Centre for Independent Studies
The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is an economically liberal (or neoliberal, depending on your point of view) and socially conservative think tank based in Sydney. It is headed by Greg Lindsay.
Contents
History
The CIS was Australia's first 'neo-liberal' think tank. It was founded in 1976 by a Sydney maths teacher, Greg Lindsay. After struggling for financial support, Lindsay began meeting with Australian businessmen who wanted to establish an Australian version of the UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). These businessmen included Hugh Morgan, then an executive director of Western Mining Corporation (WMC), John Bonython, Chairman of the Adelaide Advertiser Group, John Macleod, chief economist at mining company CRA, Douglas Hocking, Chief economist at Shell Australia, and John Brunner, an economist at mining company BHP.
In 1979, six companies - WMC, CRA, BHP, Shell, Santos and the Adelaide Advertiser - provided financial backing to the CIS, each pledging to donate $5,000 each year for five years.
Funding
As of May 2006, the CIS had a budget of more than $3 million, and employed 24 staff. [1] In May 2005 CIS Director Greg Lindsay said that the Centre had an annual income of around $2 million, of which one-third came from corporations, one-third from foundations and one-third from individuals. "We've never committed ourselves to do anything for any of our supporters," he said. [2]
On its website it states that "we do not accept government funding, nor do we derive any income from political parties or groupings." [3] "'Independent' in our name means: We are politically non-partisan; Research is not directed by our supporters," it states. [4]
While CIS receives approximately $800,000 from corporations, its policy is only to identify sponsors where they agree. Otherwise it declines to identify them. [5]
Companies which have been publicly disclosed and confirmed by the CIS as its funders include:
- BHP Billiton
- Shell
- ICI - now a subsidiary of Orica
- Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation [6]
Some of the individuals who fund the CIS include [7]:
- Dame Elisabeth Murdoch - Mother of media mogul Rupert Murdoch
- Neville Kennard
- Robert Champion de Crespigny
Former Funders
- McDonald's Australia
- Philip Morris
- Pratt Foundation
- WMC (once known as Western Mining Corporation, WMC was taken over by BHP Billiton).
Personnel
Board Members
- Greg Lindsay, Executive Director
- Michael Darling, Chairman
- Marco Belgiorno-Zegna
- Gordon Cairns
- Robert Champion de Crespigny
- Michael Chaney
- Bob Day
- Chum Darvall
- Peter Dodd
- Sir Rod Eddington
- Peter Farrell
- Ross Grant
- John M. Green
- Robert McLean
- Ruth Richardson
- Geoff Ricketts
- Chris Roberts, Deputy Chairman
- Steven Skala
- Don Turkington
- Steven Wilson
- Peter Yates
Former board members
- John Calvert-Jones, honorary treasurer of the Liberal party [8], director of Liberal party fundraiser the Cormack Foundation [9], and Rupert Murdoch's brother in-law.
- John Phillips, former Deputy Chairman of the Reserve Bank, Director of WMC
- Alan McGregor (former Chairman), former Chairman of James Hardie Industries 1995-2004.
- Murray Horn
Research Staff
- Jennifer Buckingham - Research Fellow - Education
- Caspar Conde - Adjunct Scholar
- Miranda Darling - Research Fellow
- Owen Harries - Senior Fellow
- Helen Hughes - Senior Fellow
- Barry Maley - Senior Fellow
- Andrew Norton - Research Fellow
- April Palmerlee - Visiting Fellow
- Phil Rennie - Policy Analyst, NZ Policy Unit
- Peter Saunders - Social Research Director
- Arti Sharma - Policy Analyst
- Gaurav Sodhi - Policy Analyst
- Kirsten Storry - Policy Analyst
- Susan Windybank - Director of Foreign Policy Programmes
Contact details
The Centre for Independent Studies
PO Box 92, St Leonards,
NSW 1590
tel: +61 2 9438 4377
fax: +61 2 9439 7310
Web: http://www.cis.org.au/
Other Sourcewatch Resources
External links
- CIS 25th Anniversary Brochure (pdf)
- Cherelle Murphy, "Think tank pushes 10pc tax rate", Australian Financial Review, April 7, 2005.
- Senator George Campbell's speech on the CIS in parliament, Hansard, March 05, 2003
- Michael Duffy, "Modern Liberal Thinking", Counterpoint, ABC Radio National, July 11, 2005.
- Diana Bagnall, "How this man controls your future", The Bulletin, September 22, 2004.
- Ben Potter, "Think Tank a Real Agent of Change", Australian Financial Review, April 29-30, 2006.
- Thinking about think tanks, Counterpoint, ABC Radio National, May 1 2006.
- Greg Lindsay, "Remarks at the 30th Anniversary Dinner of The Centre for Independent Studies", May 4, 2006.
- Dennis Glover, "Ideas with Currency", The Australian, May 13, 2006.
