Banking Royal Commission and the silencing of Indigenous Australian voices

The release of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry earlier this month has not had the intended effect of allaying mistrust in the financial services sector in Australia. Despite the enormity of the report, nearly 1,000 pages with 24 entities and companies referred to civil and criminal proceedings, there is a consensus that the major financial corporations involved in the misconduct remain unscathed. In today’s post, Dr. Jonathon Louth examines the silences in this report, especially as it impacts the lives of Indigenous peoples living in rural and remote Australia. Based on his recent research with Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory, he recommends expanding community and cultural literacies in the financial sector as one of the counter measures to tackle systematic dispossession and marginalisation of vulnerable populations. This piece was originally published in The Conversation on 6 February 2019

Young at ‘Art’: How community arts programs can promote thriving in young people

The recent release of the Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services 2019 indicates that within the “community services” budget, federal spending on youth justice will be $842.4 million while the child protection services budget will reach $5.8 billion this year. What appears to be missing is significant funding on positive, community-based developmental programs for youth. In today’s post, social worker and professional dancer Anjelika Thwaites reports on the findings of her Honours thesis for Victoria University (and co-supervised by Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand) into the many benefits of investing in arts-based programs for young people.

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade7 February 2019young people

ParentsNext doesn’t get much right – but it could with some meaningful co-design

This week the Senate Inquiry into ParentsNext, including its trial and subsequent broader rollout published its first round of submissions. This follows months of public scrutiny after the program’s national rollout in July 2018. Sarah Squire (@SquireSarah) and Policy Whisperer Susan Maury (@SusanMaury) summarise Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand’s (@GoodAdvocacy)’ submission to the inquiry and suggest an alternative approach.

Australia’s child support system facilitates economic abuse

We have previously posted analyses of how Australia’s child support system is detrimental to women’s financial security and wellbeing, and how the welfare system meets the definitional criteria for economic abuse. In today’s post, Kris Natalier (@KrisNatalier) shares findings from her recent research, which indicates that the Australian child support system perpetuates power inequalities and ongoing economic abuse.

Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tank5 February 2019Single mothers, economic policy, Children

The Renter's Journey: a new report from the Consumer Policy Research Centre

A new research report from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) - The Renter's Journey - follows the common and differing rental experiences of the rental market of four key segments (young singles, women over 55, low income families, and migrant families) and makes recommendations to policymakers for change. The report will be launched in Melbourne on 25 February 2019.

Issues, Finance and economicsPower to Persuade4 February 2019Lived/consumer experience

Closing market gaps in the NDIS: how can you help?

In our first post of 2019, Ellie Malbon (@Ellie_Malbon) requests input from local providers of disability services to ensure market readiness.

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade4 February 2019NDIS

Happy holidays from the editors (and a bit of reading you may have missed in 2018)

As the year winds down and the editorial team for the Power to Persuade and the Women’s Policy Action Tank take a little breather, we wanted to keep you in reading material over the holidays. Below are collected the most-read pieces from the year under both monikers. Additionally, we have thrown in a few pieces that we felt deserved a wider readership than they received.

Social Policy Whisperer, Womens Policy Action TankPower to Persuade14 December 2018Policy making, Research, susan maury

Start of change: Mapping engagement with male perpetrators of violence

Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand’s Women’s Research, Advocacy and Policy Centre recently released the report of a Practice Inquiry into intake and assessment practices within Men’s Behaviour Change Programs across two regions in Victoria. Report co-authors Yvonne Lay and Sarah Squire (@SquireSarah) provide a summary of findings in today’s analysis.

Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tank13 December 2018family violence, violence against women

We can’t dismantle systems of violence unless we centre Aboriginal women

To mark this year’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, The Action Tank has topped and tailed the campaign with policy analyses that focus on groups who have not been well-served by ‘mainstream’ feminist activism in the domestic violence space. (You can see the analysis on the importance of addressing the specific needs of the LGBTIQ community here.) In today’s post, Darumbul woman and journalist Amy McQuire (@AmyMcQuire) explains the need to listen to and understand the unique experiences of violence that effect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, and particularly how they are nestled within an inherently racist and violent system. This piece originally appeared at IndigenousX and is reprinted with permission.

Co-production and innovation - creating better solutions for future public service implementation

The Public Service Research Group at UNSW Canberra (PSRG) recently launched a timely Issues Paper on co-production and innovation by Dr Linda Dewey, Professor Deborah Blackman and Professor Helen Dickinson. The paper is the third in a series produced by PSRG offering contemporary research-based thinking about topical themes for public services and the public administration community. In today’s post, Dewey, Blackman and Dickinson call for more diverse approaches to evaluate whether co-production is either capable of, or actually delivering, anticipated innovation results.

