‘We don’t talk in terms of supply numbers, we talk in terms of days’

While we celebrate the vital work of nurses during World Health Day, it’s important to keep them protected, especially as there are growing shortages of personal protective equipment and staff to support the community during the pandemic.

As W. Graham Carlos writes, we can do our part to protect our vulnerable heroes - we should collectively be prepared but not panic, follow government guidelines to protect each other, and to celebrate “wins” when patient gets better - as we are all in this together.

IssuesPower to Persuade7 April 2020COVID-19, public health

The Covid-19 payment stimulus measures: How will they affect women?

In partnership with the National Foundation for Australian Women (@NFAWomen), we are running a series of pieces that analyse how the Covid-19 pandemic is differentially impacting on women. In our first of the series, Frances Davies (@fdavies49), of the NFAW Social Policy Committee, provides an overview of the Jobseeker, Jobkeeper, and other stimulus payments and what they will mean for women.

More Australians are worried about a recession and an increasingly selfish society than about coronavirus itself

What are Australians thinking about during the COVID-19 pandemic? Alexander Saeri, Emily Grundy, Liam Smith, Michael Noetel and Peter Slattery delve into the psyche of Australians to see what they’re worried about in the hopes of supporting evidence-informed policy responses that help encourage people to protect each other.

Policy and governance, IssuesPower to Persuade7 April 2020public health, policy research, COVID-19

Coronavirus is a wake-up call: our war with the environment is leading to pandemics

COVID-19 is not only a health, social and economic problem - it is an environmental problem.

Fiona Armstrong (Climate and Health Alliance), Anthony Capon (Monash Sustainable Development Institute) and Ro McFarlane (University of Canberra) explain why biodiversity conservation and mitigating climate change are crucial to preventing future pandemics.

Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade6 April 2020climate change, COVID-19, environment

1 in 10 children affected by bushfires is Indigenous. We’ve been ignoring them for too long

Australian National University’s Bhiamie Williamson and Francis Markham, as well as Western Sydney University’s Jessica Weir argue, that Aboriginal people, particularly those aged less than 15 years old, are disproportionately affected by Australian bushfires and should therefore have a much stronger presence in all bushfire inquiries going forward.

Advocacy, Policy and governancePower to Persuade6 April 2020Aboriginal issues, Disadvantage

Debt can be a powerful tool for control over women

Research by Evgenia Bourova, Professor Ian Ramsay and Professor Paul Ali at Melbourne Law School highlights the challenges that financial counsellors and other consumer advocates face in assisting women with debt problems resulting from economic abuse — an often ‘hidden’ form of family violence. The risk of this type of abuse escalating during and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is high. This article was originally published on Broad Agenda.

It’s a scary time to hold a temporary visa. We need answers too.

In today’s post, Abigail Lewis @AbigailLLew flags unanswered questions about Australia’s temporary visa system in the current health crisis, the essential work being done by temporary visa holders in response to COVID-19, and the importance of policy flexibility and care for people in limbo during a pandemic that crosses borders. Abigail is a Research Associate and Communications Manager at public policy think tank Per Capita.

IssuesPower to Persuade2 April 2020COVID-19, migration, work

Information accessibility during the COVID-19 crisis

Information accessibility is a right under that UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Article 21) and is an area protected by the Disability Discrimination Act in Australia. Yet in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, the immediate reality and implications of this right have never been more apparent for people with disability: having access to good quality, up-to-date information in accessible formats is quite literally a matter of life and death. Dr Ariella Meltzer from the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW Sydney, examines some questions about what providing accessible information in such a crisis means.

Advocacy, AccessibilityPower to Persuade1 April 2020Disability

Podcast: Coping in isolation – mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this podcast created and originally published by ANU’s Policy Forum Pod, Martyn Pearce talks to Professor Luis Salvador-Carulla and Dr Sebastian Rosenberg about how to care for mental health during an unprecedented period of community isolation due to COVID-19. If you or anyone you know needs help on that front, contact details for support services are listed at the end of this post.

IssuesPower to Persuade31 March 2020COVID-19, mental health

Bushfires, coronavirus… and a newborn. Living through 2020 as a new mum

2020 has been no ordinary year. Still reeling from the destruction of the bushfires Australians are now having to adjust to also dealing with a global pandemic. In today’s blog post Dr Laura Davey gives her personal reflections on what it has been like to live through these unprecedented times at the same time as becoming a mother for the first time.

