The SBSI Agenda
The Australia we are fighting for.
Australians should be able to own a home, raise a family, speak their minds, live safely, work hard and pass on a country stronger than the one they inherited.
The role of government
Government should secure the nation, advance the public interest, uphold the law, deliver essential services and respect the freedom of all its citizens. It should reward effort, protect property, maintain order, and live within its means.
The task in New South Wales
New South Wales should lead the country in restoring affordable energy, home ownership, strong schools, safe communities, productive enterprise and competent governance.
The work of the Institute
The Sir Bertram Stevens Institute exists to develop policies, build arguments, organise the public and prepare leaders capable of putting our principles into practice.
Twelve pillars define the Australia we are fighting for.
01
Affordable, reliable and abundant energy
Restore Australia’s energy advantage.
Australia has vast reserves of coal, gas and uranium. Households and businesses should not be paying some of the world’s highest energy costs in a country with such abundant resources.
Energy policy must begin with reliability, affordability and national capability. Emissions targets cannot be allowed to override the basic obligation to keep the lights on, homes warm and industry operating.
Cheap and reliable power would reduce household bills, protect jobs, strengthen manufacturing and make Australia a more attractive place to invest.
Policy priorities 09
— Keep existing dispatchable generators operating safely for as long as they are needed.
— Require a reliable replacement to be operating before any major power station is closed.
— Reject legislated net-zero deadlines that increase prices, weaken reliability or force productive industries offshore.
— Increase the supply of Australian gas for Australian households and businesses.
— Remove unnecessary restrictions on responsible energy development.
— Support nuclear energy and remove the federal prohibition preventing Australia from considering it.
— Assess energy projects on their total system cost, including transmission, storage, firming and network upgrades.
— Protect farmers, landholders and regional communities from compulsory or poorly planned energy infrastructure.
— Restore affordable power as a central objective of economic and industry policy.
02
Intentional immigration and sustainable population growth
Put Australia’s capacity and national interest first.
Immigration policy must serve the interests of the Australian people.
Population growth has repeatedly exceeded the capacity of housing, transport, hospitals, schools and essential infrastructure. Australians have paid the price through higher rents, longer travel times, congested services and weaker growth in living standards.
A successful immigration program is controlled, selective and properly enforced. It should strengthen the country without placing unsustainable pressure on the people already living here.
Policy priorities 9
— Set immigration at a level that housing, infrastructure and essential services can absorb.
— Link population growth to measurable increases in housing and infrastructure capacity.
— End the use of high immigration as a substitute for productivity reform and workforce training.
— Give priority to migrants with skills Australia genuinely needs.
— Enforce visa conditions and act decisively against fraud, exploitation and unlawful overstaying.
— Remove non-citizens convicted of serious crimes wherever the law permits.
— Require governments to be transparent about intended immigration inflows and to report regularly on those numbers.
— Maintain one system of law and one standard of citizenship.
— A visa to live, work, or study in Australia should not become a visa for an entire family to live in Australia by default.
03
Housing Australians can afford
Restore the path to home ownership.
Home ownership gives people security, independence and a direct stake in their community. It should remain achievable for Australians who work, save and plan for the future.
Governments have allowed planning delays, taxes, infrastructure shortages and rapid population growth to drive housing costs beyond the reach of many younger Australians.
The answer requires more homes, serviced land, faster approvals and a population policy that does not continually overwhelm new supply.
Policy priorities 10
— Accelerate the release of serviced land in areas where people want to live.
— Establish clear and enforceable timeframes for planning and development decisions.
— Reduce the taxes, charges and regulatory costs added to every new home.
— Fund roads, water, sewerage, schools and transport needed to support new communities.
— Allow greater housing density in suitable locations while protecting established neighbourhoods from arbitrary overdevelopment.
— Align population growth with the number of homes Australia can realistically construct.
— Protect private property rights and give affected residents a genuine voice in planning decisions.
— Strengthen restrictions on foreign ownership where it competes directly with Australian homebuyers.
— Expand pathways into ownership, including sensible support for first-home buyers and community housing tenants.
