Three years after Labor launched its international development policy, Australia is a more reliable donor than many of its peers. But an increasingly ambitious aid program still lacks clarity about its priorities, trade-offs and capacity to deliver. (more…)
Category: Policy
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Climate finance must transfer power, not just money
Climate finance will not deliver justice if communities receive project funding but remain excluded from decisions, governance and the long-term institutional support needed to sustain change.
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Australia is building AI capacity without the ecosystem to use it
AI delivers productivity gains only when firms have the skills, management capability, infrastructure and industrial networks to put it to work. Australia’s weakness lies less in the technology than in the ecosystem around it. (more…)
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AI and the limits of sovereignty, Part One: Why national rules are not enough
In the first of two parts, Robin Brown and Gregory Andrews examine why AI, climate change, pandemics and online markets repeatedly outrun national regulation, and what existing arms-control and international regimes can teach us about governing risks that cross borders. (more…)
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The growing gap between Australia’s policies on nicotine and reality
Australia’s tobacco and vaping policies have helped create a vast illicit market while governments continue to pour money into enforcement and neglect cheaper, more effective harm reduction. (more…)
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Australia’s AI boom must leave regional communities with more than the bill
Massive AI infrastructure projects may bring jobs and investment, but regional development should be judged by what communities control, retain and can build long after construction ends. (more…)
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Australia needs a minister for loneliness and social connection
Loneliness and social isolation are shaped by housing, transport, aged care, disability services and community life. A dedicated minister could bring those strands together and make social connection a national policy priority. (more…)
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Are you part of the long tail? Why we should all be part of Australia’s AI training data conversation
Copyright deals can protect professional creators, but much of AI’s value also comes from the vast collective output of the open internet. Australia has an opportunity to recognise, protect and fund that shared data commons. (more…)
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24 years on: The inquiry that exposed the children overboard lies
The 2002 Senate inquiry found Peter Reith deceived Australians over children overboard. Cabinet then blocked key staff from giving evidence, leaving crucial questions unanswered. (more…)
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When crises reshape nations: what history tells us about Australia’s energy vulnerability
In 1942, crisis forced Australia to rethink a dangerous strategic dependence. Today, reliance on imported fuel creates another vulnerability. Electrification offers a path to greater economic and national security. (more…)
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A ‘Catch-22’ in Australia’s criminal justice system
On International Wrongful Conviction Day, Australia still leaves prisoners to overcome an almost impossible barrier when challenging unsafe convictions. (more…)
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Plantations are the future of timber. Biodiversity cannot be an afterthought
As plantations supply more of Australia’s timber, how they are established and harvested will increasingly shape biodiversity. Good management can make a substantial difference.
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Parliament and the public service are getting their roles wrong
A clumsy protest over the social media use of Senate evidence exposed a deeper problem. The public service must answer to Parliament and the public, while MPs must protect its political neutrality. Both sides need to remember where their responsibilities begin and end.
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Kids in jail: Victoria is heading down Queensland’s road
Queensland has legislated remote camps for children, while Victoria has made it easier to sentence young offenders as adults. Victoria once kept more kids out of jail by investing in community alternatives. That hard-won approach is being lost in the race to sound tough.
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The expensive business of making Australians wait for help
Delaying aged care, disability support and other public services may contain spending in one part of government, but the costs don’t disappear. They move to families, hospitals, review systems and the people left waiting for help. (more…)
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Three reforms the IMF needs to make its lending work
As the IMF reviews how it designs lending programs, reforms to policy conditions, contingency planning and country ownership could better support economic recovery, development and democratic accountability. (more…)
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Why are we still funding Australia’s wealthiest schools?
Australia’s wealthiest private schools continue receiving public funding despite mounting budget pressures, raising questions about whether government spending on education reflects need and the broader public interest. (more…)
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Rolling out the pork barrel again
A $560 million invitation-only grants program heavily favoured Labor-held seats, according to the Centre for Public Integrity. The controversy raises a broader question: should the Commonwealth control community grants at all? (more…)
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Australia needs a population policy built around capability
Australia’s population debate should move beyond arguments over growth and migration to a larger question: what population can a capable, inclusive and ecologically sustainable country support? (more…)
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The NT’s dangerous addiction to punishment
The Northern Territory’s soaring imprisonment rates, punitive youth justice policies and rejection of expert advice reveal a system failing Indigenous communities and strengthening the case for urgent Commonwealth intervention in justice. (more…)
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Aged care report card: 4/10 – not good enough
Nearly a year into Australia’s aged care reforms, access remains difficult, waiting lists persist and costs are unaffordable for many, while flawed assessment and funding systems continue to undermine care. (more…)
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Fixing the APS remuneration mess
Australia’s public service pay system remains fragmented after decades of failed reform. Fixing it requires a coherent APS-wide approach to classifications, labour markets, remuneration and the merit principle itself. (more…)
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A case for free and fair elections
The High Court has recognised an implied freedom of political communication. The same constitutional principles could support a broader guarantee that Australian elections themselves must be free and fair. (more…)
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Work longer, wait longer, now borrow your own retirement back
One Nation’s super-for-housing plan offers immediate relief, but risks repeating a message its new midlife voters know well: solve the problem with your own money. (more…)
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Turning Crown evidence – a different twist
Documents obtained under freedom of information raise questions about how senior NSW prosecutors came to publicly support DPP Sally Dowling, after being given just 40 minutes to express contrary views. (more…)
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Australia’s social media ban has an enforcement problem
New powers will help eSafety investigate whether platforms are enforcing the under-16 social media restrictions, but early evidence suggests the policy’s limits run deeper. (more…)
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Nepal’s catastrophe demands more than climate silence
As climate-fuelled disasters intensify, political leaders should stop treating discussion of their causes as untimely and confront the consequences of continued inaction.
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Time to move to fixed four-year terms
Australia’s three-year federal election cycle encourages short-term politics and uncertainty. Fixed four-year terms could improve policymaking, investment and democratic fairness – if voters can be persuaded to back reform. (more…)
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A system that abandons adolescents with severe behavioural needs
Adolescents with severe behavioural needs are too often treated as beyond help. As suspensions rise and specialist provision narrows, Australia’s public education system risks abandoning them when support matters most. (more…)
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Finally a ban on unfair trading – but big gaps remain
Australia’s new unfair trading laws are a major step forward, but gaps covering financial services, personalised pricing and exploitative product design could leave consumers exposed to serious harm. (more…)