Public Policy
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Australia’s education system is nearly the most unequal in the developed world.
Australia prides itself on its egalitarian ethos, but it is a myth in education. Not only do we have one of the most segregated school systems in the OECD and the world, but a report just published by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) shows that Australia’s education system is nearly the most Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. How the politically urgent pushes the important health issues aside.
Australians have some of the best health outcomes in the world measured for example by high life expectancy and low death rates, although that is not the case with Indigenous Australians. Continue reading »
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ANDREW GLIKSON. Which planet is the media living on?
While extreme weather events are being reported almost daily on news bulletins, only rarely is it conveyed that these events constitute the manifestation of advanced global warming and a fundamental shift in the state of the atmosphere. Rarely do major ABC TV forums, such as The Drum, The Insiders, Q and A, Four-Corners, the 7.30 Continue reading »
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Lazard hails “inflection point” as wind, solar costs beat new and old fossils (Renew Economy)
Lazard hails “inflection point” as wind, solar costs beat new and old fossils. Continue reading »
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PAUL COLLINS. ABC -Shenanigans at Ultimo’s Level Fourteen.
Monday’s Four Corners on the ABC’s management shenanigans—the Guthrie-Milne, she said-he said fiasco—and the failure of the rest of the ABC Board to own-up and answer publicly for their performance tells you everything about what’s wrong at the top of the national broadcaster. Its not imagined left-wing bias, or ‘inaccurate and unbalanced reporting’, or Emma Continue reading »
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JIEH-YUNG LO. Ross Cameron sacking shows we won’t tolerate racism any further.
In typical fashion, Andrew Bolt through his blog at the Herald Sun mounted a defence of Ross Cameron’s sacking from Sky News Australia. Instead of recognising its racist connotations directed towards Chinese people (and people of Chinese origin for that matter) Bolt went on by saying Ross Cameron’s intentions, while recognising his poor choice of Continue reading »
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PETER SAINSBURY. IPCC’s 1.5oC report makes Paris Agreement redundant.
The report ‘Global Warming of 1.5oC’ was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in October 2018. Although the report does not say so, the evidence it presents renders the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change redundant. It asks the wrong question, and its goals and strategies are now revealed to be completely Continue reading »
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An agricultural visa would change Australian society – for the worse
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has, for the time being, rejected creation of an agricultural visa in favour of changes to the existing working holiday maker program and the seasonal worker visa (see here). These are unlikely to satisfy demands of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) for an agricultural visa. While most Australians would see this Continue reading »
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MARGARET SIMONS. Good riddance to Guthrie and Milne. The ABC needs grown-ups in charge (the Guardian 12.11.18)
The most powerful message to emerge from Four Corners’ sad story about the tumult at the top of the ABC is that neither the former chairman Justin Milne nor the former managing director Michelle Guthrie appeared to be friends of the public broadcaster. Continue reading »
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AMANDA MEADE. ‘It was magic’: Kerry O’Brien on ABC bosses, battles and why it’s no bed of lefties (The Guardian)
‘It was magic’: Kerry O’Brien on ABC bosses, battles and why it’s no bed of lefties. Continue reading »
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Australia has one of the most socially segregated schools systems in the world.
A new OECD report shows that Australia has one of the most segregated school systems in the OECD and in the world. It also shows that Australia had the equal largest increase in social segregation in the OECD and the world since 2006. Government education and funding policies are major factors behind the increase in Continue reading »
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QUENTIN DEMPSTER. Mass media power plays and the death of Fairfax
The competition regulator ACCC has now green-lighted the death of Fairfax Media Ltd., the governance entity what has been a foundational influence on public interest journalism in Australia since 1831. Continue reading »
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ISABELLE LANE. ‘Misleading and disingenuous’: Treasurer’s negative gearing claims slammed.
Experts have rubbished Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s claims that a proposed rollback of negative gearing will decimate the property market and send rents soaring. This article was published by The New Daily on the 8th of November 2018. Continue reading »
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MRIDULA AMIN, ISABELLA KWAI. The Nauru Experience: Zero-Tolerance Immigration and Suicidal Children.
A recent visit to Nauru revealed the effects of Australia’s offshore detention policy and its impact on mental health. This article was published by The New York Times on the 5th of November 2018. Continue reading »
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BRIAN COYNE. Reading the needs and wants of the ordinary punters.
