Public Policy
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STEPHEN LEEDER. Employing less qualified people in aged care
The Royal Commission announced this week will have a full agenda. If it can help us get aged care back on track we will all be the richer. Continue reading »
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JAMIE LINGHAM. The changing face of Australian immigration.
Now more than ever we need to work together as a nation to address the immigration department and the mechanisms of safe passage, and put a stop to Australia’s unacceptable practices and inhumane treatment of individuals. Continue reading »
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ERIN O’DONNELL, AVRIL HORNE. Giving environmental water to drought-stricken farmers sounds straightforward, but it’s a bad idea (The Conversation, 18.09.18)
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack last week suggested the government would look at changing the law to allow water to be taken from the environment and given to farmers struggling with the drought. Continue reading »
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NICOLE GIBSON. A Letter to Canberra from a young Australian.
“Each Australian story I’ve heard is etched on my heart, permanently shifting my views and perspectives on leadership. I pray that you also have the humility to silence the chatter in your own minds and be inspired by the people you represent.” Continue reading »
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BIANCA BRIJNATH. Improving dementia awareness in Australia’s multicultural communities can mean better care for all.
Sheila holds 10 teaspoons in her hands and every time the cooker whistles, she puts one down. After 10 whistles, she switches the cooker off. The rice is done. She takes down two pots and prepares one of the five vegetable dishes she remembers. When dinner arrives at the table, there are two places set Continue reading »
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JIEH-YUNG LO. Reflections of a Chinese-Australian.
To ensure we remain as the world’s most successful multicultural society, it is important to get the China debate right from now on to prevent the re-emergence of sinophobia in Australia. Continue reading »
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HYLDA ROLFE. Protection v exploitation – Uncertain outlook for National Parks in New South Wales
A common framework for crime fiction builds on the notion of a heavy character leaning on target persons in order to ‘encourage’ them to fund the provision of protection from even heavier characters. Hoping for security, the targets oblige and meet more and more demands, until at last they baulk. So then the heavies appear Continue reading »
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FRAN BAUM and TOBY FREEMAN. Time for the reform of primary health care in Australia: a ten-point plan (Croakey, 12.09.18)
12 September)marks 40 years since the World Health Organization member countries gathered for the International Conference on Primary Health Care in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and signed off on the declaration of Alma-Ata. Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Beyond the political rhetoric,hard hats and akubras what do our political ‘leaders’ really believe.
Power does reveal substance. It tells us quite quickly about the values that drive political parties and political leaders. Scare tactics are always a sure sign that the values and policy cupboard is bare. Continue reading »
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KIM OATES. Viewpoint: “Always say something positive about the child” (Berry Brazelton 1918-2018)
Over 40 years ago, I was fortunate to do some of my paediatric training with Berry Brazelton. He wasn’t famous then, but there was something about him that set him apart from the purely organic focus of most of the senior staff at Boston Children’s Hospital. He was interested in babies as individuals with their Continue reading »
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Have Kids Stopped Trying on PISA and NAPLAN?
A much-ignored aspect of school results in Australia over the past decade or more is the sharp contrast between declining or stagnating scores on international and national tests for Years 9 and 10 and solid improvements in Year 12 results. How is it that trends in school outcomes only two or three Year levels apart Continue reading »
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ANTHONY PUN. History of Multiculturalism: Part 2- A decline in support of Multiculturalism from the Howard to the Rudd-Gillard Administrations.
The racial discrimination legislations flourished under Multicultural with NSW leading the pact. A crack in Multiculturalism support emerged during the Howard Administration with the rise of Pauline Hanson and her racial politics. It was the “ethnic” vote that saved the day and Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock worked to recapture the votes. Multiculturalism continued under the Continue reading »
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Bishop Long and other religious leaders denounce asylum-seeker policy.
Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv. has joined other faith leaders in denouncing Australia’s indefinite detention of refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru and Manus Island. Continue reading »
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LYNDSAY CONNORS. Latest OECD Education report should spark a reality check.
According to the OECD’s 2018 Education at a Glance report, one measure that places Australia in an extreme position internationally is its high proportion of private funding across the primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. And Australia is certainly out on a limb when it comes to the public/private funding mix for private schools. Continue reading »
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ANDREW GLIKSON. Human cognitive dissonance and the mass extinction of species.
The history of Earth is marked by at least seven major mass extinctions, including asteroid impact effects 580 million years ago, the end Ordovician glaciation, late Devonian asteroid impacts, end-Permian volcanism and ocean anoxia, end-Jurassic volcanism and Cretaceous-Tertiary asteroid impact—mostly associated with an extreme rise in atmospheric CO2. Currently the seventh mass extinction of species Continue reading »
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ANTHONY PUN. History of multiculturalism: Part 1 – Early development – Chinese Australian community involvement and Chinese students.
