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Institute of Public Affairs

Coordinates: 37°49′01″S 144°57′38″E / 37.8170°S 144.9606°E / -37.8170; 144.9606
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Institute of Public Affairs
(IPA)
Established1943
FocusThe 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.
ChairRod Kemp
Executive DirectorJohn Roskam
BudgetFYE June 2012
Income: A$4,002,427
Expenses: A$3,689,095[1]
Location
Level 2, 410 Collins Street
Melbourne Victoria 3000
Australia
Coordinates37°49′01″S 144°57′38″E / 37.8170°S 144.9606°E / -37.8170; 144.9606
Websitewww.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]

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]

  • 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:

Notable Directors include:[27]

Publications

The IPA Review is published quarterly.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ MORAN Chartered Accountants Institute of Public Affairs Limited Financial Report - 2012 (pdf) ipa.org.au
  2. ^ a b About the IPA. Retrieved 22 November 2015 ipa.org.au
  3. ^ a b c Norington, Brad (12 August 2003). "Think tank secrets - National - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  4. ^ a b Millar, Royce & Schneiders, Ben. Sydney Morning Herald, 25 August 2013. Free radicals
  5. ^ "Big donors dump IPA on climate scepticism". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Institute of Public Affairs calls for the abolition of the minimum wage". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs gives George Brandis race law ultimatum". Sydney Morning Herald. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  8. ^ a b Seccombe, Mike. "Abbott's faceless men of the IPA". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  9. ^ Robert Menzies in Office at the National Archives of Australia
  10. ^ "The global warming sceptics". Melbourne: theage.com.au. 27 November 2004. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  11. ^ "Thinkers of Influence". The Age. Melbourne. 10 December 2005.
  12. ^ Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Country Hour, 2004
  13. ^ Charities under attack. Oxfam Australia, 2003
  14. ^ Roskam, John (15 July 2005). "Sermons from the left". Financial Review.
  15. ^ Koutsoukis, Jason (17 June 2005). "Party faces choice new blood or not". The Age. Melbourne.
  16. ^ John Howard, 19 May 2004, Address to the Institute of Public Affairs.
  17. ^ "Ignore the hysteria: it's time we privatised the tone deaf, left-leaning ABC". The Age. 30 January 2014.
  18. ^ "Australian public service allowances attacked: Institute of Public Affairs report". The Canberra Times. 18 December 2015.
  19. ^ Chris Berg, IPA Research Fellow, The Age, 17 April 2001, [1].
  20. ^ "The benefit of the doubt". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 May 2010.
  21. ^ "Dispute over climate sceptic uni grant". The Australian. 7 May 2008.
  22. ^ "Institute of Public Affairs calls for the abolition of the minimum wage". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 April 2014.
  23. ^ http://ipa.org.au/people/john-roskam John Roskam, ipa.org.au
  24. ^ http://ipa.org.au/people/ People, ipa.org.au
  25. ^ {{cite news}}: Empty citation (help) | publisher=[[The Saturday Paper] author=Mike Seccombe | url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2014/05/31/abbotts-faceless-men-the-ipa/1401458400 | title=Abbott's faceless men of the IPA | date=31 May 2014}}
  26. ^ {{cite news}}: Empty citation (help) | publisher=[[The Saturday Paper] author=Mike Seccombe | url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2014/05/31/abbotts-faceless-men-the-ipa/1401458400 | title=Abbott's faceless men of the IPA | date=31 May 2014}}
  27. ^ http://ipa.org.au/people/ People, ipa.org.au
  28. ^ Caldwell, Alison (24 February 2005). "ABC critic appointed to board of directors". ABC News. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  29. ^ "ABC Friends label Janet Albrechtsen and Neil Brown panel appointments a declaration of war on independence".
  30. ^ "Janet Albrechtsen appointed to ABC and SBS board appointments panel".
  31. ^ OCLC 725153335 ISSN 1329-8100

Notes