Australia needs to manage research security risks, but exaggerating the threat of collaboration with China could weaken national security by cutting Australian science off from leading researchers, global expertise and crucial STEM talent. (more…)
Category: Policy
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Gotcha, or getting tax right?
As the government’s hearing on its tax changes enters its second day, tax reform will be harder to defend if capital tax changes are left standing alone, and Labor should link them directly to bigger income tax cuts for wage and salary earners struggling with the cost of living.
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Australian smelting needs an urgent clean energy fix to stop the bailouts
Australia’s smelters will keep needing taxpayer bailouts unless governments create a publicly backed clean energy model that can deliver reliable, affordable power for heavy industry. (more…)
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Should we bring back native forest logging? The answer is a clear no
Native forest logging is economically costly, environmentally damaging and socially divisive, and should not be revived in Victoria or Western Australia or maintained in Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. (more…)
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More room for dialogue with China in the Pacific region
As the US signals a move away from containment in the Pacific, China’s most strategic move would be to reorient Quad members towards their respective national interests. (more…)
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Star stuck government warned by security agencies
As SpaceX begins trading on the Nasdaq after a record-breaking IPO, Australia’s growing reliance on Starlink raises urgent questions about communications sovereignty, emergency services, security and space regulation. (more…)
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Is re-nationalisation the answer to Australia’s energy transition?
Australia’s renewable energy transition is being made more expensive by poor planning, fragmented market structures and ideological battles, when what is needed is a slower, more technically grounded assessment of how to keep the grid reliable and affordable.
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The prison revolving door is costing lives
For people caught in the revolving door of prison, the risk of suicide often extends beyond custody, exposing the failure of justice, health and housing systems to support life after release.
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Why are voters cranky enough to turn to Hanson? I have a theory
One Nation’s polling surge reflects deeper disillusionment with the major parties, but the real test is whether Labor has the courage to press ahead with housing tax reform despite the inevitable scare campaign.
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If Support at Home is the answer, what is the problem?
Support at Home was meant to transform aged care, but its assessment and funding model has left older Australians waiting too long, paying too much and receiving services shaped by budgets rather than need. (more…)
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How governments move into Mafia – or Trump – territory
Australia’s crisis of trust is being deepened by opaque lobbying, revolving-door appointments, weak accountability and an insider culture that gives powerful interests privileged access to government. (more…)
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Gold standard? Revisiting the Hawke government’s reform legacy
A new collection of essays on the Hawke government shows why its reform legacy rested not only on policy ambition, but on evidence, public service advice, Cabinet debate, consultation and disciplined political communication. (more…)
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Homelessness needs political action, not just public sympathy
Australia has widespread public concern about homelessness, but reducing it at scale requires turning charitable support into organised advocacy for housing policy, social housing investment and systemic reform. (more…)
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That sinking feeling – Message from the Editor
Sometimes you just have to wait.
I’m not a very patient person, but I have learned two things about patience and persistence:
the hard, really important stuff never comes quickly; and
issues run in cycles. If you don’t hit the finish line this time, hang on: there will almost certainly be another opportunity. (more…)
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Hailing Australia’s under-appreciated life-saving heroes
Desmond Manderson’s High Time – How Australia changed its mind about illegal drugs, is a social history of Australia’s drug policy and a must-read for policymakers. (more…)
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The quiet Australians who actually empty the bins
When the political class keeps choosing to squeeze outer-suburban, mortgage-stressed, salaried workers, we shouldn’t be surprised to see these people turning to One Nation. (more…)
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East Africa is coping on the frontline of the Ebola outbreak
The international community must resist the urge to panic in response to the Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC and Uganda. The more useful task is to support existing local systems. (more…)
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Australia needs to start planning for life after gas
A major new report warns Australia must accelerate its transition away from gas or face higher energy costs, missed climate targets and growing risks to manufacturers and consumers.
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Victoria: the police state
The Victorian Government relies too heavily on policing as the default solution to every social issue and is granting the police unchecked powers. (more…)
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Australia can’t have it both ways with China and the US forever
For two decades Australia assumed it could maintain beneficial ties with both the United States and China indefinitely. That assumption has collapsed. Work to build a greater resilience and autonomy, with our region, will take years, but that work must begin now. Nick Bisley reports. (more…)
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Securing the NDIS for future generations: government half-think
The Government is not considering both sides of the ledger when it comes to funding the NDIS. It’s not just about cutting costs but also raising revenue. (more…)
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Governing on empty: the Hormuz crisis across Asia and the Pacific — part 2
In their second in a three-part series on the crisis surrounding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz Nicola Nixon and Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj look beyond energy. (more…)
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Governing on empty: the Hormuz crisis across Asia and the Pacific — part 1
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is reshaping energy, governance and inequality across Asia and the Pacific. This three-part series examines the very different long and short term impacts across the region. (more…)
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Tensions in Australia’s migration system: a missed opportunity for the Coalition
The Liberal Party has missed an opportunity to design a sophisticated migration policy that incorporates demand for labour, housing, infrastructure and energy. (more…)
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Rehabilitation fails when prisons strip people of dignity
Overcrowding, poor mental health care and degrading prison conditions across Australia are undermining rehabilitation efforts and raising serious questions about how the correctional system treats human dignity. (more…)
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Australia abandoned harm minimisation on smoking – and fuelled a black market
Australia’s steep cigarette excise increases and restrictive vaping policies have fuelled a massive illegal tobacco market while undermining the country’s long-standing harm-minimisation approach to public health.
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A more nuanced way to tackle social media’s harmful effects
Instead of a blanket ban on social media for under 16-year-olds, listening to young people’s ideas about how to tackle the harm would be more effective. (more…)
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Compassion does not end at the front gate – Message from the Editor
Like many I was revolted by the video of Itamar Ben-Gvir taunting and humiliating courageous international citizens determined to get supplies to Palestine. If you haven’t seen it, the video shows the Israeli Minister humiliating Gaza flotilla activists, who are shown kneeling in rows, heads bowed, hands cable-tied behind their backs.
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Chance for a fresh start in patching up the Commonwealth Public Service
The appointment of a new Commonwealth Public Service Commissioner highlights deeper structural problems inside the Public Service Commission, from flawed remuneration policies to weak accountability and confused reform priorities.
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The aid budget ignored a deepening global crisis
Despite the economic and humanitarian shock triggered by the Iran war, Australia’s latest foreign aid budget failed to deliver the kind of substantial regional response the country mounted during the COVID-19 pandemic.