Blog

THIS WEEK’S MODERATOR

Sue Olney

Why Indigenous values matter for all public servants and all communities

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples occupy a unique position as the first sovereign peoples of Australia. And while governments have been striving to improve their relationships with as well as their abilities to represent and provide services to Indigenous Australians, there is still a long way to go.

In this post, the Australia and New Zealand School of Government’s (ANZSOG) Aurora Milroy discusses why Indigenous values and culture should be embedded in the Australian Public Service (APS), and outlines practical solutions for helping the Commonwealth begin to reset its relationship with Indigenous peoples.

Advocacy, Issues, Policy and governance, Service DeliveryPower to Persuade17 July 2019Indigenous issues, Indigenous research and policy

Report finds every $1 Australia spends on preschool will return $2, but this won’t just magically happen

Is Australia getting good return on investment in early childhood education? A report conducted by PwC for the Front Project finds that Australia is getting $2 back for every $1 spent on preschool.

While this statistic is important, Jen Jackson of Victorian University’s Mitchell Institute argues that we need to examine and invest in the complex chain of events that in order for the country to reap the two-for-one return.

This article was originally published in The Conversation.

Issues, Policy and governance, Service DeliveryPower to Persuade16 July 2019education

Inequality is growing, but it is also changing as Australia’s super rich evolve

Is wealth inequality threatening Australia’s egalitarian dream?

RMIT University’s Salvatore Ferraro provides a preview of his and Monica Jurin’s presentation at this year’s Australian Conference of Economists in this article originally published in The Conversation.

Conferences, Finance and economics, IssuesPower to Persuade16 July 2019Wealth inequality

Looking after loved ones with mental illness puts carers at risk themselves. They need more support

The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System - the first of its kind in Australia - is looking into ‘[accelerating] improvements in access to mental health services, service navigation and models of care.’ One element of the mental health care system, which is often overlooked, is help for informal carers that support those who have mental illness.

In this article originally published in The Conversation, the University of Newcastle’s Jaelea Skehan and Sally Fitzpatrick explain the emotional labour involved in caring, the case for preventing their psychological distress, and the policy setting that government needs to enhance carers’ wellbeing and prevent the onset of mental health issues of their own.

Policy and governance, Service DeliveryPower to Persuade15 July 2019mental health

Disability, employment and inequity – it’s time to do more than the bare minimum

The Gender pay gap is an issue which has received a substantial amount of attention both in research and policy discussions and reforms. However far less attention has been paid to the Disability pay gap. People with disability in Australia face not only disadvantages in accessing employment such as discrimination in hiring practices but also in even securing minimum wage pay to which non-disabled Australians are entitled. Currently paying people with disability below the minimum wage is legal in Australia, yet illegal for a non-disabled person. In today’s blog piece George Disney asks some pressing social policy questions about employment policy for people with disability and suggests some solutions policy makers could adopt to improve working conditions for all Australians, irrespective of their disability status.

Power to Persuade12 July 2019

Women, rural and disadvantaged Australians may be missing out on care in the NDIS

In many countries social policy has seen a growing concern for citizen control and empowerment which has led to an increase in person centred approaches to social care, referred to a personalisation. The National Disability Insurance scheme (NDIS) is one of the most ambitious personalisation schemes in the world and aims to give choice and control over services and supports for people who acquire a permanent disability, thereby boosting citizen empowerment and improving social and health outcomes. However a new research paper by Gemma Carey, Eleanor Malbon, and Ariella Meltzer suggests that the ability to have choice and control in personalisation schemes can be distributed unequally. They use to context of the NDIS to examine how some Australians with disability may be missing out on accessing the care they are entitled to.

This piece originally appeared in The Conversation and was authored by Eleanor Malbon and Gemma Carey.

Power to Persuade11 July 2019

Economic inequality can deteriorate women’s mental health

Economic inequality can deteriorate women’s mental health

This blog is the second in a four-part series on women’s mental health. As the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System continues its public hearings there is an opportunity to consider the social and economic factors that contribute to poor mental health using a gender lens. This piece by Sarah Squire (@SquireSarah) and Susan Maury (@SusanMaury) of @GoodAdvocacy explores how economic inequality contributes to poor mental health among women, drawing on reflections from practitioners in Good Shepherd services. You can read the first in this series here.

Womens Policy Action Tank, Social Policy WhispererWomen's Policy Action Tank11 July 2019mental health, finance, gender pay gap, Gender Inequity, susan maury

Putting value creation back into public value

While value creation has long been discussed in the private sector, the concept of value creation by the public sector is largely absent. Until recently there has been no clear role for the public sector to create value itself – the term ‘public value’ does not even exist in economics. However a new paper by Mariana Mazzucato and Josh Ryan-Collins at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose proposes ways that public value can be created using a theory of collective public value creation. This article orginally appeared in The Mandarin and is authored by Maria Katsonis.

