Employment
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Productivity, innovation and industrial structure
The traditional market model of comparative advantage denies Australia the more promising strategic opportunity to identify and capitalise on areas of potential competitive advantage in the high productivity, high-skill jobs and industries of the future, including advanced manufacturing. Instead, with this model we will be locked into low-productivity, low-wage industries, with limited scope for uplift Continue reading »
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A blueprint for inaction – the government’s feeble response to Employment Services crisis
Amid rising demands for robust employment reforms, the Albanese government’s response disappoints, offering vague promises over decisive action. This critique unpacks why minimal improvements and continued reliance on flawed policies may leave the most vulnerable behind, questioning if mere mediocrity is the new standard. Continue reading »
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SOS – Save our scribes
As legacy media dies we seek its phoenix. Continue reading »
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Leading oil and gas producers plan to keep pumping
USA plans to maintain high levels of oil and gas production until at least 2050 – so it can export freedom. Healthy ecosystems require integrity, not just biodiversity. Endangered slug runs circles around arty rivals. Continue reading »
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Environment: Humans don’t make history – we play host
How germs made history. Greenhouse gas emissions keep rising but USA and Europe are still the major causes of global warming. Continue reading »
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Goodhart’s Law and the overlooked complexities in Australia’s employment services sector
Yesterday, I wrote that the Jevons Paradox is a good explanation for the problems of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Today, I look at another theory – Goodhart’s Law – to explain what is wrong with Australia’s $3 Billion a year employment services sector. Continue reading »
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“Marketisation has failed”: Rebuilding the Commonwealth Employment Services
When the Howard government privatised Australia’s Employment Services system it promised more innovative, effective and efficient services. Almost 25 years later, it’s clear that the giant experiment of full privatisation has failed. And the most vulnerable Australians pay the price. Continue reading »
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A Bangladeshi workforce enslaved by greed and power
Millions of workers in the multi-billion-dollar garment industry are being exploited, activists say. Continue reading »
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Has Labor abandoned workers?
The traditional parties of compassion – Labor in Australia, Labour in Britain, Liberals in Canada and the Democrats in the US – have come under attack from the left and the right for abandoning workers. Continue reading »
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Disability care is still all about us without us
Any talk about disability in Australia is very likely to quickly lead to mention of ‘the System,’ which controls everything in the lives of People With Disability. Continue reading »
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Australia’s Department of Home Affairs announced a landmark Refugee Advisory Panel – but there’s a catch
Sounds great, right? Except that the job advertisement says the positions are unpaid. How can the government get things halfway right by recognising that lived experience matters enough to shape what they do, but not value it enough to pay it? Continue reading »
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Labour market roadmap needs greater skills accuracy
Any roadmap to Australia’s future labour market must be based on an accurate analysis of skills. Sadly, the employment white paper reflects the slant imposed by the ‘tech is tops’ narrative. Continue reading »
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On carrots and sticks and the unemployed
Australia’s main Active Labor Market Program, the Duttonesque sounding “Workforce Australia”, is the latest iteration of a long line of models for Employment Services inflicted on the unemployed since the demise of the CES 25 years ago. It’s yet another Morrison government turd that the Albanese government should have flushed away the minute the ink Continue reading »
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Environment: Sleepwalking into our fiery future
Not enough action to preserve our forests and not enough action to prevent bushfires. Less than twelve years before we hit 1.5o of global warming. Continue reading »
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Robodebt and the APS
The Robodebt scandal reflects badly on the Australian Public Service generally, and not just on those immediately responsible. Continue reading »
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The case for universal early childhood education
The implementation of universal high-quality early childhood education could be a game changer for Australian families and the economy. Continue reading »
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Elders – the ideal government consultants
We have a lot to learn from the PWC debacle and Julian Cribb’s paper “Look out! Here Come the Elders”. Continue reading »
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Our digital Aunty
The ABC is in trouble again as it abandons its cultural role to become “fully digital” by 2028. Continue reading »
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Can the Pacific Engagement Visa deliver positive outcomes?
Earlier this year, I wrote on the potential risks of the new Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) that will provide a lottery-based pathway to permanent residence for nationals of Pacific Islands and Timor Leste. Continue reading »
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Welcoming the New TAFE, a spring-board to fulfilling working lives
A TAFE system built around ideas for running 1950s American car-making factories is pretty much an anachronism in Australia in 2023, particularly when our future depends on innovation and rising productivity. But before New TAFE starts, Old TAFE must have a long, hard look at itself. Continue reading »
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Big business cries poor on wages even as profits mount
Don’t believe anyone – not even a governor of the Reserve Bank – trying to tell you the Fair Work Commission’s decision to increase minimum award wages by 5.75 per cent is anything other than good news for the lowest-paid quarter of wage earners. Continue reading »
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Environment: Rich people are melting Arctic sea ice
Rich countries and rich people have incredibly high greenhouse gas emissions. Arctic sea ice is shrinking. Tasmanian government plans to make fish farms more environmentally destructive. Continue reading »
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When a war economy became an industry policy
Anthony Albanese’s photo opportunity with president Biden and prime minister Sunak in San Diego must rank as one of the more grotesque and expensive the world has seen. The submarine deal, glowingly described as his ‘moon shot’ with its $368 billion price-tag is an act of pillage of public money. It might allow him to Continue reading »
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What does a “good” employment service look like?
This week, the House Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services held one of its public hearings. During the opening remarks, the Committee chair, Julian Hill remarked that he had asked the Department of Employment what a good service model looks like, and they couldn’t answer. He said they looked like a bunch of “well-paid, Continue reading »
