Thinking points

In these pieces CPD thinkers provide rapid-fire responses to the debates of the day, with an eye to the bigger picture and the decades to come. Subscribe to get Thinking Points by email or grab our rss feed. Thinking Points is released under a Creative Commons license: all Thinking Point articles may be reproduced without permission as long as both the author and CPD are attributed, with a link to the original article on the CPD website. You are also welcome to syndicate our rss feed on your own website. If you republish a Thinking Point article in print we would appreciate receiving a copy at PO Box K3, Haymarket, NSW 1240.

James Whelan | Public Service Race to the Bottom

This article was first published on ABC’s The Drum here. The Gillard Government’s announcement last week to cut public sector spending by $1.5 billion is unwise fiscal policy, out of step with community attitudes and… more

Ben Eltham | The Golden Road to Surplus

The latest Treasury figures show why Australia’s economy remains the envy of the rich world. It’s another early Christmas bonus for the Gillard Government, writes Ben Eltham. As first published… more

Why Australia DOESN’T need Public Service Cuts | James Whelan

James Whelan – “Most Australians support government exercising an active role in society and the economy…” With the Federal Government expected to announce major spending cuts as part of its… more

Ben Eltham | You Wouldn’t Read About It

The Gillard Government’s media inquiry has provided the big players with an opportunity to deny there’s anything amiss in the industry. That’s rank hypocrisy, argues Ben Eltham First published in… more

A big year for CPD – Add your voice to ours!

It has been a big year for progressive politics and a big year for CPD. Take a look below at what we have been up to in recent months –… more

James Whelan responds to Julie Novak | Evidence please, not more bashing of our public sector

This Monday. Julie Novak from the IPA once again targeted public service cuts as a necessary step toward a surplus budget. In her most recent article published on Online Opinion, she took aim at our… more

Ben Eltham | This Week the News Went Global

Obama’s visit and the APEC forum have put international relations in the spotlight this week. It’s about time, even if the fanfare around a presidential visit drowned out the big… more

GovCampNSW | Sydney, November 19

GovCamp is an open, ‘unconference’ style discussion format and aims to simply provide a space to share ideas ranging from eGov, Gov 2.0 and opengov to innovation for… more

Chris Bonnor | Schooling In Leadership

Commitment to long-term reform, encouraging and engaging with an inspirational flare. Unfortunately these are not the qualities of our political leaders but they are the leadership styles of many school principals. Perhaps the later could… more