Policy and governance, Service DeliveryPower to Persuade10 July 2019Public Servants, government, public service

‘Nothing about us without us’: Working cross-sector to make the City of Melbourne more inclusive for people with disability

On the 30th May 2019 the findings from a new project to make the City of Melbourne more inclusive for people with disability were reported at a community forum at Melbourne Town Hall. This project showcases how different sectors and community members can come together to create policies that reflect the views and ideas of those most affected by the proposed policies. People with disability have historically been marginalised from the policy process, with a lack of consultation with people with disability a significant issue in the formation of government policy. This project addressed these issues by using an evidence base coming directly from people with disability in order to inform policy for the City of Melbourne Disability Action Plan. In the blog piece below Dr Jerome Rachele lead investigator of the project talks about its development and how working cross-sector between local government and academia led to a successful outcome.

Power to Persuade9 July 2019

Build to rent could help tackle Australia’s housing affordability issues but only if the Government is on board with major tax changes

Housing affordability stress has been a major talking point for both the public and politicians over the last decade. Yet many people, especially first home buyers , are still finding it difficult to break into the housing market and Australian housing remains some of the most expensive housing in the world. This has seen an increase in the number of people renting long term. However the private rental market in Australia is owned almost exclusively by small scale mum-and-dad investors, and unlike in some other countries, notably European ones where renting has long been the norm, there are few policies to ensure tenants have access to long term stable and affordable rentals in Australia. In today’s blog piece Professor Hal Pawson from UNSW discusses a Build-to-rent housing model that has the potential to address some of the public policy objectives around affordable housing. While not a silver bullet, this type of housing can create stability in an otherwise volatile housing market, and provide an affordable housing fix for many renters doing it tough in the current rental environment. However for this to happen major tax changes are needed.

This piece orginally appeared in The Conversation

Power to Persuade8 July 2019

Feminist theory and Australia’s care and support sector

Feminist theory and Australia’s care and support sector

Australian policymakers will need to take critical action in response to the care crisis revealed by coverage of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the lead up to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. Laura Davy (@LauraKDavy) from the Public Service Research Group, UNSW Canberra, discusses how feminist ethics and feminist economics can inform workforce investment strategies into the future.

Service Delivery, Policy and governancePower to Persuade5 July 2019Workforce Reform, care work

New wave conditionality and social supervision

New wave conditionality and social supervision

In today's post, Dr Simone Casey (@simonecasey) discusses the ethics and efficacy of recent developments in welfare conditionality in Australia. This continues her series of posts examining topical issues in Australia's employment services system - ParentsNext; mutual obligation; 'work first' activation of jobseekers; and the growing presence of automation in Australia's welfare system. Dr Casey is an Associate of the RMIT Future Social Services Institute.

Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade2 July 2019Equity, welfare reform, Policy making

Will the Coalition’s approach to gender equality actually improve women’s lives?

Will the Coalition’s approach to gender equality actually improve women’s lives?

The Coalition’s purported ‘woman problem’ haunted this year’s federal election campaign, despite the party’s ultimate electoral success. Sue Williamson (@SWilliamsonUNSW) from the Public Service Research Group, UNSW Canberra argues the Coalition adopts a neoliberal or individualised approach to gender equality – while some positive initiatives have been introduced, these do not address the systemic issues that cause women’s disadvantage. (Reposted from The Conversation)

Power to Persuade1 July 2019Research, Policy making, Gender Inequity

Why are some organisations so resistant to change? Exploring the nature of ‘extremely gendered’ organisatons

Why are some organisations so resistant to change? Exploring the nature of ‘extremely gendered’ organisatons

What makes an organisation ‘extremely gendered’? Here @DrLisaCResearch describes her work (with @DrMeaganTyler and Dr Ben Reynolds) extending the concept of extremely gendered beyond the military to Victoria’s volunteer-based organisation the Country Fire Authority.

Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tank27 June 2019gender, feminist theory

From locked up to linked up: Developing the recovery capital assets of justice-involved children and young people

Too many of our kids are incarcerated and living away from their families and their ‘country’ in youth detention facilities. It is urgent and critical to commit to transforming the way Australian youth justice service is undertaken. Sharynne Hamilton, Ngunnawal woman and PhD scholar at the University of Western Australia, explains the potential of ‘Justice Capital’ to lead the way.

IssuesPower to Persuade26 June 2019Indigenous research and policy, young people, crime

What should we do about sexual violence at music festivals?

Sexual harassment and assault at music festivals has received very little scholarly attention, but Dr Bianca Fileborn (@snappyalligator; University of Melbourne) and Dr Phillip Wadds (@phillipwadds; UNSW) are rectifying this knowledge gap. Here they report on their recent research project and suggest some ways that festival organisers and the music industry can make festivals safer spaces.

IssuesPower to Persuade24 June 2019Sexual violence