Welcome to the age of epidemiological liberalism

Despite being at increased risk from the negative health impacts associated with COVID-19 infection, and despite potentially serious consequences to changes in service provision in 2020, for unstated reasons people who rely on the Disability Support Pension did not qualify for the Coronavirus Supplement. Today’s important piece by Holly Barrow, of the UK-based Immigration Advice Service, outlines the dire situation for people with a disability in the UK and warns that the neoliberal response to the pandemic reflects a calculated valuation of lives.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade3 February 2021Disability, public health, Population health, civil society

COVID and Suicide Prevention: Perspectives from Social Media

There is increasing cross-sectoral unease about the mental health impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown put in place to combat it. A recent commentary in the Lancet suggested that “suicide is likely to become a more pressing concern as the pandemic spreads and has longer-term effects on the general population, the economy, and vulnerable groups” (Gunnell et al. 2020). While a relationship between COVID and suicide is not clearly established, Dr Anna Lavis argues that the key to forging understandings of their potentially complex connections is an attention to the many suicide-related discussions currently happening on social media.

Markets in social care: outsourcing administrative burden to citizens and the third sector

We know that the NDIS is a lot of administrative work for scheme participants, but the administrative burden isn’t just borne by people with disability. Today’s post comes from Ellie Malbon (Centre for Social Impact), Gemma Carey (CSI), Helen Dickinson (Public Service Research Group), Megan Weier (CSI), and Gordon Duff (National Disability Services), who have done some research on the administrative burden of the NDIS for service providers.

Service Delivery, Policy and governancePower to Persuade3 November 2020NDIS, markets in public services, Disability

Poverty in childhood leads to poverty in adulthood

Today’s post by Dr Esperanza Vera-Toscano and Professor Roger Wilkins ( @RogerWilkins_au ) discusses the relationship that childhood poverty has with adulthood poverty.

This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade29 October 2020Disadvantage

Will the work-from-home genie go back into the bottle?

In an article originally published by The Canberra Times, Dr Sue Williamson and Associate Professor Linda Colley discuss their recently released report Working During the Pandemic: From resistance to revolution. Their research found that the majority of public service employees want to continue the working from home arrangements some workplaces put in place during the coronavirus epidemic, and that while there are negative aspects to working from home, these are far outweighed by the positives. Governments may not find it as easy as they might hope to put this particular genie back in its bottle.

Big Tech, data and the public good: trade-offs and harms

The pandemic has exposed the multitude of dangers in trusting private entities with public data, demonstrating the need for carefully thought out regulation argue Jenna Harb and Kate Henne from the Justice and Technoscience (JusTech) Lab at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance.

Critical Junctures: opportunities and threats for democracies in the pandemic

Jensen Sass and Kate Henne, from the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the ANU, argue that the pandemic has opened up space for reconfiguring the relationships between states and markets.

The long tail of COVID-19: implications for disability policy

In today’s post, Georgia Katsikis, Alex Devine and Sue Olney explore the implications of COVID-19 for disability policy in Australia – policy currently affecting one in five Australians living with disability with the potential to affect a growing number who may acquire a disability as a consequence of the pandemic. They argue that the needs and rights of people with disability must be integrated into plans to rebuild the economy now, to avert far-reaching and long-lasting social and economic costs.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade28 September 2020COVID-19, employment, Disability, NDIS

Identifying COVID-19 Vulnerabilities: Beyond the Economy

The Covid-19 second wave in Victoria has once again highlighted the economic impacts of the pandemic, however it is important to remember that the economy is inextricably linked to health and social outcomes. While the Federal and State/Territory Governments have instituted a raft of policy measures to address some of the economic impacts, are these responses enough to also address the wider social and health effects of the pandemic? In todays blog post Dr Megan Weier and Isabella Saunders from the Centre for Social Impact examine the policy responses from both federal and state/territory governments to see where vulnerabilities might lie that could worsen the impacts of the pandemic.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade21 September 2020Policy making, policy problem, COVID-19

Who suffers most from Melbourne’s extended lockdown? Hint: they are not necessarily particularly vocal

Who suffers the most from the extended Melbourne lockdown?