— Treat social housing as essential assistance for people in genuine need, supported by clear eligibility and accountability.
04
A productive economy that rewards work
Lower costs, reduce government burdens and rebuild prosperity.
Prosperity comes from people working, investing, producing, building and taking risks.
Every tax, regulation and government charge eventually reaches a household, worker or consumer. Excessive spending and debt increase that burden while leaving future generations to meet the bill.
New South Wales and Australia need an economy in which effort is rewarded, small businesses can grow and governments understand that public money must first be earned by the people they tax.
Policy priorities 11
— Reduce the tax and regulatory burden on workers, families and small businesses.
— Restrain government spending and return public finances to a sustainable position.
— Review payroll tax, stamp duty and other state taxes that discourage employment, investment and mobility.
— Require new regulations to identify their cost to households and businesses.
— Remove outdated regulations and unnecessary licensing requirements.
— Strengthen competition and act against monopolistic conduct, regulatory capture and protected market power.
— End corporate welfare that subsidises politically favoured businesses at the expense of their competitors.
— Support Australian manufacturing, mining, agriculture, construction and small enterprise.
— Make government procurement accessible to Australian and New South Wales businesses.
— Invest in skills, technology and infrastructure that increase productivity.
— Ensure welfare supports people in need while preserving a clear reward for work.
05
Excellence in education to provide opportunity in life
Restore knowledge, standards, discipline and parental authority.
A serious education system gives children the knowledge and skills needed to understand the world and make their own way in it.
Schools should teach students to read, write, calculate, reason and communicate. They should pass on an honest understanding of Australian history, institutions and civic life.
Parents entrust schools with the education of their children. They are entitled to transparency, respect and a meaningful role in decisions affecting them.
Policy priorities 12
— Establish a knowledge-rich curriculum centred on literacy, numeracy, science, history, civics and the humanities.
— Use proven methods of reading instruction, including systematic phonics.
— Set clear academic standards and report results honestly.
— Restore orderly classrooms and support teachers in maintaining discipline.
— Remove political activism and ideological instruction from the classroom.
— Give parents access to curriculum materials and age-appropriate information about what their children are being taught.
— Preserve the right of parents to choose between government, independent, faith-based and home education.
— Focus government on increasing the number and quality of teachers in our schools.
— Reward excellent teaching and make it easier to address persistent underperformance.
— Expand vocational education, apprenticeships and practical pathways into skilled work.
— Require universities receiving public funding to uphold academic freedom and intellectual diversity.
— Teach students the rights and duties of Australian citizenship.
06
Law, order and community safety
Put public safety and victims first.
The first duty of government is to protect the public.
People should be able to use public transport, operate a business, walk through their neighbourhood and allow their children to play outside without fear of violence, intimidation or persistent disorder.
Police require adequate numbers, modern equipment, effective laws and the backing of political leaders. Courts must protect the community and treat victims with seriousness and respect.
Policy priorities 12
— Rebuild frontline police numbers across New South Wales.
— Direct police resources towards violent crime, organised crime, property crime and persistent antisocial behaviour.
— Strengthen bail laws for repeat violent offenders and people who pose a demonstrated risk to the community.
— Ensure sentencing reflects the seriousness of the offence and the offender’s history.
— Give victims clear rights, timely information and a stronger voice throughout the justice process.
— Respond earlier and more decisively to repeat youth offending.
— Expand consequences and intensive intervention for young offenders engaged in serious or persistent crime.
— Protect police, emergency workers, retail staff and other frontline workers from assault and intimidation.
— Prevent disruptive protests from unlawfully blocking roads, ports, workplaces and essential services.
— Target criminal misuse of weapons rather than imposing ineffective burdens on law-abiding citizens.
— Improve security and order on public transport and in major public spaces.
— Strengthen rehabilitation where it reduces reoffending, supported by firm supervision and personal responsibility.
07
Strong families and civil society
Protect the institutions that hold communities together.
Families raise children, care for relatives, transmit values and provide support that no government program can reproduce.
