Tony French. When my daughter, Kate, recently joined the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) as a graduate trainee, I thought, there’s not much long-term future for her being a ‘consumer cop’. My reasoning was, isn’t there already a well accepted and established Australian consumer law at State and Federal levels, and plenty of awareness […]
Jason Davies-Kildae. A cursory scan of just about any set of prisoner demographics quickly reveals a catalogue of social disadvantage. Our prison populations show disproportionately high numbers of people with health problems, including mental illness, addictions, intellectual disability, and acquired brain injury. Other over-represented groups reflect lifelong social barriers, such as coming from a place […]
Lawrence Chong. CEO Consulus, Business Design Strategist Lawrence Chong responds to the address by Pope Francis on ethical problems in the global economy at a large meeting of the Economy of Communion network in February 2017. At a time of failing governments, unravelling of the global order, rising populism, and a technological wave which might […]
Richard Tomlinson University of Melbourne The Conversation has published many articles by Australia’s foremost academics on policies that affect housing. In the lead-up to expected announcements in the federal budget in May, we review the arguments in the articles since January 2016 – 81 were identified, of which 58 concerned housing policy. This article focuses […]
Peter Whiting. In putting forward the proposal to revamp the Australian citizenship test, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated that most people would be pleased that “…we are standing up for Australian values”. At first flush, this seems an appealing proposition. But a closer observation opens up a host of issues. In an Australia where there […]
Jenny Begent. Now that we have happened upon more fortunate times, let us recognise that we are our brother’s keepers, and set to work, regardless of party distinctions and religious differences, to make this world of ours a little bit more like home for those whom we call our brethren. William Booth (1890). Over a […]
John Buchanan University of Sydney Employer organisations, such as the Australian Retailers Association, supported by the federal government, have recently argued that wages for Australia’s lowest-paid workers should be increased by less than inflation. This would mean a cut in real wages. But none of their assertions are sustained by evidence or research. Three arguments […]
John Menadue. Reprinted from John Menadue’s splendid blog. Ideologues, the self-interested bankers, and accountants and lawyers persist with their fixation on privatisation, despite the fact that it is failing in one area after another, and that the electorate shows very clearly that it does not want it. The latest political example was in the WA election, […]
Bruce Duncan. World leaders are still struggling with the implications of the Trump Administration. They are watching closely to see how firmly the new US President sticks to his campaign pledges, and how much he is prepared to listen to experienced advisors. Trump caused confusion with his recent disjointed remarks to the Israeli Prime Minister, […]
Gary Harkin. Inequality has grown to unimagined extremes in our world. A recent report by Oxfam dramatically protests about “Eighty billionaires controlling as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion people on the planet”. Meanwhile, in Australia, the independent Fair Work Commission made a decision on 23 February to reduce Sunday penalty rates. The ACTU […]
