Richard Denniss

Richard Denniss is the Chief Economist and former Executive Director of The Australia Institute.^[1] He is a prominent Australian economist, author and public policy commentator, and a former Adjunct Associate Professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy^[2] at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.

Dr Denniss was described by Mark Kenny in the Sydney Morning Herald as "a constant thorn in the side of politicians on both sides due to his habit of skewering dodgy economic justifications for policy"^[3]

In 2015 Denniss delivered the 16th Manning Clark Lecture at The Australian National University. The speech drew from Clark's writings, identifying 'enlargers' and 'punishers' in Australian cultural, economic and political history.^[4]

666 ABC Canberra produced and broadcast "An occasional series with 'The Moral Economist'" podcast starring Richard Denniss, in 2013. The series discussed economic issues from the dollar cost of a human life to preventative health care to who deserves welfare.^[5]

In recent times his research has focused on climate change policy ^[6] and tax policy.^[7] He has previously worked on a number of projects aimed at improving the measurement of government and economic performance including the 'Genuine Progress Indicator' (GPI),^[8] the 'Wellbeing Manifesto',^[9] and the state of Australian Government.

The Australia Institute

Richard Denniss is the Chief Economist for The Australia Institute. He was Executive Director of the Institute from July 2008^[10] to June 2015^[11] and was previously the Deputy Director of the Institute between 2003 and 2005. The Institute is acknowledged as Australia’s most influential progressive think tank. Based in Canberra, it conducts independent research on a broad range of economic, social and environmental issues in order to inform public debate and bring greater accountability to the democratic process.

The Institute and its researchers are prominent commentators on public policy issues, including recent work on climate change and emissions trading, taxation policy, paid parental leave and unemployment. The Institute is also known for its work on health, consumer affairs and trade practices.

In 2014, The Saturday Paper published a feature on the Institute.^[12] In the article, author Mike Seccombe wrote "The men from the Australia Institute are no one’s puppets. Indeed, through carefully cultivated alliances with the pivotal players in this parliament, they look increasingly like the ones holding the strings." Additionally, Australian Labor Party MP Andrew Leigh was quoted as saying "Their work on tax breaks has been very important. I think of Richard as being kind of a mirror image of [free-market economist and former Reserve Bank board member] Warwick McKibbin."^[12]

Writings

Denniss is the co-author (with Clive Hamilton) of best-selling book Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough.^[13] and An introduction to Australian Public Policy (with Sarah Maddison). Most recently, he co-authored Minority policy: rethinking governance when parliament matters with Brenton Prosser, a book that examines the operations of minority government and implications for public policy in Westminster systems.

A prolific writer, Denniss is a regular contributor to The Monthly^[14] and Quarterly Essay, as well as producing columns in The Canberra Times^[15] and The Australian Financial Review.^[16]

Political work

Prior to his appointment at The Australia Institute, Denniss was Senior Strategic Advisor to Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown and was also Chief of Staff to Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja, former Leader of the Australian Democrats.^[1] Denniss has also worked as a researcher at the H.V. Evatt Memorial Foundation (the 'Evatt Foundation'), a public policy organisation with strong links to the Australian Labor Party.

References