20 years after Bringing Them Home: priorities for community, health, social policy, aged care sectors

The Healing Foundation last week launched a new report into the Stolen Generations, to mark 20 years since the landmark Bringing Them Home report.

Bringing Them Home 20 Years On sets out an action plan to overhaul Australia’s Indigenous policy landscape that raises urgent challenges and concerns for social policy and practice, from mental health through to aged care.

Healing Foundation CEO Richard Weston writes that the report has identified four immediate priorities that are achievable, cost effective, and can reset the policy response to a group of Australians who have been so wronged, at the time of their removal and since.

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Power to Persuade
Listening to the heart: what now for Indigenous recognition after the Uluru summit?

The Referendum Council for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples plans to deliver its final report to the Federal Government on June 30.

It follows the landmark Uluru Statement from the Heart delivered last Friday by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates to the National Constitution Convention at Uluru which, Council co-chair Mark Leibler says, will be given "a great deal of weight" in the final report.

In the post below, first published at The Conversation, Constitutional law and Indigenous rights researcher Harry Hobbs outlines the key components of the Uluru statement and their historic context.  

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Power to Persuade
Understanding financial wellbeing in times of insecurity

The Brotherhood of St Laurence recently released a report their 'Financial Wellbeing in times of Insecurity' working paper. The paper provides a basis for a broader understanding of the factors that shape financial wellbeing and the capacity of individuals to experience economic security. In this post Dr Dina Bowman and Dr Marcus Banks from the Research and Policy Centre explore the paper's key findings.

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IssuesPower to PersuadeSocial Welfare, social inequalities
On bailing teenagers accused of sexual offences
On bailing teenagers accused of sexual offences

*Content warning: This post contains references to sexual violence.*

A recent Victorian court decision to release a teenager charged with sexual assault on strict bail conditions has prompted an outcry from Victoria Police and the state opposition. Today's post from an anonymous Australian lawyer challenges us to consider a more progressive legal and moral standpoint- from an anti-carceral feminist perspective, imprisonment for the sake of harsh punishment will not lead to the teenager's reform and rehabilitation.

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IssuesPower to Persuadelaw, prisons, crime
What do we really know about income inequality - and how does it affect you?
What do we really know about income inequality - and how does it affect you?

If you watch the news or read the papers, chances are you have heard about income inequality. The issue is complex and polarizing. But what does income inequality really mean? And what are the consequences? In this post, Uma Rani Amara, Senior Economist, and Marianne Furrer, Research Officer in the ILO’s Research Department unpack income inequality, how it affects people’s lives, and what can be done to reduce it. The original articles form a two-part series on the ILO's 'Work in Progress' blog.

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IssuesPower to Persuadesocial inequalities
Federal Budget’s support of universal services undermined by divisive welfare approach
Federal Budget’s support of universal services undermined by divisive welfare approach

The 2017 Federal budget unveiled by the Coalition held many surprises, mainly in the efforts it went to achieve distance from the disastrous 2014 budget.  With significant investment into education, health and housing, some even called it a ‘Labor light budget’.  However, these positive inputs are offset by the increasingly punitive approach to people on welfare, contrary to what evidence indicates is effective policy. In today’s post Kathy Landvogt highlights some of the most concerning aspects of the government’s stance towards people on welfare and how it will set Australia back as the land of the ‘fair go.’ This blog originally appeared on the Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand web site.

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Finance and economics, Policy and governancePower to Persuadesocial services, government budget
Choice, control and the NDIS: Service users’ experiences of the National Disability Insurance Scheme

As we await the release of the Australian Federal Budget, today's post reminds us of the human impact of government decisions and the importance of giving all citizens a voice. Deb Warr, Helen Dickinson and Sue Olney, together with Jen Hargrave, Pan Karanikolas, Vas Kasidis, Georgia Katsikis, Jasmine Ozge, Dave Peters, Cina Wheeler and Michelle Wilcox, have recently completed a study funded by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute, that examines service users' experiences of navigating the NDIS.   

