In his article Your Cultural Policy Has Expired Ben Eltham joins the debate on the ‘State of the Cultural Nation’ in New Matilda. He says that Australian cultural policy has failed to keep up with the rapid changes being experiences within arts and cultural communities. He also claims that it has altogether failed to recognise some rich cultural areas altogether. Eltham reviews which cultural programs receive Federal funding and opines that the performing arts sector … more

CPD fellow Denise Bradley urges us to invest in higher learning in the Sydney Morning Herald. Bradley is the chairwoman of the Review of Australian Higher Education, with Peter Noonan, Helen Nugent and Bill Scales. In an edited extract from their report, she examines how the Australian higher education system is falling behind those of other countries, in terms of both investment and performance. Read the extract here.

CPD fellow and health policy analyst Jennifer Doggett argues that Labor’s SuperClinics make good policy sense and blames resistance from the medical profession for slowing their implementation. In this article for Inside Story she looks at where the resistance is coming from and explains her support of the program. …while many health care providers welcome this investment in improving primary care services, some providers (and peak provider groups) fear that SuperClinics will adversely affect existing … more

CPD Director John Menadue argues that the multi-billion dollar health funding package agreed on by COAG will not solve the problems in Australia’s health care system. In this article for Crikey he shows why reform is critical and says that without it there should be no extra money.

John Quiggin’s paper in Australian Policy Online summarises the main sources of uncertainty about climate change, and discusses the major implications for economic analysis and the formulation of climate policy. While uncertainty about the rate of climate change does create problems when formulating public policy, Quiggin argues that it does not justify inaction in the present. Read the full paper here.

The Labor government was forced to quiz two of their ambassadors for men’s health over allegedly homophobic and sexist views just one day after their appointment. Eva Cox, CPD fellow and chair of the Women’s Electoral Lobby’s national co-ordinating committee, comments on the events in this article in The Australian.

On Wednesday November 26th, the Centre for Policy Development hosted out third ‘Common Ground’ forum. There were discussions on climate change based around the theme ‘Australia should lead not follow’. Speakers and panelists included Bob Carr (former Premier, NSW), Pru Goward (NSW Shadow Minister for Climate Change), Fiona Wain (Environment Business Australia), Steve Hatfield-Dodds (former CSIRO, now Department of Climate Change), Andrew Bartlett (former Democrats) and Imam Afroz Ali (from the ‘Australian Religious Response to … more

In an Opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, Lyndsay Connors and Jane Caro explain why a strong public school system is more vital than ever before in this period of economic downturn. “You may lose much in a shrinking or stagnant economy, but at least your children need not lose their education.” Lyndsay Connors is adjunct associate professor at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Education, and Jane Caro is co-author of The Stupid … more

Now that Obama has won the US election decisively, Barry Saunders looks at his new media strategy and muses on how he can continue working in the brave new world of social media through his Presidential term. He also reflects on how social media is working within Australian politics. Read the whole article here in ABC News Online.