Events such as wild fires, floods, and droughts in all continents remind us of how fragile and vulnerable cities, communities, and wildlife are. In this blog Dr Juan Carlos Fallas Chinchilla examines the role engineering innovation has in relation to alleviating climate change; and debate the need for new technology alongside other policy instruments and how these can be complementary in tackling the climate emergency.
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The Women’s Safety Summit has sparked multiple conversations about best practice and effective policy for the next National Plan to End Violence Against Women and their Children. In today’s analysis, Emma O’Neill of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) makes the argument that wider policy decisions during the term of the first National Plan reduced women’s economic security and ran counter to women’s safety, and that these need to be reversed under the next National Plan.
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Without representation, young people are struggling to get their voices heard in the decisions that affect them. Lowering the voting age to 16 is one integral way the government can reinvigorate the interest of young people in their democracy, argues Jordan Maloney, ANU Political Science and Sociology student and policy adviser
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You may know the terms “nudge theory” and “co-design” very well, but you’ve probably thought less about how contradictory they are in practice. This is problematic because it is not uncommon for policy development to use both simultaneously. In this post, the authors outline why they are contradictory and provide a link for further reading.
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Alastair Stark, Nivek Thompson (@NivekKThompson) and Greg Marston argue that public deliberation can lead to better policy design by offering something more dynamic than a ‘snapshot’ of public opinion: it can show policymakers how citizens think and justify their decisions.
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While the news has been full of the increasing financial stress many Australians are facing with the withdrawal of JobKeeper and the Coronavirus Supplement, there has been little focus on what these changes mean for children. Australia has signed on to the Sustainable Development Goals, but have been criticised for the high levels of poverty, and child poverty in particular, with little progress in evidence across the years. In today’s post, Sharon Bessell (@BessellSharon) of ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy (@ANU Crawford) shares her important research conducted with children, who explain in their own words the stressors and constraints that poverty places on their everyday decisions, plans for the future, and family relationships. This provides fresh insight into how the less generous support settings will exacerbate wellbeing and opportunities for children and families in low-income households.
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As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to fall in Victoria, it is time to think deeply about what recovery looks like. In today’s analysis, Adele Murdolo (@AdeleMurdolo) of the Multi-Cultural Centre for Women’s Health (@MCWH1978) argue that the people most impacted by COVID-19, such as migrant and refugee women, should be integrally involved in the decision making about what happens next. This analysis has been adapted from a Pre-Budget submission to the Victorian government produced by the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health.
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The pandemic has exposed the multitude of dangers in trusting private entities with public data, demonstrating the need for carefully thought out regulation argue Jenna Harb and Kate Henne from the Justice and Technoscience (JusTech) Lab at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance.
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The Covid-19 second wave in Victoria has once again highlighted the economic impacts of the pandemic, however it is important to remember that the economy is inextricably linked to health and social outcomes. While the Federal and State/Territory Governments have instituted a raft of policy measures to address some of the economic impacts, are these responses enough to also address the wider social and health effects of the pandemic? In todays blog post Dr Megan Weier and Isabella Saunders from the Centre for Social Impact examine the policy responses from both federal and state/territory governments to see where vulnerabilities might lie that could worsen the impacts of the pandemic.
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Australia is facing an unprecedented economic shock. Thus far, much of the targeted stimulus spending has been concentrated in male-dominated industries. In today’s analysis, Elizabeth Hill of University of Sydney (@USydneyEcon) provides evidence for encouraging women’s workforce participation through investing in social infrastructure and subsidising early childhood education and care. This analysis was originally published as part of a series on Labour Market Policy after COVID-19 produced by CEDA (@ceda_news); you can read it in its original form here.
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With so many Australians accessing their superannuation accounts early in response to the current economic downturn, there is more attention than ever at how the retirement scheme fails to provide adequate retirement savings for women. A new report - The Herstory of Super by Emma Dawson (@DawsonEJ) and Simone Casey (@SimoneCasey) of Per Capita (@PerCapita) – provides the historic context needed to understand why the system is failing women, and provides recommendations for sustainably supporting women into their old age.
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In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Federal government has provided a temporary $550 supplement to many income support payments. These are due to be reduced on 24 September. For many families who have been reliant on income support, this effective doubling of payments has meant a more stable and healthy life. In today’s important analysis, we republish a lightly-edited letter to Senator Marise Payne, Minister for Women, and Senator Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services, authored by Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of the National Council for Single Mothers and their Children, and Casandra Goldie (@CassandraGoldie), CEO of ACOSS (@ACOSS). The letter puts forward the case for making the supplement permanent because it assists women to leave domestic and family violence, and is interspersed with testimonies from women about the impact of the supplement on the family. This letter has been endorsed by several agencies.
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The second spike of Covid-19 in Victoria which has resulted in a large number of outbreaks in aged care homes is shining a light on the policies and practices of how governments and the private sector manage aged care. In this blog post Bernard Keene discusses challenges within the aged care sector such as casualisation of the workforce that require immediate attention in the wake of the corona virus crisis.
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As Victoria enters a period of even stricter stage 4 restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19 , there is increasing concern for peoples’ mental health. In todays blog piece Professor Ian Hickie discusses who is most at risk of being harmed by the longer and more restrictive lockdown and what policy responses are needed from government that will deliver the most benefit.
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As Victoria enters the unprecedented time of Stage 4 lockdown and a state of disaster is declared in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, disability advocates and academics have come together to highlight the vital importance of state and federal Governments working together to eliminate critical gaps for people with disability.
The situation in aged care homes has already shown a lack of joined up planning and responses can result in preventable harms and risks. In the media release below advocates from the disability sector identify the key areas of concern for people with disability and the urgent need for the NDIA and Victorian Government to implement a plan to ensure people with disability do not suffer through the stage 4 lockdown.
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Georgia Lee (a pseudonym), academic and activist, explains how kindness and solidarity are intrinsically linked - and can be the key for a new kind of politics - drawing on the refugees in onshore and offshore detention and the COVID-19 response as examples
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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.
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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.
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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.
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