Great piece from @rossgittins.bsky.social in the SMH today. It references a new report from @richarddenniss.bsky.social on how Australian governments game their climate targets to conceal their lack of climate action. Read: australiainstitute.org.au/report/targe...

Australia and its climate targets - a dismal history (1988-2025) allouryesterdays.info/2025/09/20/a...

What if we taxed the gas industry properly? "We're incredibly generous to the gas industry, most of which is foreign owned. "Norway taxes gas & gives their kids free education. What we do is give the gas away for free & charge our kids a fortune to go to uni." @richarddenniss.bsky.social on ABC ⤵️

Australia is so generous to the gas industry that more than half of our gas is being given away to foreign-owned companies. “Japan are buying gas from us and then selling it to other countries and making a buck out of it.” - Richard Denniss, Executive Director @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

Australian artists helped the nation survive the COVID pandemic, but our governments have left them in the lurch. “If people can’t earn a living while making their art, newsflash, there’s not going to be a lot of art.” - Skye Predavec, Anne Kantor Fellow @skyelark.bsky.social #auspol

The Government just released a climate risk report with terrifying predictions of Australia's future. And it says a lot about its priorities that it waited until after giving final approval to extend a massive gas export project. #auspol @richarddenniss.bsky.social

David Pope in Canberra Times

"We’re still opening new gas and coal projects. "At the same time, the Government wants a pat on the back for slightly more ambitious domestic targets." - Executive Director Richard Denniss on FIVEAA Mornings @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

Dr Richard Denniss says the “obvious” ones to pay for damage from increased floods as per the latest climate report should be the Fossil Fuel co’s, as houses will become uninsurable “The insurance industry will not help ppl in 20yrs time with their flooded houses”💯 #Estimates

Sarah Hanson-Young asks why govt keeps saying we “need” gas? Dr Richard Denniss “I would argue we don’t.” “We need no new gas & coal developments anywhere in the world” “To be clear, the Aus govt denies this science. The UN says it, the IEA says it, the Aus govt rejects it!”💥 #Estimates

The Government finally released the Climate Risk Assessment report, and it's damning. 1.5 million Australians living on the coastline are under threat of rising sea levels by 2050! But the Govt STILL approved extending the North West Shelf gas project #auspol @richarddenniss.bsky.social

"We're telling 20 year olds to worry about superannuation they won't get until 2065. "This report is saying there are catastrophic risks coming right now, way before you need your super." 🔊 Executive Director Richard Denniss at the Senate Environment Committee @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

‘Strict pollution limits’ on a project designed to pump billions of tonnes of pollution into the atmosphere… would cigarettes be safer if they were wrapped in biodegradable plastic…FFS #climate

Approving new coal and gas projects means rejecting climate science. Approving new gas and coal projects means rejecting the pleas of our Pacific neighbours The fact that we give half of our gas exports away for free just rubs economic salt into the the scientific and diplomatic wounds

The focus on the ‘sensible centre’ has created a bad map where the road leads to nowhere, ignoring evidence when convenient and stifling democratic debate. “The evidence tells us to do all sorts of things like stop building new gas and coal.” - Richard Denniss @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

Jesus wept! Is this peak gas industry shitfuckery?!... Boss of EPA in the NT has a side hustle with lobbyists for fossil fuel companies. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Listen to the full episode of After America here, or wherever you listen to podcasts. australiainstitute.org.au/post/even-wa...

Richard Denniss discusses his new Vantage Point essay ‘Dead Centre’ in Melbourne, and the dangers of having a ‘sensible centre’ in today’s political climate. “This is not good for democracy or public debate. This is not good for ventilating alternate ideas.” @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

Australian universities have slipped through the regulatory cracks, but students are the ones that are suffering. “The current system is clearly not working. If universities take taxpayer money, they should face taxpayer scrutiny.” - Richard Denniss @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

30 yrs ago today (Sept 5, 1995) – Australian Aluminium Council joins “Greenhouse Challenge” This is obvious to smart ppl, but not so much to academics & eco-modernists: Any voluntary "emissions reduction" scheme a major polluter joins is greenwash *at best*. allouryesterdays.info/2025/09/04/s...

David Pocock 👏 1hr20: 'Rationing care (for older Austs) because of the costs but at same time we've got a govt happy to give half of our gas exports for free & turn around & say we can't afford to help you' 🤯 @davidpocock.bsky.social @richarddenniss.bsky.social www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

"With Australia’s transport emissions at a near-record high, the Productivity Commission is more worried about subsidies for electric vehicles that are just 1% of the cars on our roads, than it is about subsidies for enormous 4WDs that now dominate suburban streets." @richarddenniss.bsky.social

"The minute climate change affects your suburb, the minute that damage is likely, now you can't get insurance." The Federal Government needs to release the National Climate Risk Assessment, which contains vital information about future climate change disasters. #auspol @richarddenniss.bsky.social

Yet another superlative commentary from @rossgittins.bsky.social: why Australia has to re-introduce a carbon tax to increase efficiency of decarbonisation. Required reading. @jimchalmers.bsky.social @albomp.bsky.social @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol #climatecrisis www.smh.com.au/business/the...

