What does attending playgroup have in common with getting off drugs? The government thinks threatening to take away your welfare payments will help you do both. Internationally the payment of welfare benefits is increasingly being made contingent on a diverse array of behavioural conditions, from attending parenting classes to sending children to school and getting them immunised. Drawing on her recent article in the Journal of Social Policy, Dr Katherine Curchin (@katiecurchin) argues we need more debate about the threat this growing regime of surveillance and punishment poses to citizens’ autonomy.
Read More
Tonight the Coalition Government will be releasing its budget just weeks prior to the federal election. The Women’s Policy Action Tank will be running a special series which focuses on the election. In today’s analysis, Tanja Kovac (@TanjaKovac) of Per Capita (@PerCapita) explains how the elimination of the Women’s Budget Statement has led to a long decline in women’s security that cannot be offset by short-term election promises. This piece was originally published in Women’s Agenda and can be viewed in its original format here.
Read More
Ahead of the launch of her new book The Colonial Fantasy: Why white Australia can't solve black problems, Professor Sarah Maddison (@madd_sarah, co-Director of the Indigenous Settler Relations Collaboration at the University of Melbourne) explains that white Australia can’t solve black problems because white Australia is the problem. There needs to be a radical restructuring of the relationship between First Nations and the settler state.
Read More
With recent inquiries into many aspects of the Coalition government’s welfare reforms, including jobactive and ParentsNext, a more foundational question is raised: What is the point of aggressive and austere policies? In today’s piece, Policy Whisperer Susan Maury (@SusanMaury) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) employs a psychological frame to examine why putting people into crisis is counterproductive.
Read MoreLaura Davy (@LauraKDavy) from the Public Service Research Group, UNSW Canberra, summarises the findings of a review into the implementation of the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 and urges readers to contribute to the consultation process for a new national disability policy framework which will begin next month.
Read More
If we believe in a society that is just and equitable, and where the rule of law is both respected and effective in maintaining such a society, then our criminal justice system is failing us in achieving these aims. In today’s post, Helen Forster of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand proposes basic principles for addressing shortcomings in how the criminal justice system interacts with women, and proposes that innovative health justice partnerships offer a promising corrective.
Read MoreOur second post today is by Professor Helen Dickinson (@drhdickinson), who explains the Medicare rebate freeze and how it could impact you. Reposted from The Conversation.
Read MoreToday’s post is by Chloe Duncan from the Public Service Research Group, UNSW Canberra, and it explores how the personal identity and experiences of policy practitioners and service providers can inform their practice in profound ways. Based on PhD research into the implementation of breastfeeding policy in Victoria, it suggests that the ability to draw on multiple perspectives, both professional and personal, can allow policy implementers to overcome significant challenges in their work by devising creative and innovative solutions to problems.
Read MoreIn today’s post, Laura Davy (@LauraKDavy) from the Public Service Group, UNSW Canberra and Ariella Meltzer (@ariella_meltzer) from the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW Sydney argue that under current policy settings, the answer to this question is yes. Summarising the findings of research just published in the Australian Journal of Public Administration, they outline three ways in which the scheme’s approach to supporting relationships is insufficient and explore how these limitations can be rectified.
Read More
The National Inquiry into Workplace Sexual Harassment has provided a much-needed opportunity to discuss the prevalence and impacts of sexual harassment in the workplace. The Equality Rights Alliance (ERA) and Harmony Alliance: Migrant and Refugee Women for Change Young Women’s Advisory Groups (YWAGs) contributed to this national conversation through a joint submission. In today’s analysis, Lavanya Kala (@lav_k) of Harmony YWAG (and Hannah Gissane (@HannahGissane) of ERA explain why it’s critical to centre the experiences of young women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds when formulating effective responses to workplace sexual harassment.
Read MoreKicking off an exciting week of posts from the Public Service Research Group at UNSW Canberra, today’s post from Professor Deborah Blackman (@debbiebl2), Dr Fiona Buick (@fibuick) and Professor Michael O’Donnell explores the ‘seven deadly sins’ of performance management that emerged in their recent research.
Read MoreIn the aftermath of the attack in Christchurch, the behaviour of some political figures has been laudable while that of others has been appalling. In this post originally published on The Conversation, Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow at ANU, reminds us that for a society to stand together against hate, robust political leadership is required.
Read MoreSocial policy influences our perceptions of the world. It determines which and how we address human needs and challenges. With a Federal election around the corner in Australia, this post looks at Universal Basic Income – one of the three main policies of a U.S. 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate – and asks: could it be an opportunity to reconsider what work means to us? This post was written by UNSW Scientia PhD scholar and Power to Persuade moderator Axelle Marjolin.
Read More
Throughout the month of February, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand hosted Farwha Nielsen, a Danish cross-cultural dialogue and mediation specialist, in a series of events which explored an innovative model of family work to support individuals impacted by forced marriage. Here Laura Vidal (@lauraemilyvidal) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand discusses how the model could fill gaps in Australia’s current criminal response to forced marriage.
Read More
Sharynne Hamilton, Deb Cleland and Valerie Braithwaite explain how their research shows that courtesy stigma against community workers who work with child protection officials may be a significant barrier to effectively helping children and families.
Read MoreProfessor Paul Smyth is one of our Social Policy Whisperers and in this post he addresses the rise and falls of the social inclusion agenda.
Read More
Recently the Inquiry into The Practice of Dowry and the Incidence of Dowry Abuse in Australia published its final report. While forms of dowry are practiced in many countries and cultural contexts, it is unknown how wide-spread the practice is within Australia. Of particular concern is the ways that it can intersect with domestic and family violence, and with economic abuse in particular. In today’s post, Marie Segrave (@MSegrave) of Monash University and Laura Vidal (@LauraEmilyVidal) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand and Monash University provide context for an effective response.
Read MoreFeminism has developed strong concepts that can also help strengthen and improve policy implementation. Particularly around giving space to the diverse array of actors in the policy space, who bring with them different cultures, norms and voices. A post by Assoc. Prof Gemma Carey, Co-director of Research at the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW.
Read More
In the wake of the conference Reimagining Public Administration: First Peoples, governance and new paradigms, ANZSOG has released an extensive set of free resources containing photos, videos and slides from their speakers.
Read MoreIn the wake of recent allegations of lack of accountability in the commissioning of mental health services by Primary Health Networks, Dr Karen Gardner from the Public Service Research Group at UNSW Canberra argues that PHNs are in the invidious position of having significant responsibility for health system improvement but few of the levers required to do it.
Read More