Ideas about Liberty
This work focuses on traditional liberal concerns - the extent of government and the restraint of liberty. However, the crucial issue constantly raised and addressed is what makes for a good society. Is a society truly civil if government bureaucracies have constantly to intervene to regulate and restrict the activities of citizens? Or, is the only truly civil society an ‘open society’. The ideal the CIS endorses is that a good society is one in which autonomous citizens are at liberty to order their affairs as they wish, in which individuals have the capacity to take personal responsibility for their choices, and in which people are left free to combine with others as they see fit to advance their mutual interests.
Publications
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A Fair Go: Fact or Fiction?
| 09 May 2013 | Policy MonographsThe Australian ideal of a fair go is fact rather than fiction. By offering all individuals the opportunity to capitalise... Read More...
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In the Pay of the Piper: Governments, Not-for-Profits, and the Burden of Regulation
| 23 Apr 2013 | Issue AnalysisReforms intended to boost confidence in Australian charities risk turning the charitable sector into just another arm of... Read More...
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After the Welfare State: Politicians Stole Your Future … You Can Get It Back
| 08 Apr 2013 | Occasional PapersHistory, economics, sociology, political science, and mathematics are the tools to understand and evaluate welfare states,... Read More...
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Tax Welfare Churn and the Australian Welfare State
| 27 Mar 2013 | TARGET30 Research PapersThe welfare state currently consumes $316 billion a year; however, much of this spending is not targeted at those who need... Read More...
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TARGET30 SNAPSHOT: Tax Welfare Churn and the Australian Welfare State
| 27 Mar 2013 | TARGET30 SnapshotsThe welfare state currently consumes $316 billion a year; however, much of this spending is not targeted at those who need... Read More...
Opinion & Commentary
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Big Brother deters charity
| 26 Apr 2013 | The AustralianReforms intended to boost confidence in Australian charities risk turning the charitable sector into just another arm of ... Read More
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Outcry ignores role of travellers
| 20 Feb 2013 | The Canberra TimesWhat are the responsibilities of the Australian government to help citizens who get into trouble overseas?... Read More
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Hummus, Hamas and the hopeless naive
| 18 Oct 2012 | Quadrant OnlineIn the wake of the violent Islamist riots, concerns that western governments will seek a political accommodation and try ... Read More
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Our right to silence is too important to lose
| 01 Oct 2012 | The ConversationThe move to dilute the right to silence in NSW is unjust, constitutionally questionable and unnecessary.... Read More
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Tighten the rules on welfare payments
| 08 Jun 2012 | ON LINE OpinionThere is more to welfare reform than amalgamating the benefits.... Read More
Ideas@TheCentre
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Why I work for a classical liberal think tank
| 10 May 2013At the core of classical liberalism is the unwavering belief that the best chance humanity has to prosper is when people ...
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Requiem for a reformer
| 19 Apr 2013Thatcher’s people – and protestors – turn up in the thousands to farewell a giant of the twentieth century....
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The phantom coup and poll-driven politics
| 28 Mar 2013Pointing the finger at the apparent shortcomings of Australia’s political culture is a convenient explanation for the recent ...
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Right to silence
| 28 Mar 2013The historical safeguard of fair criminal trials embodied in the right to silence no longer exists in NSW following the passage ...
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What is a fair share?
| 15 Mar 2013
