Executive Director
The Australian Institute

Dr Richard Denniss is Executive Director of The Australia Institute, a public policy think tank based in Canberra. An economist by training, Richard has worked for the past 20 years in a variety of policy and political roles. In recent years he has been at the forefront of the national policy debates surrounding climate change policy and the Australian mining boom. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University.

Prior to taking up his current position Richard was the Strategy Adviser to the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, was Chief of Staff to the then Leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, and held teaching and research jobs at Australian universities.

He has been appointed to a number of government advisory bodies, including the current review of Australia's retirement income system. He is known for his ability to translate economics issues into everyday language. Richard has published extensively in academic journals and has a fortnightly column in The Canberra Times and The Australian Financial Review. He is the co-author of the best selling Affluenza (with Dr Clive Hamilton) and An Introduction to Australian Public Policy: Theory and Practice (with Dr Sarah Maddison).