Same sex marriage – the right to choose for everyone

Same-sex couples are not allowed to marry in Australia yet. Gina Worldon argues that same-sex marriage should not affect anyone but the couples directly involved.

Australia to amend parts of the Racial Discrimination Act

The Abbott government has announced plans to amend sections of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA), in particular Section 18C. Ben Mapuranga argues that this is not the time to change one of the pillars of Australia’s multicultural society.

Good intentions – unintended outcomes

Designing public policy in a multi-disciplinary world is difficult. Peter Fritz gives examples of policies with good intentions and unintended outcomes.

Budget 2014 and the politics of ‘class warfare’

The national budget presented this week has been met with resistance and has become a serious electoral gamble. Dominic O’Sulllivan says that some of the budget’s more far reaching measures won’t pass the Senate.

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.