The ABC’s 7.30 program on Tuesday night had an interesting analysis program on Rupert Murdoch, his heir-apparent, Lachlan, and the future for their empire and the media. [See link below] While they’ve sold off much of their empire (for something in the order of 86 billion dollars [yes, you read that correctly: “BILLION”]) the Murdoch’s Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. ACCC begins search for light at the end of the NBN technology tunnel
The boss of the ACCC, Rod Sims, has told The Australian “its recent dealings with the retail telcos has highlighted a weakness with the fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) access technology”. For numerous broadband experts, not to mention millions of hapless NBN customers, this might be seen as a classic ‘no shit Sherlock’ moment. However, it is probably the Continue reading »
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Refugees – Donald Trump’s help is accepted but Jacinda Arden’s offer is rejected
Refugees and asylum seekers are being kept on Manus and Nauru for one purpose only – to serve the government’s party political purposes. We welcome US help but not offers of help from NZ. Keeping vulnerable people in offshore detention is not deterring boat arrivals. It is the turnback policy that is stopping the boats. Continue reading »
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Discrimination recriminations in the debate about private schools
Debates about discrimination in schools need to go much further, argues Chris Bonnor Continue reading »
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SOPHIE VORRATH. Surge in renewables delivering cheaper power, says TAI report.
As ScoMo sets off in his big blue autographed campaign bus to Drive Down Electricity Prices in Queensland, the good news is that most of the hard work looks to have been already done for him. This article was published by Renew Economy on the 5th of November 2018. Continue reading »
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No clever answers! Finding the right questions about dental care in Australia
The significant impact that dental disease makes to the financial and social burdens of preventable chronic illness in Australia is rarely acknowledged, although there is substantial evidence of the inequalities in access to dental care. Dental care is not seen as an essential part of health care as if the mouth is not seen as Continue reading »
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Health professionals condemn Australian Government’s contemptuous response to IPCC 1.5oC report .
In a letter to The Lancet twenty-two health professionals have condemned the Australian government’s contemptuous responses to the report ‘Global Warming of 1.5oC’ prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The letter includes a call for action covering the phase out of coal mining and burning, an increased CO2 emissions reduction target and Continue reading »
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How the 2017-18 migration program was delivered
The report on the 2017-18 migration program has now been publicly released, more than two and a half months after an exclusive to The Australian newspaper and a short time after the Home Affairs department appeared before Senate estimates. As reported in The Australian, the outcome was indeed 162,417, over 27,500 below the ceiling of Continue reading »
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RICHARD ECKERSLEY. The ghosts of past political failures haunt environmental challenges.
We will not solve climate change and other pressing global threats until we admit, and learn from, the repeated failures of past proclamations and promises. Continue reading »
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Bullying in the public health system
The formation of the Australian Health Reform Association (AHReform) is triggered by the need to have a community organisation with members from all healthcare professions to help create a safer working environment for all healthcare professionals so that they can provide the highest standard of care for healthcare consumers. This article introduces the subject of Continue reading »
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MARYANNE DEMASI. Vindication : dietitians cut ties with the sugar lobby.
The Dietitians Association of Australia has pledged to cut financial ties with the sugar lobby following a series of investigations. The DAA initiative and the exoneration of surgeon and sugar critic Dr Gary Fettke are significant steps towards diet reform in Australia. Continue reading »
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University Research Under Veto
Veto action on certain successful Australian Research Council research proposals together with a proposal to establish a “national interest” test by federal Ministers for Education reflect poorly on the independence and integrity of university research and research training. Continue reading »
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ANDREW GLIKSON. High sea level rise and the IPCC.
In a key paper titled “Scientific reticence and sea level rise” (https://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/ha01210n.html) (2007) James Hansen, the renowned climate scientist, is critical of what he regards as major underestimates of the magnitude and pace of global warming, as further elaborated in the article “How the IPCC Underestimated Climate Change: Here are just eight examples of where Continue reading »
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KIM OATES. If we listened to children the world would be a better place
Last week was National Children’s week, with a theme that children’s views and opinions should be respected, that they have a right to be heard. Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Detention on Manus and Nauru serves no useful policy purpose.
On 13 August 2016 Robert Manne, Frank Brennan, Tim Costello and I wrote the following article for The Melbourne Age. It was also posted on this blog. Since that time, we have consistently argued on many occasions , first, that all detainees on Manus and Nauru should be brought to Australia for processing and possible Continue reading »
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ABUL RIZVI: Is Dutton Frustrated by the Success of Turnback Policy?
After Scott Morrison’s success in implementing boat turnbacks, and Shorten insisting he will maintain that policy, Dutton’s role in this space has largely been confined to scaremongering. At last he has found a role he excels in. But like the boy who cried wolf, is the Australian public starting to see through Dutton’s bluster? Continue reading »