Monthly Archives:: March 2010

The Blueprint for Rudd’s overhaul of the public service was launched last night. While there’s much that’s promising, it’s fundamentally a very cautious document, writes Ian McAuley First published on New Matilda on 30 March 2010 Monday night’s launch of the Government’s “Blueprint for the reform of Australian Government Administration” was a solemn occasion. It took place in the King’s … more

What did healthcare experts and observers think of Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott’s performances in the debate over the future of Australian healthcare? Jennifer Doggett tells ABC’s The Drum what she thought. Published in ABC’s The Drum on 23 March 2010. Jennifer Doggett, Fellow for the Centre for Policy Development: The question by SBS’s Karen Middleton on out-of-pocket costs for … more

Jennifer Doggett tells Croakey that the potential benefits of paid parental leave outweigh concerns about it being equitable. Published on Crikey’s health blog Croakey on 15 March 2010 It is not clear to me why equity should be considered when assessing Tony Abbott’s proposed parental leave scheme. This was suggested by Fran Baum and other commentators in Croakey (9 and … more

In the first of two articles John Menadue tells Crikey’s Health Blog, Croakey How to save billions in healthcare. First published in Crikey’s Health Blog, Croakey on 10 March 2010 Successive governments in Australia have failed to examine and take action to curb rapidly rising costs and inefficiencies in healthcare. To address these problems would involve confronting special interests with … more

Mark Bahnish tells ABC online what he thinks of Tony Abbott’s plan for paid parental leave. Published on ABC’s The Drum Unleashed on 10 March 2010. Tony Abbott clearly thought he’d blindside Labor with his “leaders’ call” – the announcement of a curiously non-policy like plan for paid parental leave on International Women’s Day. Predictably, much of the media has fallen … more

In the second of two articles on Croakey Ian McAuley suggests how billions could be trimmed from the health budget. First published on Croakey, Crikey’s health blog on 10 March 2010 Following on from the previous post by John Menadue, health economist Ian McAuley has some suggestions for how billions could be trimmed from health budgets. He writes: “As with … more

In the second of two articles on Croakey Ian McAuley suggests how billions could be trimmed from the health budget. First published on Croakey, Crikey’s Health Blog on 10 March 2010 Following on from the previous post by John Menadue, health economist Ian McAuley has some suggestions for how billions could be trimmed from health budgets. He writes: “As with … more

Mark Banisch takes a look at The Coalition’s regressive plan for paid parental leave. First published on ABC’s The Drum Unleashed on 10 March 2010 Tony Abbott clearly thought he’d blindside Labor with his “leaders’ call” – the announcement of a curiously non-policy like plan for paid parental leave on International Women’s Day. Predictably, much of the media has fallen … more