Churches, charities, sporting clubs, service organisations, neighbourhood groups and voluntary associations give people a place to belong and a way to serve others.
Public policy should respect these institutions and remove barriers that make family formation, caregiving and community participation more difficult.
Policy priorities 11
— Recognise the family as the primary institution responsible for raising and caring for children.
— Ensure government decisions respect the rights and responsibilities of parents.
— Remove tax and welfare settings that unfairly penalise marriage, family formation or unpaid caregiving.
— Give families greater choice over childcare and early education.
— Improve adoption, foster care and child protection systems so that the safety and long-term welfare of children come first.
— Protect freedom of religion, conscience and association.
— Preserve the independence of faith-based schools, charities and community organisations.
— Reduce unnecessary regulation of volunteers, local clubs and small community organisations.
— Support carers and families looking after elderly or disabled relatives.
— Encourage philanthropy, mutual aid and voluntary service.
— Keep decisions as close as practicable to families and local communities.
08
Australian identity and equal citizenship
One country, one people and one law.
Australia is a nation with a history, institutions, traditions and a shared civic inheritance.
Citizenship carries equal rights and equal responsibilities. Government should unite Australians around what they share rather than divide them into competing racial, religious or cultural categories.
National confidence begins with an honest account of Australia’s achievements and failures, respect for the institutions that sustain our freedom and a willingness to pass that inheritance to the next generation.
Policy priorities 11
— Keep Australia Day on 26 January.
— Promote a common Australian identity based on citizenship, freedom, responsibility and equality before the law.
— Reject racial discrimination, collective guilt and government policies that assign different rights according to ancestry.
— Uphold one law for every Australian.
— Teach Australian history accurately, including the development of parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and the institutions of the Commonwealth.
— Respect the Australian flag, national commemorations and the service of Australians in war and peace.
— Strengthen citizenship education and knowledge of Australia’s institutions.
— Expect new citizens to participate in Australian civic life and respect Australian law.
— Protect public monuments, memorials and historical records from politically motivated destruction or erasure.
— Support practical assistance based on need, disadvantage and individual circumstances.
— Preserve the constitutional equality of Australian citizens.
09
Free speech and democratic integrity
Protect the right to speak, argue and dissent.
A free society depends on the ability of citizens to question authority, challenge accepted opinion and participate in public debate without fear of censorship or official punishment.
Public institutions should administer the law impartially. They should not enforce a political orthodoxy or use public power to silence lawful opinions.
Elections must be secure, transparent and trusted by the people whose authority they exercise.
Policy priorities 12
— Defend freedom of speech, publication, peaceful assembly and political communication.
— Oppose government censorship conducted through vague misinformation or disinformation laws.
— Protect lawful expression on university campuses and in publicly funded institutions.
— Prevent professional bodies and regulators from punishing people merely for expressing lawful political or religious beliefs.
— Require public institutions to act with political and ideological impartiality.
— Protect religious speech and conscientious belief, subject to the ordinary law.
— Ensure electoral rolls are accurate and regularly maintained.
— Introduce reasonable voter identification requirements with accessible options for every eligible voter.
— Strengthen transparency around political donations, campaign expenditure and third-party campaigning.
— Protect the secrecy of the ballot and the security of voting and counting systems.
— Preserve parliamentary scrutiny and prevent excessive government by regulation or executive decree.
— Defend the right of citizens to criticise government, institutions and public officials.
10
Competent and accountable government
Government should do fewer things and do them properly.
Citizens are entitled to expect that taxes are spent carefully, decisions are made transparently and public servants are accountable for results.
More departments, consultants, strategies and announcements do not guarantee better services. Governments must concentrate on their core responsibilities and measure whether those responsibilities are being met.
Hospitals, schools, police, courts, roads and emergency services should take priority over administrative expansion and political projects.
Policy priorities 13
— Restore discipline to government spending, borrowing and public-sector growth.
— Review departments, agencies, boards and statutory bodies for duplication and continuing need.
— Reduce spending on consultants, advertising, external reports and unnecessary administration.
