Policy Snapshots

This week's picks: G-20 Pilots saving patients lives Blue state, red state Uranium's bad rap Church and state Patchworks and pathways: early childhood policies G-20 The G-20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors takes place in Melbourne this week. And with ‘love and excitement' protestors are amassing. Created in response to the financial crises of the late 1990s, the G-20 brings together systemically important industrialised and developing economies. Peter Costello, who will chair … more

Draft Employment Rights Statement

We have now released a preliminary draft of the Centre for Policy Development's Statement of Employment Rights: the rights of workers within an efficient and fair industrial relations system, prepared by the Hon. Paul Munro > Download the draft statement (PDF) The competitive pressures triggered by globalisation have changed both workplaces and households enormously. A new world of work has emerged, in which employment and its conditions are becoming increasingly precarious. Some workers have welcomed … more

Environment policy: standing on principles

Although a mere snapshot of ‘eco-philosophy’, this article aims to provoke a broader discussion of the quest for better, values-based environmental policies by: listing four key characteristics of ‘the environment’; connecting these with the values in Reclaiming our Common Wealth: policies for a fair and sustainable future; noting key environmental challenges for elaboration in future articles; and suggesting principles for environmental policies and tools for programs. 1. Key characteristics of the environment i. The environment … more

 

Gilding the aspirational lily

In a speech to the National Press Club on 26 October Michael Chaney, the President of the Business Council of Australia drew on ‘focus group work’ to assert that there has been a major shift in the Australian mindset; that Australians are becoming more aspirational, more confident and more capable. Mr Chaney acknowledged that for many disadvantaged Australians, an aspirational view of the world is not currently a reality. However, he contended that, ‘positive attributes … more

The ABCs of protecting the Public Interest

Managing Director Mark Scott’s recent announcement that the ABC was to introduce new editorial guidelines has predictably polarised media commentators, highlighting the divide between critics and supporters of our public broadcaster more starkly than ever before. Coming hard on the heels of the frenzied response to Helen Coonan’s relaxation of media ownership laws, that saw Australia’s most powerful moguls wheeling and dealing their way to even greater fortunes at the expense of diversity in the … more

Visa 457 update

It has been a busy week or so on the 457 visa front. Much new information on the operation of the visa was extracted by Labor senators during another marathon Senate Estimates committee hearing on 30 October (following an earlier session in May 2006); and the Immigration Minister made several announcements. Key points to emerge include the following: [adsense:234x60:1:1] Advertisement More 457 visas could be granted in 2006-07 than in 2005-06 when a record 40,000 … more

 

Policy Snapshots

This week's picks: School's out New economic principles Water policy initiatives Prisoner Health PLUS submit your entry to the ‘most pointless contribution to climate change' competition AND the report of the UN Inquiry on East Timor School's out Primary school teachers have been in court this week, defending their decision not to implement A to E report cards in littlies' schools. At the other end of formal schooling, Clearing the Myths Away, a paper prepared … more

Note to ASPI: silence is not a winning strategy

Influential think-tanks, at least in Australia, are often thought to be largely neo-liberal or pro-business. Ask a journalist to name one, and bodies like Gerard Henderson’s Sydney Institute or John Roskam’s Institute of Public Affairs are likely to be mentioned. But, after a speech by Prime Minister John Howard last month, it might be time to anoint a new winner in the think-tank influence stakes: the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, or ASPI. [adsense:234x60:1:1] Advertisement Howard’s … more

Quality education for all: funding matters

Conservative politicians and self-proclaimed ‘experts', led by the Prime Minister and a succession of Minsters, are engaged in the most aggressive assault on public education ever seen in Australian history. [adsense:234x60:1:1] Advertisement Their attack on the profession and public education, the crucible within which Australian democracy was formed and upon which a vibrant, socially cohesive future is dependent, represents one of the most dangerous political phenomena in contemporary Australian politics and it requires a concerted … more