Early development of multiculturalism under PM Gough Whitlam and Immigration Minister Al Grassby and its passage through to the Hawke-Keating government; community organisations played an important role in convincing the Hawke government to grant residency to 42,300 Chinese students. Continue reading »
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STEPHEN LEEDER. The Evil You Cannot See.
Concern about air quality in Australia popularly centres around two topics: exhaust stacks from city road tunnels and climate change. Neither are as critically important as the effects of small particle pollution. Continue reading »
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HAMISH McDONALD. Australia takes immigration debate to a new low. (Nikkei Asian Review 5/9/2018)
In early August, the population of Australia reached 25 million, according to the government’s statistics bureau — more than three times its size in 1948, when I came into the world as one of 7.7 million Australians. Unlike a lot of my compatriots, I’m happy about the expansion and hope there will be many more Continue reading »
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VIC ROWLANDS. The Education funding battle and public education.
When then minister Simon Birmingham accepted the recommendations of the Gonski 2 Education funding model it was a courageous attempt to redress the mistakes of the past. His replacement post Turnbull by Dan Tehan sent a message that the traditional powerful education lobbies are still well and truly the influential players. It doesn’t auger well Continue reading »
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BOB DOUGLAS. Homelessness, a sign of increasing Australian Inequality that we must now address.
The growing number of people sleeping rough on the streets of our cities has alerted many Australians to the fact that Australia is no longer the egalitarian society we once were, and that, as in other western democracies, inequality is on the rise. Continue reading »
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CHRISTIAN DOWNIE. Lack of climate policy threatens to trip up Australian diplomacy this summit season.
Australia has navigated a somewhat stormy passage through the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru. Scott Morrison’s new-look government faced renewed accusations at the summit about the strength of Australia’s resolve on climate policy. Continue reading »
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MARK DANTA, CHUN MA, RICHARD DAY, DAVID MA. Dealing with the spiraling price of medicines: how “low” can it go?
New medications are increasingly expensive. In Australia, where the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) covers the vast majority of prescription medications, the spiraling cost of medicines has a significant impact on the sustainability of our health system. In countries where patients are required to contribute substantially to the medicine cost, high prices can negatively influence their Continue reading »
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LYNLEY WALLIS, BRYCE BARKER, HEATHER BURKE. How unearthing Queensland’s ‘native police’ camps gives us a window onto colonial violence.
In 19th century Queensland, the Native Mounted Police were responsible for “dispersing” (a euphemism for systematic killing) Aboriginal people. Continue reading »
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ILAN WIESEL, LISS RALSTON, WENDY STONE. How the housing boom has driven rising inequality.
The Productivity Commission – the Australian government’s highly influential economic advisory body – released a report titled Rising Inequality? last week. The question mark indicates its scepticism about other research findings on rising inequality in Australia. The commission responded to its own question in the report’s very first heading: “Over nearly three decades, inequality has Continue reading »
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IAN WEBSTER: Preventing suicide
The 10th September is recognised as World Suicide Prevention Day. “The burden of suicide does not weigh solely on the health sector; it has multiple impacts on many sectors and on society as a whole. Thus, to start a successful journey towards the prevention of suicide, countries should employ a multisectoral approach that addresses suicide Continue reading »
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GEOFF GALLOP. What does it mean to be educated?
In the Campion Lecture at St Aloysius College, Sydney, on 15 August 2018, Geoff Gallop, former Premier of WA, spoke about the post-truth world and the importance of understanding the role of education in our society. He said in conclusion: Over the centuries human beings have learnt much about nature and society, how to co-exist Continue reading »
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MARIE SELLSTROM. Rural Australians for Refugees making a statement in rural communities.
There is a growing consciousness in rural and regional Australia…..it is centred in NSW and Victoria and is spreading through Queensland to Cairns and moving south through to Tasmania and South Australia and across to Albany. It is the responsiveness of men, women and children in country Australia who support people seeking refuge and asylum Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Reasons aplenty for China’s ban of the ABC.
As a form of symbolism, banning a website works much more effectively than conventional expressions of official displeasure such as flexing military muscles, cancelling a trade deal, recalling a country’s ambassador or refusing a foreign correspondent’s visa. Continue reading »
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JOHN DWYER. How are we going to water the farm now that copious life sustaining rain is but a memory?
The change in the world’s climate is currently on full display with equatorial deluges, hurricanes and typhoons causing destruction and misery while the the rest of the world burns and experiences record temperatures further North than ever recorded before. As a 78 year old Australian I am well aware of the frequency with which our Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Why dental care was excluded from Medicare and why it should now be included
In 1974, the Whitlam Government decided to exclude dental care from Medicare for two reasons. The first was cost. The second was political in that Gough Whitlam felt that combatting the doctors would be hard enough without having to combat dentists as well. Forty-four years later, with Australia much richer and the proven success of Continue reading »