Public Policy
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JOHN MENADUE. Chilcot – The Iraq war and Murdoch’s war on critics. (Repost)
On 1 July 2014, I posted a story about the role of News Corp and Rupert Murdoch in the Iraq disaster. The Chilcot Report confirms even more how News Corp publications misled readers and viciously attacked their opponents. News Corp demonstrated that it is indeed a rogue organisation. See repost below: Continue reading »
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GILES PARKINSON. How the far Right have hijacked Australia’s energy policy
If you ever wondered just how comprehensively the Far Right has hijacked the Coalition’s energy policy, it’s worth reading the speech by NSW energy minister Don Harwin we reported on last week. Continue reading »
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Hidden in plain sight: Aboriginal massacre map should be no surprise
Lyndall Ryan’s work on mapping the massacres of Aboriginal Australians builds on earlier work which has been ignored or glossed over by settler Australians. Perhaps this time, finally, we can make the link between Indigenous dispossession and the position of Aboriginal people today. Continue reading »
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ANNE DUGGAN. The second Atlas of Healthcare Variation – a guide to better practice
The recently-released second Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation reveals marked variations in the rates of common procedures across the country. It’s a valuable source of data to guide better allocation of health care resources through more appropriate, equitable and patient-centred care. Continue reading »
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STEVE LEEDER. Health care: getting it right the first time
Ronald Reagan once famously quipped that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help’. But that doesn’t, for one moment, stop Michael Horrocks, Professor of Postgraduate Surgery at the University of Bath and a former President of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Continue reading »
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TIM COLEBATCH. One census, three stories
In the broad picture, the 2016 census has confirmed things we already knew about ourselves. But burrow down into the detail, and you’ll find much that will surprise you. Continue reading »
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PETER HUGHES. Citizenship changes: poisonous and pointless
The government’s proposed changes to the requirements for Australian citizenship are both poisonous and pointless. They are bad public policy and should be rejected by Parliament. Continue reading »
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GILES PARKINSON. Garnaut: CET may be useless without higher emission targets
Leading economist professor Ross Garnaut says the clean energy target recommended by the Finkel Review could be useless in meeting current emission reduction targets, because technology change and coal retirements will get us there in any case. Continue reading »
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TONY MAHER. Energy future debate needs to put people first
Without bipartisan support for the key planks of energy policy, we will continue to have electricity shortages, higher than necessary prices and investment decisions being made by governments based on populism. Workers shouldn’t be used as a pawn in a political game by politicians. Workers should be centre stage – changes to the energy system Continue reading »
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MICHAEL MULLINS. Cardinal Pell’s preference for spin doctors over truth tellers
Cardinal Pell’s actions and attitudes towards the media over the years have demonstrated a lack of appreciation of its role in truth telling. If, as he stated , he is innocent of the ‘false’ charges laid against him, it is in his interest not to condemn the truth telling media but to trust and embrace Continue reading »
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STEVE LEEDER. A welcome review of the Medicare Benefits Schedule
In 2015 Sussan Ley, then the Minister for Health, established a review of the schedule of fees for medical benefits. The review of the schedule’s 5700 items, involving a rigorous evidence-based process, is now around half way through. When completed it will provide an opportunity for more cost-effective health care and a saving of public Continue reading »
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ROD TIFFEN. The UK Election’s Second Biggest Loser – Rupert Murdoch
A widely circulated tweet claimed that on election night in Britain, Rupert Murdoch stalked out of the Times’s party when the exit polls suggested the Tories were in trouble. As we know, Teresa May’s opportunistic calling of an early election backfired on her, and the Conservatives went from a parliamentary majority to a minority government, Continue reading »
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John Menadue talks to Jon Faine about Rupert Murdoch, the great rent-seeker (Repost)
The interview with Jon Faine was reported in The Guardian on 29 June 2017. News Corp is a ‘disgrace’ and should not get hands on Ten, former manager says. Repost: In an interview on 22 June 2017 with Jon Faine of 774 ABC Melbourne Radio, John Menadue highlights how the Murdoch media attacks people like Continue reading »
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CHRIS BONNOR. Has the Gonski dust settled?
Many claims have been made about the Turnbull Government’s Gonski breakthrough. It seemed to grant the wishes of advocates for greater equity and efficacy in the funding of schools – so much so that I had to re-cast the recommendations in the recent CPD report, Losing the Game, written with Bernie Shepherd. We had always Continue reading »
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RANALD MACDONALD. Defending the ABC
The ABC is not perfect but this country desperately needs an ABC able financially and committed to fulfilling its Charter requirements for all Australians. And for it to be free of political interference. Continue reading »
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STEVE DOVERS. Australia as world leader in conservation?
