The government funds the sector and provides a relatively “light-touch” oversight, while the providers attend to the day-to-day running of the facilities. However, there is concern this alignment has meant successive governments are not as involved as they should be and proposals for change are diluted by the influence of industry lobbyists.
The Conversation
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After Covid, we’ll need a rethink to repair Australia’s housing system and the economy (Sep 11, 2020)
A new report from the New South Wales Productivity Commission (NSWPC) announces that “[higher] housing costs […] impose broader economic costs”. That chimes with our own newly published research. The implication is that Australia’s heavily capitalised housing market will weigh down economic recovery from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Research reveals shocking detail on how Australia’s environmental scientists are being silenced (The Conversation Sep 9, 2020)
Ecologists and conservation experts in government, industry and universities are routinely constrained in communicating scientific evidence on threatened species, mining, logging and other threats to the environment, our new research has found.
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The mystery of the Top End’s vanishing wildlife, and the unexpected culprits (The Conversation, July 29 2020)
Only a few decades ago, encountering a bandicoot or quoll around your campsite in the evening was a common and delightful experience across the Top End. Sadly, our campsites are now far less lively. (more…)
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Worried about(Chinese) agents of foreign influence? Just look at who owns Australia’s biggest companies
The attention being given to possible covert influence being exercised by China in Australia shouldn’t distract us from recognising that very overt foreign influence now occurs through investment. (more…)
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THALIA ANTHONY. ‘I can’t breathe!’ Australia must look in the mirror to see our own deaths in custody (THE CONVERSATION 2.6.20)
I can’t breathe, please! Let me up, please! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!
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BRENDAN COATES. Money for social housing the key to construction stimulus
There’s no doubt Australia’s construction industry is facing tough times. COVID-19 has caused migration to slow to a trickle. Some 2.6 million Australians have either lost their jobs or had their hours cut in the past two months. Many economists expect property prices to fall. (more…)