Government proposals to apply a means test to private health insurance subsidies have re-ignited the debate about the role of private insurance. Download the new CPD discussion paper ‘Private Health Insurance: High in cost and low in equity‘ In our present system the vast majority of subsidies disproportionately benefit the well-off. Country people with poor access to private hospitals subsidize … more
John Menadue
John is a founder and Board Director of the Centre for Policy Development. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Immigration in the Fraser Government 1980 – 1983, when the Immigration Minister was Mr Ian McPhee. John was also previously Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, and CEO of QANTAS. More recently, John shared his insights into to the story of Australia’s multicultural mix in the SBS documentary series Immigration Nation.John is co-author of CPD's report 'A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers.'You can find more articles and a copy of John's biography 'Things You Learn Along the Way' on his site here: http://www.johnmenadue.com/Articles by John Menadue:
A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers
CPD has released A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers, a report which comprehensively critiques Australia’s refugee and asylum policies and finds they are inhumane, ineffective and expensive. DOWNLOAD the full report here. Australia needs a circuit-breaker in our treatment of people seeking asylum from war and persecution. On the 10th anniversary of the Tampa, Australia’s asylum and … more
John Menadue | Fraser and Whitlam’s fruitful rivalry
Fred Daly, the irrepressible ALP Member for Grayndler whose first campaign slogan was ‘Give us this day our Daly Fred’, once said that today’s political enemies may turn out to be friends tomorrow. Who would have thought in 1975 that that could be true of Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser in 2011. Whitlam has said he hasn’t had a significant … more
John Menadue | The Plight of Refugees is not a Political Opportunity
As Julia Gillard competes to show how tough they can be on refugees, Tony Abbott opportunistically “appeals to our darker angels”. CPD Director John Menadue looks at Australia’s refugee policies, and our history of multiculturalism since WWII. Contrary to the myths, refugees that settle in Australia become greater contributors to Australian society, doing so out of proportion to their number. … more
John Menadue | Navigating the Refugee Fact Free Zone
John Menadue, a CPD Director and formerly Secretary of the Department of Immigration in the Fraser Government (1980 – 1983), offers a roadmap for those seeking the facts amidst the the heated debate about refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. He wades through the misinformation, lies and unfounded opinions to get to what we need to know to start a useful … more
John Menadue | Trampling on Human Rights is Expensive
Asylum seekers continue to suffer because of poll driven policies and their fate remains an enormous political problem for Australia. John Menadue adds up how expensive trampling on human rights really is. They find that a new approach is not only urgently needed but that it but saves money too. Next year (2011-12) the Government will spend $709 million in asylum … more
John Menadue: Malaysia refugee deal a rare chance to end cruel treatment
CPD’s John Menadue, a former Secretary of the Department of Immigration, tells us what he thinks about the Gillard government’s latest policy offering on asylum seekers. Could the so-called Malaysian solution be the circuit breaker we need? Read John’s full article in The Age here.
John Menadue’s sizzling critique of the media
The Centre for Policy Development’s founder, John Menadue was at the New News Conference in Melbourne recently. While there was much talk of how digital media is revolutionising the way we create and interact with news, John reminded the audience that while Web 2.0 may be exciting, content remains the critical issue. And we have still some way to go … more
We Are A Much Better Country Than This
Where are our community leaders — and not just our political leaders — when asylum seekers and refugees, the most vulnerable people on earth, are subject to such misinformation, prejudice, vilification and exploitation in an election campaign? We are surely a better country than the present “debate” suggests, writes John Menadue more