A little while after Pauline Hanson graduated from Ipswich City Council politics to take the Queensland seat of Oxley, I ran into her in a Canberra pub. This isn’t as unlikely as it sounds. Journalists and politicians often drink together, or at least in close proximity to each other, and in the late 1990s Canberra had so few drinking holes that collisions were inevitable.
Category: Employment
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Australia needs to retain women in STEM careers
If we are serious about productivity, innovation and long-term economic resilience, we cannot afford to keep losing women from STEM occupations and leadership pipelines. We cannot afford to overlook experience. And we cannot afford decision-making structures that draw from only part of the population. (more…)
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Connect people leaving prison with a job: it works!
Almost everyone in prison today will return to our communities. Whether they reoffend depends on what we do to prevent recidivism. In Western Australia, we know what works – prisoner employment programs – so the question is will we allow it to happen instead of relying on counterproductive risk management and control strategies? (more…)
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The gig economy promises freedom. The reality is different
What looks like reckless behaviour on the streets reflects a deeper system of incentives in the gig economy that rewards speed, constant availability and risk-taking. (more…)
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Women are reshaping the workforce – but power hasn’t followed
Women are increasingly dominant across education and the workforce, but leadership, workplace structures and social attitudes have failed to keep pace.
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What a surprise spike in the unemployment rate means for interest rates and the economy
The rate of unemployment in Australia is on the rise again. Official labour force data released on Thursday shows that in the month to September, Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumped from 4.3% to 4.5%. (more…)
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Fortescue cuts hundreds of jobs in UK and Australia; EV motor making sent to China
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals is cutting several hundred jobs in the UK and Australia following a decision to send manufacturing activities to China, including for the motors and power trains of its planned giant electric haul trucks. (more…)
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Who would be a carer?
Whether because of temporary disability or permanent need, the demand for accessible “holiday” accommodation is growing with our ageing population. (more…)
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1 in 3 Australians in their late 60s are still working, new HILDA survey shows
Australia has seen a dramatic transformation of retirement over the past 20 years, with more Australians delaying retirement than ever before, reshaping expectations for later life. (more…)
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The social smog of neoliberalism: How competition breeds violence and division
The Industrial Revolution transformed the material basis of human life. By harnessing energy and perfecting machines, engineers satisfied physical needs on a mass scale. (more…)
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Why a surprise jump in unemployment isn’t as bad as it sounds
New figures show Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.3% – its highest level since late 2021 – in June this year, up from 4.1% in May. (more…)
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The evil phoenix: Quenching the fire of its rebirth
This is a $5 billion scam hurting honest Australians. (more…)
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Mental health of workers undermined in New South Wales
The NSW Government is seeking to pursue legislative changes that would ultimately worsen mental health outcomes for working people. (more…)
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If I were minister for employment services: No more bastardry dressed up as policy
If I were minister for employment services, I’d begin by stating what should already be obvious: Australia’s employment services system is not fit for purpose. (more…)
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Sherlock Holmes investigates the wages explosion that never was
I like to imagine that, if Arthur Conan Doyle were still alive, and had turned his creation, Sherlock Holmes, to solving the economic mysteries of the 21st century, he would have written this conversation: (more…)
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Building Australia’s future – For whom?
As the next federal election looms, the Albanese Government is preparing to campaign under a new slogan: “Building Australia’s Future”. (more…)
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OSCA’s quiet arrival: Rethinking how Australia defines work
Australia’s new job classification system, OSCA, replaces ANZSCO with little fanfare. Its streamlined approach raises questions about workforce planning, transparency, and the evolving definition of work. (more…)
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Reimagining public housing: the transformative potential of Centrelink’s Voluntary Work Program
The current housing crisis is not an accident. It is the logical outcome of transforming homes into investment vehicles. And it has been decades in the building. The only thing unique about the present crisis is that it is now destabilising both the major political parties – in that sense the housing crisis is now a political crisis. The impending federal election campaign will no doubt reveal a raft of proposed political fixes that may or may not exacerbate the crisis. (more…)
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The public service: back in from the cold
The Albanese government has begun to rebuild Australia’s shattered Public Service. The government’s fate depends significantly on it — but there’s much still to do. (more…)
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A flicker of reform: Can Labor avoid political collapse?
As the Albanese government announces modest employment services reforms, it faces growing disillusionment and risks losing ground to Peter Dutton’s Trump-inspired exploitation of economic and cultural frustrations. (more…)
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Productivity, innovation and industrial structure
The traditional market model of comparative advantage denies Australia the more promising strategic opportunity to identify and capitalise on areas of potential competitive advantage in the high productivity, high-skill jobs and industries of the future, including advanced manufacturing. Instead, with this model we will be locked into low-productivity, low-wage industries, with limited scope for uplift through technological change and innovation, writes Emeritus Professor Roy Green AM. (more…)
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A blueprint for inaction – the government’s feeble response to Employment Services crisis
Amid rising demands for robust employment reforms, the Albanese government’s response disappoints, offering vague promises over decisive action. This critique unpacks why minimal improvements and continued reliance on flawed policies may leave the most vulnerable behind, questioning if mere mediocrity is the new standard. (more…)
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Leading oil and gas producers plan to keep pumping
USA plans to maintain high levels of oil and gas production until at least 2050 – so it can export freedom. Healthy ecosystems require integrity, not just biodiversity. Endangered slug runs circles around arty rivals.
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Environment: Humans don’t make history – we play host
How germs made history. Greenhouse gas emissions keep rising but USA and Europe are still the major causes of global warming.
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Goodhart’s Law and the overlooked complexities in Australia’s employment services sector
Yesterday, I wrote that the Jevons Paradox is a good explanation for the problems of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Today, I look at another theory – Goodhart’s Law – to explain what is wrong with Australia’s $3 Billion a year employment services sector. (more…)
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“Marketisation has failed”: Rebuilding the Commonwealth Employment Services
When the Howard government privatised Australia’s Employment Services system it promised more innovative, effective and efficient services. Almost 25 years later, it’s clear that the giant experiment of full privatisation has failed. And the most vulnerable Australians pay the price. (more…)
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A Bangladeshi workforce enslaved by greed and power
Millions of workers in the multi-billion-dollar garment industry are being exploited, activists say. (more…)
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Has Labor abandoned workers?
The traditional parties of compassion – Labor in Australia, Labour in Britain, Liberals in Canada and the Democrats in the US – have come under attack from the left and the right for abandoning workers. (more…)
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Disability care is still all about us without us
Any talk about disability in Australia is very likely to quickly lead to mention of ‘the System,’ which controls everything in the lives of People With Disability.
