Writer

Susan Ryan
Susan Ryan was Minister for Education in the Hawke Cabinet and Age Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission 2011-2016.
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SUSAN RYAN. Cricket cheats and Australian culture.
The big question for Australian culture is not which of the three cheats is most remorseful, but why this bad behaviour by cricket heroes, once exposed, has apparently caused greater distress to Australians than any other cheating currently in the public domain. Banks cheating their customers is the subject of a current Royal Commission. The Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Homelessness, Australia’s disgrace ignored.
The last few days have seen a media preoccupation with relentless attacks on a new federal Labor proposal to eliminate the payment of cash cheques to those who don’t need their dividend imputation credits because they pay no tax. The media has channelled expressions of shock and rage, and accusations of robbery, from Coalition politicians Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Ruddock and the religious freedom review.
In commercial matters religious freedom needs no further protection. There is no case for extending exemptions from existing anti-discrimination measures to the commercial provision of facilities, catering, furniture or entertainment that may play a part in hospitality following a marriage. Such goods and services are not a legal part of the civil marriage contract and should Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. A roof over their heads.
The Annual Report for 2016 of the Women’s Housing Company demonstrates solutions to the terrible and growing situation of older women facing homelessness. These solutions however continue to elude policy makers, the media and business, whose failures to recognise the size of the problem and its costs to the public purse inflict great damage on Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Skills retraining still more miss than hit.
Like car manufacturers who, despite decades of notice, still left many workers stranded, NAB’s more sudden announcement underlines the fact that massive redundancies are not only a feature of “old” industries. Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Postcard from Ireland, a resilient democracy
It is heartening to see Ireland, so recently condemned as an economic basket case with social attitudes belonging in the middle ages effectively renew and redirect its democracy Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Tent City, Martin Place.
The Berejiklian government in NSW showed this last week that it could act fast. To deal with the reported discomfort of the Premier, caused for months by a tent city of the homeless situated in Martin Place just opposite the Parliament, a new law was passed, peremptorily. The Sydney Public Reserves (Public Safety) Act empowers Continue reading »
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Older women need housing too
In the growing discourse around affordable housing, the federal and some state governments are edging forwards. Recently proposed changes have merit, but they may exclude poorer older women in need of housing. Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN, OLIVER FRANKEL, JOHN MENADUE. Upcoming series on Making Housing Affordable.
After Easter, Pearls and Irritations plans to publish a series ‘Making Housing Affordable‘ addressing key aspects of the housing crisis and recommending solutions, with contributions from a range of experts and other key stakeholders, including economists, planners, demographers, housing providers and policy makers. Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Housing affordability requires immediate government action
The 2016 Intergenerational Report from Treasury predicted that by 2050 the numbers of people in Australia over 65, currently nearly a quarter of the population, will have doubled. Average age expectancy will be over 95 for women and men. Where will those people be living? Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Book review. The Dark Flood Rises: Margaret Drabble.
As our sort of societies experience the demographic revolution, most of us are living much longer than ever before, in cultures that have not responded well to this increased longevity. We also find ourselves living in cultures that so far have failed to develop dignified and helpful practices and values for dealing with the inevitable. Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Affordable housing and inclusionary zoning.
There are recent signs that governments are belatedly starting to move on the urgent problems created by the lack of affordable housing. A variety of data sources shows that increasing numbers of people, especially older women, face homelessness. Based on 2011 census figures, among poorer single older women alone, we are looking at something Continue reading »
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SUSAN RYAN. Older women – the new homeless.
It is more than timely that focus on increasing inequality in Australia include recognition of a massive contributing factor: the lack of affordable housing, especially for older women. Several groups have been identified as severely disadvantaged by the lack of affordable housing: unemployed young people, single parent families, and low paid workers who need Continue reading »