Writer
Don Edgar
Dr Don Edgar, OAM, is a sociologist, an Ambassador for NARI (National Ageing Research Institute) and Foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
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Ageing policy ignores the majority of older people
‘Old’ is defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as any person over the age of 65. This is a wildly outdated notion given our longer life expectancy and the fact that most of us will live many years beyond that arbitrary date in active service to the community. Continue reading »
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Birth rate down; attacks on marriage and family are counterproductive
Marriage as an institution has long been attacked as the bulwark of patriarchy, a formality, binding women into compulsory sexual obligations, economic dependence and unequal life chances and the seat of most domestic violence. It has been all that and more, but ‘family’ has been forgotten by many as the outcome of positive romantic attachment Continue reading »
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A bonded approach to the education of skilled workers
Education Minister Jason Clare’s important review of education seems to have lost the plot. Secondary schoolers have been told for years that their aim should be university entrance. That approach has distorted the focus of secondary schooling toward achieving a high score in HSC while the technical side has been downgraded in both funding and Continue reading »
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Australian Universities Accord lost in a mire of confusion about equity
The Australian Universities Accord Interim Report shows an echidna on its cover, in keeping, Education Minister Jason Clare acknowledges, with the spikey issues he is attempting to address in the education system. His goal is to reduce inequality in Australian society while improving the quality of education across the system. Continue reading »
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Budget focus on primary health care; a missed opportunity for ageing Australia
We need a radical rethink of the way we structure a 100-year life. Continue reading »
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Jim Chalmers’ value-added capitalism requires upheaval of old age paradigm
Treasury, along with all economic institutions, must replace their ageist definitions and assumptions about older people and become part of the solution, not the assault. Quelle surprise! We finally have a Treasurer who is an independent thinker, and more surprisingly he is thinking out loud. Jim Chalmers is rethinking capitalism to restore some basic values. Continue reading »
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Family policy has fallen off the radar
In a single life span we have moved from a ‘we’ society to an ‘I’ society, as Robert Putnam puts it in his seminal study in the late nineties entitled Bowling Alone. The value of reciprocal responsibilities within our community has been upended by individualism and divisive tribalism. In this context the story of ‘the Continue reading »
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Thinking outside the age care trap
Too much of our thinking about aged care is based on outmoded assumptions. It is argued that ageing Baby Boomers will cost the economy dearly, when in fact it is the policy taken that has caused a crisis. Change is essential, for today’s Millennials, facing a century-long life, will be an even larger aged cohort. Continue reading »
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Julian Schultz searches but does not find ‘the soul of the nation’
When a book called ‘The Idea of Australia: A search for the nation’s soul’ is touted as ‘A brilliant successor to Donald Horne’s ‘The Lucky Country’, and as ‘A triumph of art, politics, literature, history, and the deepest scholarship’, one would expect a truly exciting read that clarifies or refocuses ‘the idea of Australia’. Continue reading »
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The age-old debate on generational conflict is deeply flawed
Every generation deserves the best chance in life, but achieving this has been undermined by government policy failure and misplaced claims of advantage. Continue reading »
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Housing policy is a failure for young and old
Blaming Baby Boomers for the housing crisis is a diversion. What we need is a complete rethink of our housing supply. Continue reading »
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Are we more depressed or more diagnosed?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5), which finds widespread use in Australia and across the world, by physicians, researchers, courts, and schools, lists more than 300 criteria for depression, which makes the meaning of a diagnosis so vague it can potentially cover every one of us. So, are we more depressed Continue reading »
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Covid-19 has been a circuit breaker. Now we need to flip a different switch
A horror year, 2020 has brought some salutary lessons. But can we change our ways because of our trauma? Or will we: continue to ignore climate change; bring back overseas students and depend on their privileged place in universities; boost migration to support the housing price spiral; turn a blind eye to inequality and social Continue reading »
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The Power of Attorney and abuse of the elderly
Australia has a long way to go and COVID is lifting the scab revealing how neglect and absolute indifference have exposed these communities of older people to an end of life nightmare. Continue reading »
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Humanities Fightback: CASSH Skills VS STEM.
Just how do Universities respond to Minister Tehan’s diabolical plan to neuter the brainpower of the next generation through engineering their debt burden by more than doubling fees for Humanities Degrees? Continue reading »
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Proposed University Funding is Policy Ideological Vandalism
Minister Tehan’s targeted university funding proposal is part of an ongoing government plan to destroy the ‘hotbeds of left-wing ideological fervour’ seen as centred in arts and social science faculties. Continue reading »
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DON EDGAR. Elections, the arts and regional development
In all the pre-election hubbub about taxes, national deficits, the environment and what else to spend our money on, there is scant attention being paid to the arts – an area which nurtures the soul and takes us beyond everyday practicalities to the realm of vision, creativity and the meaning of life. This is a Continue reading »
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DON EDGAR. Right-wing populism and family values
It is disturbing to find dogged anti-abortionist, anti-gay proselitisers such as MP Kevin Andrews and Endeavour Forum’s Babette Francis still representing Australia’s views at European far-right conferences. Continue reading »
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DON EDGAR. Looking for the cuckoo in the mental health nest.
As a researcher, I have always been suspicious of statistics touted as incontrovertible truths; and of propagandists for a cause who claim to be the holders of effective remedies for complex social problems. The current ‘truths’ being touted (and winning huge increases in government funding) are that one in every five Australians has a mental Continue reading »
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DON EDGAR AND PATRICIA EDGAR. University reforms needed for the longevity economy.
Tinkering at the edges of university financing and student loan repayments ignores the tsunami of social change that is the real challenge for Australia’s future higher education system. Nick Xenophon is right to call for a full-scale inquiry into higher education; it is a mess, not catering to Australia’s future needs. Continue reading »
