Are most Australians really ‘doing it tough’? In response to the widely-held notion that we are all suffering from cost of living pressures, CPD fellow Ian … more
Private Health Insurance: High in cost and low in equity
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 … more
NEW REPORT | Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy
Introducing CPD’s first major Sustainable Economy Report Our oceans are often out of sight, but that doesn’t mean they should be out of mind. Australia is … more
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 … more
The State of the Australian Public Service: An Alternative Report
The Centre for Policy Development releases The State of the Australian Public Service: An Alternative Report, as part of our Public Service program. DOWNLOAD the report here. The … more
What would ‘Big Society’ mean for Australia?
Our first major report in CPD’s Public Service research program, The State of the Australian Public Service: An Alternative Report, analysed political commentary and media coverage that, at times, depicts the Australian Public Service as inefficient, large, costly and unwelcome in some aspects of our lives. Our research revealed the disconnect between this rhetoric, community attitudes and the reality of public service staffing, funding and functions. We now turn our gaze to the radical public … more
Staying Ahead of the Game: The World’s Best Public Service
Just over a year ago, the Australian Government concluded a major review of the Australian Public Service. Ahead of the Game, the review’s final report, contained … more
Melissa Sweet | Federal govt urged to withdraw all support for private health insurance
In this article, Melissa Sweet promotes John Menadue and Ian McAuley’s discussion paper on private health insurance subsidies in Australia. With the government debating whether to introduce means testing on private health insurance, the new report urges the Government to withdraw all support for private health insurance, on equity and efficiency grounds. Given that the government has a stated policy of ‘social inclusion’, it seems strange that the well-off are able to opt out of sharing their … more
John Menadue and Ian McAuley | Govt proposals on private health insurance don’t go far enough
Writing in Crikey, CPD founder and board member John Menadue and CPD fellow Ian McAuley give their opinion on government proposals to apply a means test to private health insurance subsidies. Menadue and McAuley call for even more action than simply means testing, suggesting that a single national insurer would provide the most efficient and equitable means of sharing our health costs. “We are not advocating what some may call “socialised medicine”. Private hospitals serve an … more
PUBLIC SERVICE IN THE NEWS | Can transnational corporations deliver public goods to citizens?
Scandalous cost of justice: £861 a night to lock up young crime suspects… £650 to stay at the Ritz > Locking up young crime suspects for a night costs more than a suite at London’s Ritz hotel, it was revealed today. While the highest price of a bed at one of the country’s privately run secure units is £861, a stay at the Ritz costs £650. Charities have condemned the ‘outrageous’ waste of taxpayers’ cash … more
IPAA 2012 International Congress | 18-20 September
The Institute of Public Administration Australia’s 2012 International Congress will be held in Melbourne, Australia, bringing together more than 1000 administrators in one of the largest gatherings of public administrators ever held in Australia. Already the ideas and speakers on the program are impressive – find more here. Speaker highlights include: DR SHASHI THAROOR is a former UN Under-Secretary-General and Indian Minister of State for External Affairs. India’s central and state government employ 10 million … more
Reforming Public Services Summit | Melbourne, 7-8 May 2012
Real reform towards citizen-centred social policy and empowered users of public services Why a Summit on Reforming Public Services? Reform of public services has been a constant theme amongst governments, policy officials, and service delivery organisations for the last two decades. Despite the constant talk, real change towards citizen-centred social policy and empowered users of public services is hard to find. What is more common is a pattern of frequently restructured financing arrangements for service delivery … more
Fiona Armstrong | Rolling The Dice at Durban
“In the final week in Durban a sense of frustration is permeating the COP, where aspirations for a global deal remain high, but expectations swing between mildly hopeful and almost absent.” The 2011 Durban Climate Change Conference is in its final week and its organisers are hopeful of hammering out a deal that finally makes it a legal obligation to tackle climate change. CPD fellow Fiona Armstrong is attending the event and has given her … more
PUBLIC SERVICE IN THE NEWS | Evidence mounts against the efficiency dividend
Agency staff report increased mistakes > A NEW survey reveals that more than 50 per cent of staff from agencies including Centrelink, Medicare and the Child support agency are reporting that more mistakes are being made because of the Gillard Government’s efficiency dividend. Nice work if you can find it > The UK’s ambitious, well-intentioned welfare-to-work programme is struggling against the economic current. Some believe that the payment-by-results system itself is failing. Ian Mulheirn of … more