The Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee chaired by Senator Cory Bernardi is holding an Inquiry into the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2015. Our Social Policy Whisperer Jon Altman made a submission number 8 to the Inquiry in January and was invited to give further evidence in a public hearing on 19 February 2016 at the Monash Conference Centre, Melbourne. The opening comments to his evidence are reproduced in this blog.
Read MoreIn many ways, 'evidence-based policymaking' is the bureaucrat's new black. But what, really, does it mean? Where does it fit in the broader policymaking process? And how 'realistic' do we need to be to use it in practice? Below, Paul Cairney explores these issues in the UK context. This post originally appeared on his personal blog and is accompanied by a longer lecture on the subject (listen) Paul is a Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the University of Stirling, you can follow him on twitter at @Cairneypaul.
Read MoreLuke Craven (@Luke Craven) from the University of Sydney, and a new moderator with Power to Persuade, considers what political theory can offer to our understanding of social policy. In particular, he argues that political theorists are uniquely placed to understand the ideas and values that underpin evidence-based policy.
Read MoreAntony McMullen of Catholic Social Services Victoria (@CathSocServVic) outlines some of the implications of competitive social service markets for not-for-profit service providers, ahead of their Feb 2016 conference.
Read MoreIn our first post of 2016, Dr Kay Cook (@KayCookPhD) of RMIT and Dr Kristin Natalier (@KrisNatalier) of Flinders University argue strongly for recognition of domestic violence in its socioeconomic context rather than in isolation. In particular, federal policies associated with a 'zero tolerance' approach to domestic violence are at odds with policies that disadvantage single mothers.
Read MoreLarge sections of the media focus too narrowly on the 'evils' of asylum-seeking. Gabriella Barnes from World Vision Australia's Field Partnerships team weighs in with a more sensible approach to the national policy debate. A better understanding of Australia's obligations to comply with the Refugee Convention--from a human rights rather than a security perspective--would be a good start. This is the last post in this week's series on asylum seekers.
Read MoreAustralia spends more on dealing with a few thousand asylum seekers than the UNHCR's budget for supporting nearly 50 million refugees worldwide. This is outrageous and unsustainable, according to Asher Hirsch, Policy Officer at the Refugee Council of Australia. It's the next post in this week's series on asylum seekers. This article originally appeared in Right Now.
Read MoreWe run a lot of posts on PTP that cover the challenges or problems with particular policies or courses of action taken by government. Such is the nature of working in social policy - we are often wanting to improve what is currently in place. Today's post is a little different. Paul Ronalds from Save the Children tells t a positive story of policy change, where the community sector fought back and won. Enjoy!
Read MoreYesterday, Paul Smyth provided a reflection on the Government's response to the Harper Review from a community sector perspective. In today's piece, Dr Lesley Russell from the Menzies Centre for Health Policy reflects on the Review from a healthcare perspective. Lesley worked in Washington DC on a range of issues around the enactment and implementation of health care reform, initially as a Visiting Fellow at the Center for American Progress (known as the 'Obama think tank') and later as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Surgeon General in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Read MoreWhile most in the social services and community sector assumed that the 2014\15 Harper review concerned the ‘economy’ and not them (see the very limited range of ‘social’ submissions) it has indeed turned out to be a Radical Liberal push to undermine social services and the community sector by an inappropriate extension of market principles into our community and social life. Even as the Federal Treasurer initiates a ‘reform’ process together with the States we have Mr Harper himself already positioned as an ‘independent’ advisor (representing the for-profit firm Deloites) to the Victorian Government’s current Roadmap for Reform. Push is turning to shove and it behoves anyone with a concern for the future of Australian society to take stock of the situation and develop their action plan.
Read MoreThe National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has been built to enable people with disability a greater choice in the services they wish to use. However, what if these choices are different to supports that have been funded traditionally? If this is not enabled, are people with disability really being given a choice?
Helen Dickinson from the University of Melbourne explores this in an article originally published in The Conversation.
Read MoreIn 2005, the federal government announced Welfare to Work measures that fundamentally changed the expectations placed on those who received Parenting Payment, among others. After July 1 2005, many parents with children over the age of six were required to undertake 30 hours of paid work per fortnight. Many single parents were moved from this payment to the less generous Newstart Allowance once their youngest child turned eight. Single parents already claiming Parenting Payment were exempted from this requirement to move to Newstart, but in 2013 these changes were extended to all single parents. The government’s consistent claim has been that these reforms would improve the ‘wellbeing’ of those involved. In light of this claim, Michelle Brady (@MichelleBradyUQ) and Kay Cook (@KayCookPhD) ask: “how has Welfare to Work impacted on the wellbeing of single parents and their children?”
Read MoreIn a major development for the not for profit sector in Australia, three of its heavyweights David Crosbie (CCA), Tim Costello (World Vision) and Paul Ronalds (Save the Children) have been prominent in a concerted call for ‘charities’ to ‘merge or close’. The agenda is to be further progressed through several CCA forums. Clearly not the usual suspects (New Public Managers/ Competition Policy Economists), their views warrant our serious attention. What do they see as the problem? Why are mergers the solution?
Read MoreThis post, by Christina Boswell, originally appeared on her personal blog.
This week the government announced plans to facilitate the eviction of tenants illegally resident in the UK. As part of their drive to ‘create a hostile environment for illegal migrants’, the government will remove legal obstacles to evicting non-nationals who do not have legal residency status. They will also introduce penalties for landlords who fail to enforce the new provisions.
Read MoreNew research from the Mitchell Institute has found one-in-four young people in Australia does not complete year 12 or its equivalent. Report author, Stephen Lamb, examines the implications of growing youth disengagement for policy makers, educators and services
Read MoreShould we mainstream gender in policy? What would that look like? Taking employment and work as a key example, our guest contributor Associate Professor Lyndall Strazdins (ANU) examines how working hours, ability, gender and care are intersecting and cautions us about which groups are being framed as the new 'leaners'.
*This post is based on Assoc.Prof Strazdin's contribution to a panel debate at the PTP:Gender, Menzies Policy Grand Challenge held in Canberra last month.
Read MorePTP:Gender's keynote, Eva Cox AM (@evacox), is our guest writer today. In this special extended post, Eva presents a critical analysis of Australia's past and current state of play and shares her thoughts on how to start a hopeful narrative based on a feminist approach. This post ends by inviting the debate of ideas and discussion – you're all welcome to contribute through twitter or the comments section below.
Read MoreWould you choose workplace flexibility over pay? The future of work is here, we are told, and it is in the form of freelancing self-employment in the "gig" economy. But are we destined to become mini-entrepreneurs, free from the mundane 9-to-5? Or will we be imprisoned to a life of low-wage servitude and insecurity? In this post, which originally appeared on the OECD's Insights blog, Brian Keeley explores concerns about future job quality and job security in the "gig" economy.
Read MoreThe problem of domestic violence has inspired much chest-thumping from Australian politicians and public figures alike. Grand statements are being made about collective social responsibility and social justice--perhaps attitudes are finally changing. In this article, however, Susan Hopkins and Jenny Ostini (University of Southern Queensland) argue that using populist rhetoric about domestic violence is inadequate while neoliberal governments continue to undermine key social services. Forms of support for women at risk of experiencing domestic violence remain dangerously underfunded. This article is reprinted with permission from the Overland Journal.
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