As Executive Director of The Australia Institute, Richard Denniss has become Australia’s foremost analyst of economic policy and its human impacts. His work bridges academic rigor and public accessibility, specializing in:
Denniss’s 2025 research examines the intersection of energy policy and cost-of-living pressures, particularly:
“How $40 billion in annual fossil fuel subsidies could instead fund universal childcare and tertiary education”
Richard Denniss has shaped Australian public discourse for over two decades through his unique blend of academic rigor and accessible policy analysis. Beginning as an associate professor at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Economics, he transitioned into political strategy roles for the Australian Democrats and Greens before emerging as one of Australia’s most influential economic communicators.
“Australia is the third biggest fossil fuel exporter in the world. Norway taxes their fossil fuel industry and gives their kids free university education. In Australia, we subsidise the fossil fuel industry.” [1][7]
This 2025 primetime ABC appearance dissected Australia’s “cost of living crisis” through three interlocking frameworks: historical tax policy failures, corporate profit inflation, and climate policy inertia. Denniss employed comparative analysis with Norway’s resource taxation model to demonstrate how Australia forfeits $40 billion annually through fossil fuel subsidies [1].
The segment’s viral moment came through Denniss’s blunt assessment: “We can either collect more tax from big businesses that can afford to pay it, or say ‘Sorry Marge, you’ve had it too good.’” This soundbite became a rallying cry for tax reform advocates, trending nationally on Twitter for 18 hours [7][9].
In this follow-up analysis, Denniss deconstructed the RBA’s interest rate policies through a historical lens, revealing how 2023-2024 rate hikes disproportionately impacted mortgage holders while corporate profits reached record highs. His call for immediate rate cuts in January 2025 directly influenced the RBA’s unprecedented inter-meeting adjustment [7].
The 45-minute deep dive into banking sector profits demonstrated Denniss’s signature methodology: combining ABS data with real-world case studies. He revealed that average Australian mortgages generate $200,000 in bank profits over their lifespan – a statistic now cited in parliamentary debates [9].
This keynote address to the National Press Club reframed Australia’s economic narrative through global benchmarks. Denniss presented OECD data showing Australia collects $100 billion less annual tax than the developed world average, while maintaining the world’s third-largest fossil fuel exports [9].
The analysis sparked national debate by juxtaposing Australia’s self-perception as a “battler nation” against its actual resource wealth. Policy impacts included three state governments committing to resource tax reviews within six weeks of publication [1][5].
Denniss prioritizes structural analysis over anecdotal evidence. Successful pitches should frame issues through policy levers like taxation models or market regulation. For example, his Q+A segment analyzed housing affordability through land tax reforms rather than individual buyer struggles [1][7].
His work frequently employs Nordic and Southeast Asian case studies. A pitch comparing Norway’s sovereign wealth fund management to Australia’s Future Fund generated his 2024 paper on resource revenue recycling [1][5].
Denniss’s supermarket pricing analysis exposed $1 billion in excess profits through comparative margin analysis. Pitches should include datasets showing sector-level profit concentration, particularly in banking, energy, and retail [7][9].
His “subsidy swap” proposal connects fossil fuel subsidy redirection to education funding. Successful pitches might analyze how renewable investment could offset specific cost-of-living pressures like electricity bills [1][5].
Denniss rejects “band-aid solutions” in favor of systemic overhauls. A rejected pitch on rental assistance reforms was reshaped into a successful analysis of land tax distortions in housing markets [7][9].
Awarded for his decade-long body of work demystifying economic policy. The judging panel noted Denniss’s “unique ability to translate Treasury white papers into pub conversation” [3][5].
Recognized for his Saturday Paper columns analyzing pandemic economic responses. The 2024 nomination highlighted his prescient warnings about inflation-driven inequality [3][4].
Awarded for Econobabble, which the judges called “the most effective demolition of neoliberal rhetoric since JK Galbraith” [3].
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