roskam is the institute's executive director. Prior to his employment at the IPA, Roskam was the Executive Director of the Menzies Research Centre in Canberra.[23]
Other notable staff include:[24]
- John Hyde, Emeritus Fellow. Economist and former politician.
- Jason Potts, Adjunct Fellow. Economist.
- Tom Switzer, Adjunct Fellow. Historian.
- James Bolt, Communications Coordinator. Son of Australian political commentator Andrew Bolt
Notable members include:
- John Lloyd (Australian public servant) - Australian Public Service Commissioner and the former Australian Building and Construction Commissioner
- Gina Rinehart - Chairman of Hancock Prospecting
- Tim Wilson (policy analyst) - former Policy Director of the IPA, former Australian Human Rights Commissioner
- Bob Day - Australian Senator from the Family First Party[25]
- David Leyonhjelm - Australian Senator from the Liberal Democratic Party[26]
Notable Directors include:[27]
- Janet Albrechtsen - Opinion writer for The Australian and recent appointee to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Board[28][29][30]
Publications
The IPA Review is published quarterly.[31]
See also
References
- ^ MORAN Chartered Accountants Institute of Public Affairs Limited Financial Report - 2012 (pdf) ipa.org.au
- ^ a b About the IPA. Retrieved 22 November 2015 ipa.org.au
- ^ a b c Norington, Brad (12 August 2003). "Think tank secrets - National - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
- ^ a b Millar, Royce & Schneiders, Ben. Sydney Morning Herald, 25 August 2013. Free radicals
- ^ "Big donors dump IPA on climate scepticism". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ "Institute of Public Affairs calls for the abolition of the minimum wage". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ "Conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs gives George Brandis race law ultimatum". Sydney Morning Herald. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ a b Seccombe, Mike. "Abbott's faceless men of the IPA". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ Robert Menzies in Office at the National Archives of Australia
- ^ "The global warming sceptics". Melbourne: theage.com.au. 27 November 2004. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ "Thinkers of Influence". The Age. Melbourne. 10 December 2005.
- ^ Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Country Hour, 2004
- ^ Charities under attack. Oxfam Australia, 2003
- ^ Roskam, John (15 July 2005). "Sermons from the left". Financial Review.
- ^ Koutsoukis, Jason (17 June 2005). "Party faces choice new blood or not". The Age. Melbourne.
- ^ John Howard, 19 May 2004, Address to the Institute of Public Affairs.
- ^ "Ignore the hysteria: it's time we privatised the tone deaf, left-leaning ABC". The Age. 30 January 2014.
- ^ "Australian public service allowances attacked: Institute of Public Affairs report". The Canberra Times. 18 December 2015.
- ^ Chris Berg, IPA Research Fellow, The Age, 17 April 2001, [1].
- ^ "The benefit of the doubt". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 May 2010.
- ^ "Dispute over climate sceptic uni grant". The Australian. 7 May 2008.
- ^ "Institute of Public Affairs calls for the abolition of the minimum wage". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 April 2014.
- ^ http://ipa.org.au/people/john-roskam John Roskam, ipa.org.au
- ^ http://ipa.org.au/people/ People, ipa.org.au
- ^
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- ^ Caldwell, Alison (24 February 2005). "ABC critic appointed to board of directors". ABC News. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
- ^ "ABC Friends label Janet Albrechtsen and Neil Brown panel appointments a declaration of war on independence".
- ^ "Janet Albrechtsen appointed to ABC and SBS board appointments panel".
- ^ OCLC 725153335 ISSN 1329-8100
Notes