The impact of political determinants of health must be recognised for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women
The impact of political determinants of health must be recognised for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women

The role of government policy is to support its citizenry to thrive. By this measure, Australian policy is failing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and women are bearing the brunt of failed policy through seriously compromised health and wellbeing. In today’s analysis, Vanessa Lee from the University of Sydney applies a lens of political determinants of health to illuminate policy failure for Indigenous women and their communities, and calls for the government to be held accountable to the outcomes of generations of harmful policy. This piece is drawn from an article that ran in the Journal of Public Health Policy in 2017.

Read More
Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tanksocial inequalities, Population health, social welfare, Aboriginal issues
Advocacy matters: A personal story and call to action
Advocacy matters: A personal story and call to action

Charities have long played a role in supporting and advocating for people when markets and governments fail. They have existed in Australian history since well before the welfare state and have continued to fill gaps either on behalf of government (with funding being directed from government to the third sector) or instead of government (with funding via other sources, such as philanthropy).It’s important for a stronger, equitable society that charities are able to continue to advocate for their “charitable purpose”.

Read More
AdvocacyPower to PersuadeNDIS, Disability, Disadvantage
The politics of the problem: How to use Carol Bacchi's work

In 1991 Carol Bacchi comprehensively introduced poststructuralism and social constructionism to policy studies with her book Women, Policy and Politics: The Construction of Policy Problems. It detailed an approach called ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ and offers a different way of conceptualizing and understanding policy. Whilst usual approaches tend to treat policy as axiomatic or self-evident, Bacchi’s challenges the privileging of all forms of expertise and knowledge. For Bacchi, approaches to policy studies are ‘inherently political’ and  need to be treated as such.

Read More
Policy and governanceEllie Malbonpolicy problem, Bacchi
Ethics in policy: how can public servants call out the ethical aspects of the issue at hand?
Ethics in policy: how can public servants call out the ethical aspects of the issue at hand?

Kym Peake is secretary of the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. She previously held senior executive roles in the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. This article is the text of a speech she gave on the ethical challenge of family violence, edited only for clarity by The Mandarin. 

Read More
Ellie Malbon
‘You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone’: The implications of expanding the use of robots in care services

An ANZSOG-funded research project is exploring the increasing use of robots in care services to replace or complement the roles of humans. In this article, researchers Helen Dickinson, Nicole Carey, Catherine Smith and Gemma Carey explore some of the long-term implications for governments from the rise of robots.

Read More
Policy and governancePower to PersuadeSocial Services, care work
Single mothers and the abattoir: A short review of JobActive positions in Shepparton

Over the past twelve months we have featured a number of blogs from Good Shepherd researcher Juanita McLaren (@defrostedlady) regarding the poor design and outcomes of the Federal Welfare to Work policy. With an aging population, much of Australia’s welfare policy is aimed at replacing this demographic in the workforce. This is addressed largely by targeting groups with lower employment numbers, particularly single parents, 85% of whom are female. In this blog, Juanita provides a snapshot of what JobActive employment opportunities are currently available in Shepparton and its surrounds, and assesses their suitability for single mothers. 

Read More
Womens Policy Action Tank, IssuesWomen's Policy Action Tankemployment, welfare reform
Gender segregated work and women’s rights: A history of Aboriginal oppression (part 2)

On 2 September, the Women’s Policy Action Tank presented Putting Women at the Centre: A Policy Forum. We were delighted to have Celeste Liddle (@Utopiana), public commentator, blogger (Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist), Arrernte woman, Unionist, and recent inductee onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women as one of our keynote speakers. Here we present part 2 of her talk, in which she traces low numbers of Aboriginal students at the tertiary level with systemic injustices that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities experience. Specifically, Celeste discusses how lack of facilities and sanitary supplies keep young women from attending school, and the historic and current practice of non-payment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders for their work – which continues today in the guise of the government’s mis-named Community Development Program. Part 1 can be found here.

Read More
Womens Policy Action Tank, Policy and governance, IssuesWomen's Policy Action Tankeducation, Aboriginal issues, universities, policy making
Gender segregated work and women’s rights: A history of Aboriginal oppression (part 1)

On 2 September, the Women’s Policy Action Tank presented Putting Women at the Centre: A Policy Forum. We were delighted to have Celeste Liddle (@Utopiana), public commentator, blogger (Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist), Arrernte woman, Unionist, and recent inductee onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women as one of our keynote speakers. Here we present part 1 of her talk, in which she shares her personal experiences at university, how those compare with the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders more generally, and how educational disadvantage accrues from a very young age for Indigenous Australians.

Read More
Womens Policy Action Tank, AdvocacyWomen's Policy Action TankAboriginal issues, education, universities
Betwixt and between: Girls (and boys) in their ‘middle years’ need tailored support

Children and young people in their middle years (defined here as between the ages of 8 – 12) are being overlooked in policy and program design. Not yet adolescents, but no longer children, these young people are increasingly experiencing complex challenges.  Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand is launching their new report, Bridging the divide: Supporting children and young people in their middle years this week. Authors Magdalena McGuire ( @MagdalenaMcGuire ) and Susan Maury ( @SusanMaury) undertook this research to highlight some of these challenges and to identify how to better support this age group. This research included a scoping exercise, a review of recent research literature and the current policy context relating to the middle years cohort, and consulting with a key informant advisory forum – a process that sought insight from a curated group of 43 expert participants representing over 20 cross-sector organisations with experience working with the middle years. This post provides a shortened version of the executive summary. The report will be launched on Thursday afternoon; you can register here for this free event.

Read More
Womens Policy Action Tank, Issues, Social Policy WhispererWomen's Policy Action Tankyoung people, education, gender, susan maury
How should academics interact with policy makers? Lessons on building a long-term advocacy strategy

What can academics learn from how civil society organisations and NGOs approach policy impact? Julia Himmrich (@juliahimmrich) argues that academics have a lot to gain from embracing the practices of long-term advocacy. Advocacy is about establishing relationships and creating a community of experts both in and outside of government who can give informed input on policies. Being more aware of the political aspects of research can help academics understand and re-evaluate their own arguments about the impact of research.

Read More
AdvocacyPower to Persuadepolicy making
Using “low-end” evidence in social policy: Case from Guangzhou, China

Governments value evidence-based policy; but are policy makers using all possible evidence to inform their decisions? Dr. Anna N. Li, Postdoctoral Fellow at UNSW Canberra argues that "soft, qualitative, practice-based evidence can be used to better inform decision making by providing frontline, implementation information, which can increase the chance of policy success.

Read More
Creating using evidence, Policy and governancePower to Persuadeevidence-based policy