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Power to Persuade
Out of the shadows: what’s next in transforming the Victorian family violence sector?
Out of the shadows: what’s next in transforming the Victorian family violence sector?

Tuesday’s budget lock-up for the Victorian State budget revealed significant investment not only for direct family violence services but also for the inter-related services which work together to make women and children safer. In today’s blog, Tanya Corrie, of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, breaks down the numbers. Tanya is the Research & Policy Specialist for Financial Security and the acting Head of the Women’s Research, Advocacy & Policy (WRAP) Centre.

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Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tankviolence against women, family, government budget
7 Questions: Why doesn’t child support add up?
7 Questions: Why doesn’t child support add up?

On March 1st, the first of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand’s Good Conversations[i] was held to discuss child support policies with an expert panel. Today’s policy piece provides a summary of the 7 primary questions on child support that were raised and why they are critical policy areas that need urgent addressing. Collectively, single mothers experience poverty at an alarming rate, and Australia’s child support system is partly to blame. This summary has been co-authored by Kathy Landvogt (Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand), Terese Edwards (National Council for Single Mothers and their Children - NCSMC), and Kay Cook (Swinburne University).

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Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tankfamily, social welfare, violence against women
Reengaging with the ethic of environmental stewardship to guide conservation funding for private land

The Government recently tabled its State of the Environment Report 2016 Overview in Parliament. While our national parks and other public lands are generally considered the focal point for conservation efforts, the Overview reinforces the continued need for private land to deliver biodiversity conservation outcomes. In this post Drs Benjamin Cooke and Katie Moon explore opportunities to improve policy outcomes through re-engagement with the ethic of environmental stewardship.

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Power to Persuade
Why we should be sceptical about the Cashless Debit Card

There has been considerable discussion about the trial of cashless debit cards currently underway in Ceduna and Kununurra. With the Commonwealth apparently ready to announce an expansion of the trials in the May budget, David Tennant explores what that would mean and why is it relevant to regional centres like Shepparton.

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Power to Persuade
Online Child Sex Abuse as a Form of Domestic Violence: Implications for Policy

A recent professional symposium held in Melbourne presented research findings on the often hidden toll experienced by women whose partners perpetrate online child sexual abuse. Here Zoë Goodall, a graduate of the University of Melbourne and Media Coordinator for PartnerSPEAK, urges for a policy rethink in the area of family violence and victims of crime.

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IssuesPower to Persuadefamily, gender, health, violence against women
Making the Most of Diversity Lessons from March for Science Australia
Making the Most of Diversity Lessons from March for Science Australia

Over the weekend, thousands participated in the March for Science, both in Australia and globally. Influenced by the Women’s March, the March for Science has struggled with reflecting the highly diverse scientific community. In today’s post, sociologist Zuleyka Zevallos provides a brief history of the controversies, explains why diversity in science is important, and provides practical suggestions for moving forward on stronger footing.

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Womens Policy Action Tank, Women's ScorecardWomen's Policy Action Tankgender, exclusion, evidence-based policy
NDIS hiccups are expected, as with any large-scale social reform

From the online portal to enrolment targets to workforce shortages, the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme has been plagued with difficulties. But A/Prof Helen Dickinson (@DrHDickinson) cautions that we don't yet have enough information to make definitive statements about success and failure. We should expect some challenges to arise as the NDIS is implemented, and this doesn’t mean that the idea is fundamentally flawed.

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Policy and governancePower to Persuadendis, Disability, implementation
Aggressive outsourcing undermining service quality and trust

Governments wringing too many savings out of outsourced risk is threatening the commercial and political sustainability of the whole enterprise, warns one of Australia’s top government contracting experts. For the Australia and New Zealand School of Government's Prof Gary Sturgess, it’s becoming a ‘game of chicken’ where the players want out.

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Policy and governancePower to PersuadeOutsourcing, contracting, social services