In this post, Karina Harback shows why “Inspire Connections” offers more than just time with horses—it’s a striking example of what becomes possible when communities are empowered to respond creatively to children’s needs. Partly funded by Communities for Children in Southern Tasmania, this equine-facilitated learning program shows how intelligent support can unlock locally driven, strengths-based initiatives. As a teacher and Equine Facilitated Learning Practitioner, Karina continually adapts the program to create a responsive, safe, and relational space where students develop emotional regulation, self-awareness, and confidence—skills often out of reach in traditional classrooms. At its heart, this is a story about what happens when community, care, and connection come together - and why enabling place-based responses is key to supporting all children to thrive.
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Bernadette Black AM, CEO and Founder of SEED Futures, shares her deeply personal journey from teenage motherhood to national systems change advocate. Reflecting on the transformative impact of one woman’s care and belief in her, she makes a powerful case for reimagining the way Australia supports families in their earliest, most vulnerable days. With warmth and urgency, Black argues that kindness must not depend on chance—it must be built into the system. Through SEED Futures and the Incremental Reform Catalogue, she offers a clear, practical path to make that vision real.
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In a world where even after-school chess is expected to polish a child’s critical thinking résumé, the pressure to prove every moment's utility has reshaped how we talk about education. But what if children themselves have a different idea? This post by Megan Lang explores how Children’s University challenges narrow definitions of learning, and what happens when we start listening to children’s own accounts of joy, curiosity, and connection beyond the classroom.
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Giulia Fabris, Policy Advocacy Lead at Health Justice Australia, discusses what is needed to move from recognising persistent social problems to implementing solutions.
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In this post, Dr Kathryn Daley, Associate Director, Social Equity Research Centre, RMIT University & Deputy Chairperson, Youth Workers Australia argues for a supportive approach to drug use associated with emotional pain.
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Ahead of the International Day of Families on 15th May, Dr Karen Villanueva and colleagues from the Social Equity Research Centre at RMIT University, along with researchers from the University of South Australia, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and the University of Montreal, explore why neighbourhoods matter for young children.
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Our blog today also considers a crisis - perhaps the biggest social and administrative crisis in recent times- Covid-19. Nicholas Bromfield writes about his latest paper on NDIS’s response, highlighting the important role of people with disabilities co-producing policy successes.
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Recent government crisis, such as Robodebt, have highlighted that empathy might improve policy making processes. This blog explores research from Assel Mussagulova and I (Colette Einfeld) on how empathy is used, and might be useful, in the public service.
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This week's posts are being sourced and moderated by the Antipoverty Centre (@antipovertycent) to spark thinking and discussion about welfare conditionality ahead of the federal election. In today’s article, a young person describes the cruel bureaucracy people on JobSeeker and some other Centrelink payments must navigate under the regime of compulsory activities called “mutual” obligations. This byzantine compliance system is delivered by privatised job agencies at a cost of $4 billion per year and was recently revealed to be operating unlawfully. The author has asked to remain anonymous.
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As Australia grapples with a deepening housing crisis, much of the public conversation has centred on first-home buyers, skyrocketing rents, and the shrinking supply of affordable housing. But an equally urgent – and often overlooked – issue is the growing number of older Australians renting privately into later life. In this piece, Joelle Moore, a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, explores the increasing precarity faced by older renters.
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In this article, Dr Raelene West discusses community housing for people with disability exploring housing options, noting that a home is made of more than bricks and mortar.
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