The World of Pyne: Protest, Q & A and corporate education

On Monday a group of students staged a protest on ABC’s Q & A against Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s proposed higher education cuts. Dr Binoy Kampark says Pyne’s stance is merely taking the project of a longstanding industrialisation and marketing of universities further.

WA Senate re-elections – what does it mean for voters?

The Senate re-election in Western Australia has come and gone almost unnoticed by a seemingly disengaged public. Dominic O’Sullivan argues that to enhance the democratic credentials of our system we need to make sure that the act of voting is sufficiently clear for a vote to mean what the voter intends it to mean.

Integrate self care into health policy

The current health care system is under enormous pressure. Deon Schoombie, Executive Director of the Australian Self Medication Industry, wants a national conversation on how self care can be more fully integrated into our health care policy.

From Darfur to Cipayung: refugees are left stranded

Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently marked 100 days without an asylum seeker boat arrival. Antje Missbach follows up what happens to those asylum seekers who don’t make it to Australia.

The use of Victim Impact Statements in a NSW homicide trial

The NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson has proposed changes to legislation that forces courts to consider Victim Impact Statements when sentencing violent offenders. Amber McKinley argues that this raises questions about the value of one life compared to another.

States heading for a debt problem

The state treasurers are meeting in Canberra today to discuss spending on infrastructure among other things. Robert Carling from The Centre for Independent Studies says that if the states want to be able to spend on infrastructure, they have to keep a tight rein on operating expenses for years to come as the debt of state governments has risen dramatically in the last years.

Inquiries and witch hunts

Tony Abbott has announced a Royal Commission into union corruption. Sheenal Singh says it’s not the first time the far-reaching powers of a Royal Commission have touched the union movement.

To fix the Federation we must harness the digital revolution

There are longstanding structural conflicts between the federal and state governments. James Horne, visiting Fellow in public policy/water at Australian National University, argues that we need to fundamentally rethink the allocation of roles and responsibilities.

Is Australia ready to thwart the cyber attacks?

There is cause for concern that Australia's change of government has slowed down initiatives to protect businesses and institutions defend against online attacks. Dr Tanveer Zia, a cyber security researcher at Charles Sturt University, calls for the development of an Australian framework.

Time to scrap the charity commission

There have been calls to slash the charity regulator, the ACNC. Helen Rittelmeyer, Policy Analyst at CIS, urges the government to stay firm in abolishing the charity commission and reduce red tape in the not for profit sector.

The future of unions in Australia

Paul Howes, head of the Australian Workers Union, has called for a ‘grand compact’ to reduce conflict between business, unions and government. Ian McAuley says we still need unions, but they and other social and political institutions in our country need reconfiguring.

Heal our past, build our future together: the sixth anniversary of the apology to the Stolen Generations

Six years ago today, the Australian Government apologised for the first time formally for the suffering caused to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Florence Onus is a survivor of the Stolen Generations and invites all Australians on a collective healing journey.