With the environment a low political priority and few significant environmental initiatives in recent years, maybe Australia just isn’t up to being the world leader in conservation it once was. But an analysis of our past achievements shows that we could indeed show the way internationally, and a recent report identifies the many initiatives we Continue reading »
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BRUCE THOM. Disaster preparedness and climate change: a national conundrum
Australia’s policies on climate adaptation and disaster preparedness are not being brought together across jurisdictions to make the nation more resilient to inevitable shocks, let alone the insidious effects of reduced rainfall and water supplies. Professor Bruce Thom suggests how the imbalance between emission control and adaptation can be addressed with three related policy suggestions. Continue reading »
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Chris Bonnor Vale Bernie Shepherd
Every profession has them: those people with an extraordinary range of interests and talents who change the lives of others and sometimes the profession itself. Bernie Shepherd, who has just lost his battle against cancer, was one of these. He was a science teacher with great interest and ability in English and the arts, a Continue reading »
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BRUCE DUNCAN. A scorecard on Pope Francis
Unexpectedly, Pope Francis has emerged as one of the most significant world leaders. Largely unknown before his election, Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis has assumed the moral stature of a new Mandela, and not just among Catholics. Continue reading »
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TONY SMITH. The political ugliness we cannot hide
Half a century ago in The Australian Ugliness Robin Boyd reminded us what happens when architectural planners embrace utilitarianism and abandon aesthetics. During the days of the Howard Coalition Government, examining the invasion of Iraq and policy on asylum seekers, moral philosopher Raimond Gaita reminded us what happens when decision-makers abandon ethical considerations. Under the Continue reading »
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ROBYN SAMPSON. Ending child immigration detention is just a matter of time.
Momentum is growing around the world to end child immigration detention. All major human rights experts now agree that immigration detention is a child rights violation. Meanwhile, more and more countries are passing laws that prohibit child immigration detention. Continue reading »
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OISÍN SWEENEY & KEVIN EVANS: Coalition governments have abandoned nature. Can we turn this round?
As the Coalition’s relentless internal struggles over energy ideology capture media headlines, a dramatic roll-back of protections for nature is underway. At State and Commonwealth levels Coalition governments have defunded environment programs and unpicked key legislation. Even fundamental conservation actions like the creation of protected areas have stalled as governments appear to see protections of Continue reading »
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FRANK JOTZO. Reviewing the Finkel Review and the political response
Alan Finkel’s electricity review offers a chance to break the political impasse over climate and energy policy. Its key recommendations, including for a clean energy target – which would support a gradual transition from coal to renewables – are supported by cabinet, accepted by the Labor party, and embraced by large parts of Australia’s energy Continue reading »
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CHRIS BONNOR AND BERNIE SHEPHERD. PART ONE: Losing the game? Do we now have another chance to lift school equity and achievement?
Amidst this week’s flurry of activity over the ‘Gonski’ legislation we seem to have forgotten serious problems, both old and new. In this first of two parts Chris Bonnor and Bernie Shepherd consider the problems we still need to solve. In the second part they’ll indicate the new emerging problems we don’t even recognize. Continue reading »
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CHRIS BONNOR AND BERNIE SHEPHERD. PART TWO: Losing the game? Do we now have another chance to lift school equity and achievement?
Amidst this week’s flurry of activity over the ‘Gonski’ legislation we seem to have forgotten serious problems, both old and new. In this first of two parts Chris Bonnor and Bernie Shepherd consider the problems we still need to solve. In the second part they’ll indicate the new emerging problems we don’t even recognize. Losing Continue reading »
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FRANK BRENNAN. Seeking Clarity on Boat Turnbacks and the Utility of Offshore Refugee Warehousing
Erika Feller (former Assistant High Commissioner UNHCR) and Michael Pezzullo (Secretary, Dept of Immigration and Border Protection) spoke at this year’s ANU Crawford Australian Leadership Forum on borders and the movement of people. The convenor of the forum is ANU Chancellor Gareth Evans. Continue reading »
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IAN VERRENDER. Why you’re about to pay through the nose for power
It was a rare moment of triumph for a Prime Minister frustrated in his dealings with a difficult Senate. Continue reading »
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FRANK BRENNAN. The origins and incoherence of Australia’s asylum seeker policy
During Refugee Week 2017, I would like to offer a historical perspective on how we got to where we are in the hope that we might be able to convince one or both of our major political parties to reset their policy, which is needlessly destroying lives, including the lives of children who are proven Continue reading »
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MUNGO MacCALLUM. The Australian again supports Trump against Turnbull.
Let’s face it, it was hardly surprising to find Malcolm Turnbull taking the piss out of Donald Trump. For starters, just about everyone does it – indeed, for much of the time The Donald seems to be doing it himself. Continue reading »
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CAVAN HOGUE. Our white man’s media.
For our media, the UK and the US are more or less ‘down town’. Continue reading »