The primary and secondary purpose of Gillard’s first budget as PM appears to be economic growth for its own sake. It fails to deliver any new equity policies that could contribute to good social outcomes. The nearest it comes to social policies is a range of mainly coercive measures to ‘improve’ the supply of low-paid workers. The opportunity to be a … more
Eva Cox
Eva Cox AO is a contributing author to CPD’s recent publication More Than Luck: Ideas Australia needs now. Eva’s chapter Strengthening our social fabric argues that we need to rethink our tax and income policy practices to make our society more civil. Eva was until recently Program Director, Social Inquiry at the University of Technology Sydney, and is now practicing being an unattached change agent while reviving her consultancy, Distaff Associates. She is the national Chair of the Women’s Electoral Lobby – an organisation in which she was a founding member in 1972. A strong feminist and advocate for women’s issues, she delivered the 1995 ABC Boyer Lectures on A Truly Civil Society which she is still trying to achive (available through ABC Books). She has researched and published on many policy and other social issues recently including: child care, sole parents and welfare payments, superannuation, social capital, community well being, asylum seekers, corporate social responsibility, research and evalution. A frequent media commentator, she sees herself as a problem solver rather than a specialist. Her current research interests include devising a more civil society, teaching community research skillls, policy formulation, indigenous child-care and domestic violence, the Welfare to Work program, and a wide range of gender issues, including parental leave.Articles by Eva Cox:
Lining up the priorities of the Government
Perhaps more important than ‘who gets what’ is ‘what gets given’ in the first Ministry of Julia Gillard’s new government. Eva Cox considers what some of the changes might signal about the new government’s policy priorities, particularly regarding its social agenda. more
Limited choice has made for a confusing outcome
Australia has voted and the results are still difficult to interpret. Eva Cox, steps back to take a look at what our options as voters really were and what the take home lessons for our political leaders should be if they want an improved campaign and outcome next time. more
Persecuting The Poor?
There are clearly more jobseekers than jobs, writes Eva Cox. So why are Australian politicians so set on punishing the victims of social inequality? more
It’s NOT Fair: An Election Social Policy Assessment
Discussions about the social issues that have always seemed to be an important part of politics have dropped off the agenda during this election, writes Eva Cox more
Is Anyone Talking About Indigenous Affairs?
Whatever happens in this election, there is little likelihood of any benefit for those Indigenous Australians who do not meet the Gillard formula of hardworking, compliant income earners, writes Eva Cox more
How Fair Dinkum Is Abbott’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme?
Now that the Coalition’s campaign has been launched, Eva Cox has a closer look at Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme more
Towards a More Civil Society – Roundtable at UTS
Eva Cox reports on a Roundtable held at UTS last week on the need to set social goals for a more civil society.
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Closing the gap. Why not focus on what works?
Eva Cox argues that focusing on what works will help ‘close the gap’ and create better policy for Indigenous Australians more