If the Productivity Commission was as interested in productivity as it is in ideology it would be pushing for much tougher efficiency standards for cars, houses and commercial buildings…but no…it wants market forces to fix market failure..FFS…my op-ed #climate www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2025...

"Despite the clear evidence of the impact of climate change on the economy, the Govt refuses to release the climate risk assessment report" "Govt is refusing to let voters know about the impacts of climate change on the economy." @richarddenniss.bsky.social australiainstitute.org.au/report/clima...

From the Labor adviser who pitched “net zero fossil fuels” comes a sequel: “Don’t set climate targets too high, or the government might have to do something". #auspol #climate www.afr.com/policy/energ...

Aug 26, 1965 - “Climatic Change appears to be underway” – the commencement speech that should have rocked the world Carl Borgmann at University of Tennessee; "CO2... traps heat from the sun, and climatic change results – not overnight, but slowly and surely” allouryesterdays.info/2025/08/25/c...

"We subsidise the destruction of native forests. Do both major parties support that? Yes. "Does the public support that? No. "But because both major parties agree, bipartisanship means it's very hard to have a democratic debate." @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

To boost Australian productivity, the government must look beyond the lower-tax and free-market solutions that have long reinforced its downward trend, writes @richarddenniss.bsky.social in the Saturday Paper. Our submission to the Economic Roundtable: australiainstitute.org.au/report/submi...

"Despite decades of taking the advice of orgs such as the Productivity Commission, resulting in decades of deregulation, privatisation and tax cuts, Australia has witnessed a collapse in productivity growth," writes @richarddenniss.bsky.social.

Where is Labor’s ambition when it comes to the economy? @richarddenniss.bsky.social joined the 7am podcast to unpack where we're at after the Economic Roundtable and share some good ideas to boost it. Listen:

I think it was when we changed the tax system and halved the tax on capital gain…imagine taxing passive income from investing at half the rate we tax wages and salaries… And all those rich kids inheriting all those multimillion super balances rather than working to earn their own money… bludgers!

It's not how much gas Australia has, it's where it's going that's the problem. Add your name to the call to fix Australia's gas export problem ✍️ nb.australiainstitute.org.au/fix_gas_expo...

"Crossing the floor is a big deal in Australia. Know what they call crossing the floor in the US? Voting. There's no term for it." "But in our two-party system no public dissent is allowed." Richard unpacked his Vantage Point essay Dead Centre on ABC Canberra! #auspol @richarddenniss.bsky.social

Catch Executive Director Richard Denniss at the Doctors for the Environment Health + Climate Forum! It's sure to be a fascinating discussion about how environmental policy and climate action shape our communities' wellbeing. 🌏❤️‍🩹 @docsenvaus.bsky.social @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

+ listen to this cogent conversation between @markgkenny.bsky.social & @richarddenniss.bsky.social reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/...

“Sweden is no outlier. Norway, Denmark and Finland all have much higher taxes and much bigger public sectors than ours, and much stronger #productivity growth” notes @richarddenniss.bsky.social www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politic...

In the fight against slavery abolitionists eventually prevailed over slave owners. The fight wasnt won in the sensible centre but by ‘extremists’ who risked everything to save the lives of others. It scares me to think how the ABC would cover such a debate today. theconversation.com/friday-essay...

"Now we're talking about 'should we be giving copyright intellectual property away for free to the data miners?' "We're giving our gas away for free, of course the data mining industry want a deal as sweet as the gas industry." 🔊 @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

"We have enormous political pressure to keep approving new gas projects, or the people that own the world's most expensive fridges will go broke." #auspol @richarddenniss.bsky.social

I'm speaking at Monash Uni tomorrow about Australia's gas policy mess and Woodside in particular. @australiainstitute.org.au @nteumonash.bsky.social

HEY friends - new @crikey.com.au piece up now! American 'abundance agenda' brain rot has killing brain cells in Canberra. But as we can see from what's happened over there, deregulatory fantasies only ever end up serving those doing the most harm to climate / environment. Have a read!

Fun facts about Chevron! 1. They get all the Aussie gas they export from FOR FREE 2. They’ve NEVER paid PRRT 3. They were fined $340 million for tax avoidance 4. Our stupid government is refunding half the royalties they’ve paid for Aussie oil to pay their cleanup costs 5. They’re massive whingers

Australian politics is about the clash of vested interests, not a debate over the national interest. Case in point: the productivity roundtable.

“Not releasing the National Climate Risk Assessment before setting a 2035 target is like heading out on a road trip without a map, without knowing what hazards are ahead.” - Senator David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social #auspol

PERTH! Join Konrad from Punter's Politics and Mark from the Australia Institute as they discuss the gas industry, its influence on the government and what we can do about it! 🗓️Tue 9 Sep 6pm 📍WA Museum @punterspolitics.bsky.social @markogge.bsky.social #auspol Get your ticket! 🎟️👇

“Raising ambition without raising integrity won’t necessarily cut emissions.” - Polly Hemming in the August 2nd edition of The Saturday Paper Good climate policy is simple. We need to stop doing the harmful things and we need to invest in the helpful things. @pollyjhemming.bsky.social #auspol

Discussing long-run economic reform without putting all the climate facts on the table is like discussing interest rate policy with no data on inflation. Read our report: australiainstitute.org.au/post/climate... Read the Climate of the Nation report: australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/u...