Richard Denniss is the Executive Director of The Australia Institute

The Australia Institute

The Australia Institute is a left wing Australian think tank conducting public policy research, funded by grants from philanthropic trusts, memberships and commissioned research....

 and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Crawford School of Economics and Government

Crawford School of Economics and Government

The Crawford School of Economics and Government is a research intensive policy school within the at the Australian National University which focuses on Australia and the Asia-Pacific region...

 at the Australian National University

Australian National University

The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

 in Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. He is a prominent Australian economist, author and public policy commentator.

Denniss is the co-author (with Clive Hamilton

Clive Hamilton

Clive Charles Hamilton AM FRSA is an Australian public intellectual and Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University. He is the Founder and former Executive Director of the The...

) of best-selling book Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough

Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough

Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough is a 2005 book by Professor Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss. According to the book, Western society is addicted to overconsumption and this situation is unique in human history...

. and An introduction to Australian Public Policy (with Sarah Maddison

Sarah Maddison

Sarah Maddison is an Australian author and Australian Research Council Future Fellow in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science at University of New South Wales....

).

In recent times his research has focused on climate change policy and tax policy. 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), the 'Wellbeing Manifesto', and the state of Australian Government.

The Australia Institute

Richard Denniss has been the Executive Director of The Australia Institute since July 2008 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.

Political Work

Prior to his appointment at The Australia Institute, Denniss was Senior Strategic Advisor to Australian Greens

Australian Greens

The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...

 Leader Senator Bob Brown

Bob Brown

Robert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...

 and was also Chief of Staff to Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja, the Leader of the Australian Democrats

Australian Democrats

The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...

.
Denniss has also worked as a researcher at the H.V. Evatt Memorial Foundation (the 'Evatt Foundation

Evatt Foundation

The H.V. Evatt Memorial Foundation is an Australian think tank founded in memory of Australian politician, judge, historian and diplomat H. V. Evatt....

'), a public policy organisation with strong links to the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

.