Institute of Public Affairs

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This article is about an Australian think tank. For a Polish one, see Institute of Public Affairs, Poland.

The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is a conservative/neoliberal think tank based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1943 by Charles Kemp, and has had close links to the Liberal Party since its inception. It is funded by corporate donations as well as by its membership. Its current Executive Director is John Roskam.

1 Ideology
2 Political links
3 Research focus
4 Staff
5 See also
- 5.1 External links

[edit] Ideology

The IPA advocates for neoliberal economic policies such as privatization and deregulation of state-owned enterprises, trade liberalisation and deregulated workplaces (ie: without minimum wages, trade union involvement and the removal of work place safety laws), climate change denial (through their environmental front-group the Australian Environment Foundation), campaigns to weaken the influence of NGOs and is funded by corporations and corporate interest groups including Gunns Timber, Monsanto and tobacco, mining and oil companies.

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." [1]

[edit] Political links

The Institute is officially independent of any political party, but has been linked to the Liberal Party since the IPA's inception in 1943 (The Liberal Party is Australia's main conservative party). The IPA's Executive Director John Roskam worked on the Liberal Party's 2001 election campaign. He has also run for Liberal Party preselection - and missed out - "several times". [2]

[edit] Research focus

Since the early 1980s, the Institute has argued the case for a range of neo-liberal public policies, such as:

lower taxation;
economic deregulation particularly as affecting industrial relations;
privatisation of government businesses;
greater transparency in government;
alleged ideological bias in Australia's national broadcaster - the publicly funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation;
a free market approach to environmental problems, criticism the science underlying issues such as climate change;
the elimination of existing programs of welfare targeted at Indigenous Australians, with the stated aim of encouraging the transition to work, self-reliance and high incomes.

The IPA has affiliations with think tanks in the U.S., Canada, UK and Asia. It has a particularly close relationship with the American Enterprise Institute.

IPA publications are highly critical of the operations of many non-government organsations (NGO's), particularly in their interaction with governments and with international agencies. The IPA criticises some NGO's as lacking in transparency. A recent government-commissioned IPA report recommended a 'protocol' for greater transperancy about the nature and extent of these interactions.