Working families benefit from reform of early childhood education

The Federal Government has released a new childcare package on the weekend. Samantha Page, CEO of Early Childhood Australia, welcomes the reform but voices some concerns.

Australian Privacy Commissioner decides that most metadata is personal information

In a groundbreaking decision, and following a worldwide trend, journalist Ben Grubb just won a legal battle with Telstra for access to his metadata. Malcolm Crompton has some background information.

My vision for Australia – a Fair Go for all

Do we need constitutional change? Max Thomas says the existing arrangements that served us well in the past are not well suited to our position in the contemporary world.

How can we rebuild the community’s trust in political processes?

The issues in Australian politics today are too complex to tackle with simple yes/no or Coalition/Labor answers. Manuela Epstein from the newDemocracy Foundation says the way forward is to involve citizens as active partners with the Government at the core of decision making processes.

A ‘blatant attack’ on the government or a voice for abused children?

Australia’s system of mandatory immigration detention keeps getting damning reviews while the Abbott Government keeps using dismissive rhetoric. Nicole Cooper says all this government should be concerned about is the right of the children detained, not political pandering.

Personal information is more than you think!

A UK court recently ruled on what constitutes personal information in the landmark case Google v. Vidal-Hall. Malcolm Crompton says why this might be the most important Court judgment on privacy in years.

Indigenous ‘lifestyle choices’ and the LNP’s paternalism

Tony Abbott recently described living in remote Indigenous communities as a lifestyle choice. Jordan Ayres says Australian social policy under the Liberal Party continues its paternalistic approach to the difficulties rural communities are facing.

The need to design social policy for climate change refugees

So far the Australian government doesn’t seem to regard climate change as a primary issue. Elisabeth Stafford says we need a national conversation to pressure the Australian government into action to create social policy on a variety of climate change fronts.

What does it mean to be a homeless ‘young person’ in Australia?

Between the age of 18 and 22, there is a gap in government allowances for young people coming out of state care. Sophie Ryan says as this puts them at risk of homelessness we need a State care system that is more ‘person focused’ rather than pushing through the numbers.

Domestic violence policy in QLD: Is some policy better than no policy at all?

Governments have a unique role to play in addressing domestic violence in Australia. Tomas Lillyman shows with Queensland as example how coordinated change takes too long in the respective state governments.

The Future of Coal Seam Gas after the NSW Election

The New South Wales state election will be held on Saturday 28 March. James Horne discusses the future of coal seam gas, one of the major issues in this campaign.

Climate change: a global responsibility, but apparently not Australia’s

The government recently released its intergenerational report providing a snapshot of what the nation might look like in 40 years. Madeleine Ivett says the fact that climate change only gets a passing mention shows the lack of responsibility for our future.