— Publish clear performance measures for hospitals, transport, policing, education and other essential services.
— Direct a greater share of public funding to frontline services.
— Hold senior officials and agency heads accountable for persistent failure.
— Strengthen parliamentary oversight of expenditure, regulation and executive government.
— Require major projects to publish realistic costs, risks and completion dates.
— Protect the political impartiality and professionalism of the public service.
— Improve transparency around grants, procurement, appointments and government contracts.
— Give integrity bodies strong powers while preserving procedural fairness and the presumption of innocence.
— Reform local government to improve financial discipline, service delivery and accountability to ratepayers.
— Return decisions to individuals, communities and local institutions wherever government control is unnecessary.
11
Regional New South Wales and essential infrastructure
Build a state that works beyond central Sydney.
Regional communities produce food, energy, minerals and export income. They should receive reliable roads, health services, policing, communications and water infrastructure in return.
Infrastructure decisions should be based on population needs, economic value and long-term resilience. Announcements and short-term political considerations cannot replace maintenance, construction and competent delivery.
New South Wales needs functioning transport networks, secure water supplies and regional centres capable of supporting families, industry and growth.
Policy priorities 13
— Give regional communities a fair share of infrastructure and frontline services.
— Repair and upgrade deteriorating state roads and bridges.
— Improve freight connections between farms, mines, industrial centres, ports and markets.
— Increase water storage and strengthen drought and flood resilience.
— Maintain dams, drainage, levees and water infrastructure before failure occurs.
— Improve access to regional hospitals, doctors, nurses, paramedics and specialist care.
— Restore adequate police coverage in regional and remote communities.
— Support reliable mobile and internet services outside metropolitan centres.
— Protect productive agricultural land from poorly planned development and infrastructure.
— Support mining, agriculture, forestry, fishing and regional manufacturing.
— Reduce planning delays that prevent regional businesses and communities from expanding.
— Develop Newcastle, Wollongong and regional cities as centres of industry, education, housing and employment.
— Publish transparent regional assessments for major government spending decisions.
12
National sovereignty and resilience
Protect Australia’s independence and capacity to act.
Australia must be capable of defending its territory, securing essential supplies and making decisions in its own national interest.
A country that depends entirely on foreign suppliers for fuel, medicines, energy equipment, communications technology and defence materials is exposed to disruption and coercion.
National resilience requires military strength, secure borders, reliable domestic industries and careful control of strategic assets.
Policy priorities 13
— Maintain armed forces capable of defending Australia and contributing effectively to regional security.
— Rebuild Australia’s defence industry and domestic manufacturing capacity.
— Secure reliable supplies of fuel, medicines, food, energy and essential industrial materials.
— Protect ports, energy networks, communications systems, water assets and critical infrastructure.
— Apply strict national-interest tests to foreign ownership of strategic land, infrastructure and businesses.
— Strengthen protection against espionage, foreign interference and cyberattack.
— Prevent foreign governments and their proxies from covertly influencing Australian institutions.
— Secure Australia’s maritime borders and enforce immigration law.
— Build stronger civil defence, emergency response and disaster recovery capability.
— Work closely with trusted allies while preserving Australia’s freedom to determine its own interests.
— Support Australian control over critical minerals, processing and strategic supply chains.
— Ensure universities and research institutions protect sensitive technology and intellectual property.
— Restore national self-reliance as an explicit objective of economic, energy and security policy.
From agenda to action
Australia does not lack problems that need solving. It lacks leaders prepared to confront them.
This agenda sets the standard against which the Sir Bertram Stevens Institute will assess public policy in New South Wales and across Australia.
We will develop detailed proposals beneath each pillar. We will publish research, challenge failed policies, conduct public campaigns and give Australians practical ways to act.
We will train people to build arguments, organise communities, lead campaigns and carry these principles into public life.
The work of national renewal begins with clear principles, serious policy and the courage to fight for both.
Stand with SBSI
If you want to restore Australia, help us fight for it.
Serious campaigns need members, money, and public backing. Add your name, join the Institute, or fund the work that turns conviction into pressure.