In the latest Social Policy Whisperer, Dr Ben Spies-Butcher discusses the implications of the perceived (and sometimes rhetorical) differences between "social" and "economic" policy. How do we bring these two debates together?
Read MoreIn his latest Social Policy Whisperer column below, Prof. Paul Smyth from the University of Melbourne warns of growing risk to our society and democracy from an agenda to defund peaks and fund agencies only to deliver services – "no more no less".
Read MoreDespite some very strange advice from the Treasurer in recent weeks, it's clear to most that Australia is suffering from an acute housing affordability problem. It isn't an easy problem to solve and so the Transforming Housing Project @trnsfmnghousing, at the University of Melbourne is looking at it from all angles.
Read MoreAccording to Marc Jarh, of Community Development Futures LLC and former president of the New York City Housing Development Corporation "the math of affordable housing finance is cruel". So how, in the midst of a housing affordability crisis, can we make the numbers stack up? In this edited extract of Marc's presentation to the Transforming Housing Affordable Housing Summit he explores the institutions and policies that makes the US affordable housing finance system work.
Read MoreA coalition of 17 peak and non-government organisations from the health and community sectors is calling on the Australian Government to scrap plans to cut nearly $800 million in funding to key health initiatives over the next four financial years. The foreshadowed cuts would drastically reduce the capacity of non-government organisations and peak bodies to deliver services across the country and to provide advice and support for reform in health.
Read MoreThe advocacy work undertaken by civil society bodies including environmental organisations to create benefit for the whole society has long been recognisedin the charitable status given for taxation purposes. However, this status is periodically contested and in the current era is potentially facing new threats from the Inquiry commissioned by the Minister for the Environment. St Vincent de Paul’s Research and Legal Officer Rik Sutherland outlines the debate, and argues for the continuation of charitable status for environmental advocacy organisations.
Read MoreThis post is courtesy of Sophie Yates (@MsSophieRae), who posts about ANZSOG research on their blog
Read MoreHow will the latest Victorian government budget support the daily lives of its more vulnerable constituents? Denis Fitzgerald (@FitzgeraldDenis) from Catholic Social Services Victoria highlights promising funding changes in the new Labor budget and calls for community input to enhance the equity of future budgets.
Read MoreThe transport and planning policies routinely touted by politicians won’t equip Australian cities to cope with projected growth. In this post, Dr Alan Davies (@MelbUrbanist) argues that much more fundamental, but politically difficult, actions are needed.
This article was first posted on Crikey's Urbanist blog on April 1, 2015.
Read MoreAusterity measures implemented across the OECD have led to substantial cuts to overseas aid and development budgets. In this post, Dr David Lansley discusses the opportunity this presents for international NGOs (INGOs) to rethink how they do development, by providing evidence of what works, contributing to national policies, and seeking innovative ways of combining public and private sector investment.
Read MoreDr Leon Terrill is a lecturer in the UNSW Law School and a Fellow of the Indigenous Law Centre (ILC). He outlines how Federal Government cuts tofunding mean the ILC is seeking community support to continue its important work – including the only two Indigenous-specific law journals published in Australia .It is rare for a week to go by in Australia without some Indigenous legal issue making the news. Just this week examples include the introduction of Koori Youth Courts in NSW, native title negotiations in Queensland, reforms to land rights in the Northern Territory and Constitutional recognition in Western Australia and at a national level. Complex issues, right? Complex and significant, which is why community legal education is so important.
Read MoreI was fortunate to chair Day Two of The Conversation\ Informa ‘Future of Welfare’ conference on October 31st. It showcased what is emerging as a brave new world of social policy research and advocacy in Australia. As Labor MP Jenny Macklin observed in the concluding address to the conference: social policy is no longer ‘the Poor Cousin’ to economic policy in the Australian political scene. What struck me as distinctive features of this brave new world?
Read MoreCommunity legal centres are dealing funding cuts and restrictions on advocacy that could have serious ramifications for access to justice for vulnerable people across the country.Carolyn Bond AO, national spokesperson for the Community Law Australia (@CommunityLawAus) access to justice campaign, outlines the changes and explains their likely impact on access to justice, freedom of speech and the development of sound justice policies.
Read MoreSeveral weeks ago we posted a piece from former Deputy Prime Minister Brian Howe, who was reflecting on his vision for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Below, Richard Madden the former director of AIHW reflects on Brian's concerns, and what's at risk if AIHW were to lose its welfare functions.
Richard is a late addition to Power to Persuade 2014 Symposium, joining us for the afternoon session to discuss lessons on working across sectors to advance data collection and monitoring.
Read MoreThe Australian Institute for Health and Welfare (AIHW) provides a critical evidence base and statistical analysis of the Australian population, helping to develop policy and strategies for the state and federal governments. In the recent budget, AIHW was ear-marked for merger into a new super agency the 'Health Productivity and Performance Commission' (along with Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Independent Hospitals Pricing Authority, National Health Funding Body, National Health Funding Pool Administrator and National Health Performance Authority). While details are scant, the absence of 'welfare' from the title of this governing body and inclusion of 'productivity' is ominous.
Read MoreShock waves from the Abbott government’s first budget continue to reverberate. Below, Bruce Duncan provides another lens - that of Catholic social teaching. Analysis at the ACOSS Conference this week is echoing Bruce Duncan’s critique: the harsh measures are neither warranted nor healthy for civil society.
Read MoreLast Friday Paul Smyth encouraged us to think beyond individual policies to begin reimagining the future of the wage earners welfare state. Below Jackie Brady, Acting Executive Director, Catholic Social Services Australia, also calls on social policy advocates to look at the big picture of reform – this time, the tax system. Jackie questions the logic and morality of applying concepts of ‘deservingness’ to the transfer side of the tax system, but not the taxation side.
Read MoreDon Arthur writes for the group blog Club Troppo, His work has also been published in the Australian Review of Public Affairs, the Centre for Independent Studies’ Policy magazine, and by the Evatt Foundation. An earlier version of this post appeared at Club Troppo.
Read MoreWe've seen widespread criticism of the budget (some of it on this blog!), particularly around cuts to social policy and the (potential) removal of the safety net. While critique is important, Prof. Paul Smyth from the University of Melbourne draws our attention to the lack of feasible alternatives put forth in post-budget commentary. In particular, Paul urges us to think wider than individual social policies to begin to (re)image what the Australian welfare state should look like for this century.
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