IssuesPower to Persuade27 March 2020mental health, Children, motherhood

People with a disability are more likely to die from coronavirus – but we can reduce this risk

Prior research has shown that health inequities worsen during pandemics. In this blog piece Professor Helen Dickinson and Professor Anne Kavanagh highlight the health inequities already faced by people with disability and how the Covid-19 pandemic could make these worse. They outline steps the Government urgently needs to implement to protect people with disability as the pandemic progresses.

Other countries are shutting schools – why does the Australian government say it’s safe to keep them open?

The issue of school closures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic has been polarising the political and public discourse in Australia. In this blog post Professor Peter Collignon from ANU Medical School discusses why the Australian Government recommends keeping schools open for now.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade26 March 2020government, education, Policy making, public health

Data underpinning COVID-19 decisions should be made public

As Covid-19 case numbers have been rising quickly in Australia Government responses and recommedations to the public have also been fast moving. In an age where trust in our political institutions is at an all time low Professor John Shine from the Australian Academy of Science argues that in such a fast moving environment transparency must be at the core of Government responses. The Academy has thus called on the Government to make all the data and science underpinning their Covid-19 decisions be made public.

Homelessness and overcrowding expose us all to coronavirus. Here’s what we can do to stop the spread

The Covid-19 pandemic is exposing a raft of issues with social welfare policy in Australia. Australia’s lack of social housing and lack of affordable rentals means many people are living in crowded or inadequate housng, or are homeless. In today’s blog post Nicole Gurran, Peter Phibbs and Tess Lea discuss the issues Australia is now facing as Covid-19 intersects with homelessness and inadequate housing, and what governments need to do to help.

Advocacy groups call for immediate changes to Australia's welfare system in the face of COVID-19

As unemployment surges in the face of Covid-19, advocacy groups are calling for Government to respond by raising the rate of all welfare payments and put an end to the Cashless Debit Card trial. Yesterday the Accountable Income Management Network and the Australian Unemployed Workers Union issued a joint Media Release outlining their calls to the Federal Government. Below are their demands:

AdvocacyPower to Persuade24 March 2020government, policy problem, Social Welfare

The COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the importance of inclusive work and a strong and flexible safety net

Covid19 is creating massive employment upheavals with significant implications for peoples’ mental health. In today’s blog Post Aurora Elmes discusses the role social enterprises can play in providing flexible and supportive workplaces for vulnerable people and the need for government to consider how they can support these businesses to help cushion some of the economic and social fallout from Covid-19.

Women’s safety in a time of quarantine

Australians are increasingly isolating in an attempt to flatten the curve of Covid-19’s spread. This is having profound impacts on our everyday lives, but the evidence is clear that the impact is far greater for women. In today’s piece, Policy Whisperer Susan Maury (@SusanMaury) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) outlines some of the key concerns for women’s safety that quarantine measures and its impacts are raising. If you need immediate help, call 000. If you are looking for advice or support, contact 1800RESPECT.

People with disability left behind in COVID-19 response

There is a very real fear that Covid-19 will have a worse impact on people with disability and yet, as Professor Helen Dickinson discusses in today’s blog post, they are being left out of the Government’s response.

Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade23 March 2020Disability

Insider/outsider: exploring factors that limit or promote the influence of organisations outside government on public policy

Paige Fletcher, a PhD Candidate at Flinders University, is examining the influence of actors outside government on public policy through a case study of feminist organisations and policy addressing gendered violence. She explains here why this research is needed and how to get involved.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade21 March 2020gender

Urgent measures needed to support people with disability during COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19 is rapidly changing the world around us, and disability peak organisations in Australia have called on government to move quickly to guarantee continuity of essential services, support and information for people with disability, and to curb the risk of infection for people with disability and their support workers. People with disability are rightly worried about the particular risks this health crisis poses for them. This message from the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, Children and Young People with Disability, Disability Advocacy Network Australia, First People Disability Network, Inclusion Australia, National Ethnic Disability Alliance, People with Disability Australia and Women with Disabilities Australia explains what needs to be done.

Policy and governance, Service DeliveryPower to Persuade20 March 2020COVID-19, pandemic, Disability

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