Jennifer Doggett | Abortion in Catholic hospitals: what would Jesus do?

As proposed new abortion laws are being debated in Victorian Parliament, health policy analyst and CPD Fellow Jennifer Doggett asks – what would Jesus do? Writing for Crikey, Doggett explores how the proposed laws would affect Catholic hospitals, where one in three babies in Victoria are born. “…the benefits provided by the Catholic health sector come hand-in-hand with values not shared by the majority of the Australian population, such as opposition to reproductive health services … more

Common Ground: political donations

A big crowd joined guest speakers Lee Rhiannon (Senator, NSW Greens) and Janet Albrechtsen (The Australian) for CPD’s second Common Ground on Wednesday, 13 August 2008. Representatives from The Property Council of Australia and Premier Iemma’s office joined journalists from the Sydney Morning Herald, activists from Greenpeace and GetUp and a big contingent from NSW Greens in our audience at Circular Quay’s stunning Customs House. "Great venue – beautiful and convenient" Under the direction of … more

Fixing politics: short-term gain vs long-term pain

Leaving aside the relative merits of Labor and the Coalition, arguably the greatest advantage of having a new mob in the Lodge is that, just for a moment, it makes it easier to see how much of what frustrates us about politics can be ascribed to individual politicians, and how much is the fault of the system they work within. When it comes to political dysfunction, most of us suffer from what psychologists call “fundamental … more

 

Changing the country: ideas to shape the next three years

The country has changed governments, but will the government change the country? To achieve a long-term shift towards fairer and more sustainable policies we need a progressive vision of the future and ideas on how to get there. A panel of think tanks will lead a discussion on the ideas that could have an impact on the new federal government. With: Miriam Lyons, Director, Centre for Policy Development, Michael Cooney, Policy Director, Per Capita and … more

Miriam Lyons on ABC1′s Q and A with Tony Jones

New ABC public affairs panel show Q and A invites members of the audience – in the studio and around Australia – to pitch their questions to a panel of policy-makers and commentators. The action is all live and is moderated by Tony Jones of Lateline. Miriam held her own against Tony Abbott in the pilot episode and has now been invited back to join the panel for next Thursday 3 July. You can watch … more

 

Energy Security: The Real Story on Fossil Fuels

Do you know why petrol is so expensive? What’s the real story behind the recent price hikes? What’s the science behind the spin about peak oil? The Whitlam Insitute (as part of the University of Western Sydney) focus on fossil fuels in the second in their Energy Securities series, to be held at Riverside Theatre, Parramatta, Sydney on June 19, 2008. Ian Dunlop, CPD fellow, well-known peak oil commentator and former fossil fuel scientist will … more

Broadening Financial Understanding Summit

CPD fellow Ian McAuley will speak to bankers about behavioural economics – in the context of understanding human judgment in financial decision-making – for the Australian Bankers’ Association summit on Broadening Financial Understanding on July 2 in Sydney. Download the full program here, and contact the ABA for further details.