Policy and governancePower to Persuade18 September 2020COVID-19

Opinion: aged care crisis shows a disaster waiting in workplace ‘flexibility’

The second spike of Covid-19 in Victoria which has resulted in a large number of outbreaks in aged care homes is shining a light on the policies and practices of how governments and the private sector manage aged care. In this blog post Bernard Keene discusses challenges within the aged care sector such as casualisation of the workforce that require immediate attention in the wake of the corona virus crisis.

Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade6 August 2020Aged policy, COVID-19, government, Policy making

As ‘lockdown fatigue’ sets in, the toll on mental health will require an urgent response

As Victoria enters a period of even stricter stage 4 restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19 , there is increasing concern for peoples’ mental health. In todays blog piece Professor Ian Hickie discusses who is most at risk of being harmed by the longer and more restrictive lockdown and what policy responses are needed from government that will deliver the most benefit.

Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade4 August 2020COVID-19, Policy making, mental health

The NDIA and Victorian Government must prioritise people with disability so they do not suffer in Stage 4 lockdowns

As Victoria enters the unprecedented time of Stage 4 lockdown and a state of disaster is declared in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, disability advocates and academics have come together to highlight the vital importance of state and federal Governments working together to eliminate critical gaps for people with disability.

The situation in aged care homes has already shown a lack of joined up planning and responses can result in preventable harms and risks. In the media release below advocates from the disability sector identify the key areas of concern for people with disability and the urgent need for the NDIA and Victorian Government to implement a plan to ensure people with disability do not suffer through the stage 4 lockdown.

Advocacy, Policy and governancePower to Persuade3 August 2020Disability, NDIS, Policy making

Can a leopard change its spots? behavioural drivers and the jobactive system

The big question about jobactive now, is whether this cashed-up system will actually help people find jobs other than in those contingent jobs that are proving to be problematic for COVID transmission.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade31 July 2020employment, COVID-19, welfare-to-work, welfare reform

An inclusive response to the financial impacts of COVID-19

A new report from the Centre for Social Impact provides an overview of the impact of the pandemic on the financial wellbeing of Australians, and explains the key elements of the government response so far.

Building a sustainable, comprehensive response to COVID-19 in prisons

Tackling COVID-19 must include building a sustainable response in prison systems and other detention settings.

Advocacy, Policy and governancePower to Persuade22 July 2020prisons, covid, public health, human rights

Women released from prison are at much greater risk of violence

Women who have been to prison should be a priority group for violence prevention.

The hidden costs of electrification of transport: could we be doing environmentally better whilst striving for carbon neutrality?

The concept of carbon neutrality - a net zero release of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere - has circulated in our society over the last few decades [1]. The current levels of CO2 emissions have proven links to global warming and climate change. It is also well known that this phenomena is directly connected with the use of fossil fuels in industry, energy production, transportation, agriculture, construction and other human activities. The risk of climate change related natural disasters has seen governments, NGOs and institutions around the world to take actions towards mitigation. In this blog, Dr Fallas-Chinchilla reflects on the hidden environmental costs of transport electrification and asks – what are the environmental costs of the current strategy for offsetting carbon and could we be doing environmentally better whilst striving for carbon neutrality?

Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade18 July 2020environment, policy problem

Child protection and risks from Covid-19: Home visits and the challenges of social distancing

Since lockdown measures were introduced on 23rd March 2020 in the UK, while a minority of vulnerable children attend school, and school staff have worked hard to stay connected, social workers and family support workers have been some of the few safeguarding professionals visiting families in their homes and often the only ones to do so regularly. I this blog post, Professor Harry Ferguson asks - How, then, are social workers and families managing the risks from COVID-19 that home visits carry?

Affirmations and paradoxes of Coronavirus: People, Professionals, Politicians

In Australia, the story of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic so far has been largely a positive one. Leadership and speed of response to this point has been recognised as critical to containment and management of the pandemic (Tiffen 2020). If we were to award the gold medal, it should go to our public health community. But we have seen strength in many quarters and for that reason, Valerie Braithwaite argues that we sell everyone short by singling any one group out.

Advocacy, Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade16 July 2020COVID-19, Population health, public health

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