Innovation, Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade10 December 2018Public Servants

Fathers face a flexibility stigma: Time for policy and cultural change to support fathers using flexibility

The government has a strong focus on supporting women back into paid employment following the arrival of children. However, current initiatives don’t go far enough to remove barriers for many mothers to engage in career-oriented employment. In today’s analysis, Ashlee Borgkvist (@ashb_6) of the University of Adelaide (@UniofAdelaide) examines the barriers men face in accessing paid parental leave and explains how increasing uptake will result in better outcomes for mothers, fathers and children.

Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tank10 December 2018employment, Children, gender pay gap, Flexible Work

It’s about time: Time Use Survey returns to make unpaid work visible

According to the recently released Women's Economic Security Statement, increasing women’s workforce participation is an economic and social priority in Australia. To that end, the $109 million package, built around three pillars - workforce participation; earning potential; and financial independence - focuses on practical measures to effect positive change. We recently looked at the Statement's potential impacts on pillar 1 - workforce participation. In today’s analysis, Helen Dalley-Fisher and Hannah Gissane (@HannahGissane) of the Equality Rights Alliance Australia (@ERAAustralia) drill down to one of the specific measures announced in the package - the reinstatement of the Time Use Survey, and how it functions to make unpaid work visible to policy-makers. This piece was originally published by the Broad Agenda.

The same old story: How Newstart fails single mothers at every turn

Popular policy analyst Juanita McLaren (@DefrostedLady) shares her latest roundabout journey back to applying for the notoriously low Newstart Allowance and the attendant headaches that has involved. Juanita’s story is a case study of the myriad ways that the government’s policies fail to appreciate the complexities of everyday life and the difficulty of balancing viable employment with raising children as a sole parent.

Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tank4 December 2018Social Welfare, Single mothers, employment

Asians out! Not in this suburb. Not in this apartment

Originally posted in The Conversation (November 22nd), Alanna Kamp, Ana-Maria Bliuc, Kathleen Blair and Kevin Dunn (Western Sydney University) present some startling statistics on racism experienced by Asian Australians. Approximately 85% of the 6000 people surveyed had faced some form of racism and for almost 6 in every 10, this racism has prevented access to housing. The authors put forward several explanations ranging from a perceived loss to Anglo-Australia hegemony to generalised sinophobia, and conclude with a call to action grounded in Australia’s laws against racial discrimination.

IssuesPower to Persuade28 November 2018housing and homelessness, social inequalities

More than ticking along: Why Rainbow Tick accreditation matters for faith-based and family violence organisations

One year ago the Marriage Law Postal Survey result was welcomed by many as fair, joyous and long overdue, however the process caused an unnecessary and inordinate amount of anxiety and grief for members of Australia’s LGBTIQ community. In today’s blog post and to mark the 16 Days of Activism, Yvonne Lay of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand reflects on that process and the social services responses needed, describing the organisation’s Rainbow Tick journey and why it is important to ensure it moves beyond ‘compliance.’

What can you do when policymakers ignore your evidence? Tips from the ‘how to’ literature from the science community

In this post, Paul Cairney and colleagues distil eight recommendations for promoting the use of evidence in policy making from 78 academic articles. But what if these recommendations are not enough? It’s OK, the authors also provide five additional resources to facilitate research impact in a policy context.

Increasing women’s workforce participation: An analysis of the Women’s Economic Security Statement

This week the Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer introduced the inaugural Women’s Economic Security Statement, saying “When women do well, their families do well, and our economy and nation prospers.” Arguments that link gender equality with family wellbeing and the national interest are gaining traction, but how well does the Statement and the supporting package of $109 million over four years actually support women’s economic participation and wellbeing? Sarah Squire (@SquireSarah) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) unpack the details behind Pillar One – Workforce Participation.

Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tank23 November 2018employment, gender, policy problem, Data

What’s limiting our mob from accessing the NDIS?

Vanamali Hermans, Wiradjuri woman with a lived experience of disability, explains why it has been so difficult for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, to benefit from the National Disability Insurance Scheme

Adopting or adapting: past mistakes vs new possibilities for child protection in Australia

A scathing critique of the NSW government's push for the adoption of children in out-of-home care and a call for positive alternatives from Sharynne Hamilton, Ngunnawal woman and UWA doctoral candidate.