Editorial. Equality in our society & urgent action on climate change should be priorities for Australian governments. Peter Whiting In a rich country like Australia, we should not accept that so many in our community live in poverty without sufficient income to meet their basic daily needs. That so many children experience poverty is a […]
An urgent call to all people of goodwill to unite in a politics of brother/sisterhood. My title, I hope, captures the central concern of Pope Francis’s encyclical, Fratelli tutti, a long and wide-ranging document. It can be read as the third in a trilogy preceded in 2015 by Laudato Sí‘, and Laetitia Amoris. Each of […]
Peter Whiteford Crawford School of Public Policy Australian National University 1 December 2020. The Robodebt class action bought by Gordon Legal has been settled at a cost to the government of around $1.2 billion. According to federal Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten, this is the biggest class action in Australian legal history. This comprised refunds of […]
1 December 2020. The government has targeted its JobMaker Hiring Credit too narrowly. The scheme to go before the Senate this week will give employers who take on someone aged 16 to 29 years who has been on JobSeeker or a related benefit a bonus of A$200 per week, and a bonus of $100 per […]
1 December 2020 The Brereton Report will shine a light on alleged war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan. It is expected that a culture of impunity within the special forces will be highlighted as a significant factor in perpetuating crimes against Afghan civilians. Any change that is to occur as a result of […]
1 December 2020. An energy transition is under way, but it is too slow to avert a climate catastrophe, and it ignores many other environmental and social challenges which need tackling now. Capitalism has put us in this mess, but doesn’t have the tools to take us out of it. Perhaps ecosocialism and Extinction Rebellion […]
The Government’s move to cut support to 576 refugees and asylum seekers is a further blow to an already vulnerable group in their struggle to survive. Posted 1 December 2020 Across Australia, the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has hit many people hard, with sharp increases in unemployment and homelessness, even among those who […]
Follow the links to read these articles in full. Download a printable version of SPC News November 2020. A world of uncertainty after Covid-19. Peter Whiting Editorial Each of us will doubtless have talked with friends and colleagues about how the post-Covid ‘new normal’ might look for us. This newsletter cites both the aspirational – […]
John Hawkins University of Canberra. The International Monetary Fund this week delivered a somewhat surprising message. It warned Earth was on course for “potentially catastrophic” damage under climate change, and called for green investment and carbon prices to put the global economy on a stronger, more sustainable footing. Of course, the message itself makes a […]
Hal Pawson UNSW & Cameron Parsell University of Queensland COVID-19 triggered multimillion-dollar commitments by state governments to tackle homelessness. Our research for the Australian Homelessness Monitor 2020, released today, reveals at least 33,000 rough sleepers and other homeless people have been booked into hotels and other temporary accommodation during the crisis. Beyond this, several states […]
1 November 2020. As this newsletter is published, voting in the US elections is under way, with commentators speculating from the polls that Biden will win. Given the unexpected outcome of 2016, they prefer, nonetheless, to call the result uncertain. Whatever the outcome of this election, these last Trump years have seen increased international tensions, and […]
