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Community engagement for a sustainable Australia
Chris Riedy | May 10, 2012The lack of progress on climate change is certainly not due to a lack of discussion or high-level policy making. But Chris Reidy says there needs to be more community engagement on the subject before there can be community acceptance.Sustainability is a slippery concept. As someone said to me yesterday, ‘if you ask a hundred people to define sustainability you’ll get a hundred different definitions’. For some people, this is cause for despair. They argue that the term has lost all meaning and should be abandoned.
Feeding the world, all seven billion
Noby Leong | May 9, 2012In a world where more than one billion people are overweight and 800 million are undernourished it’s easy to see why global food security is a complex issue. Noby Leong looks at the challenge of feeding a hungry world.
It’s been said that wars of the future will be fought over not oil or terror, but food and water. The world is facing a burgeoning population, estimated by some to grow to 9 billion by the year 2050. Providing enough food for everyone is one of the greatest challenges the global community faces and it does not come without immense obstacles.
Is the growth of middle class welfare fact or fiction?
Gerry Redmond | May 8, 2012When Treasurer Wayne Swan hands down the Federal Budget tonight most Australians will be waiting to hear whether they will end up with more or less money in their pockets. Gerry Redmond, Elizabeth Adamson and Peter Whiteford look at the history of middle class welfare in Australia.
We have been examining trends in so-called ‘middle class welfare’ in Australia, using income survey data from between 1982 and 2007/08. With a Federal Budget due tonight it is widely expected that existing entitlements to middle class welfare will be in the firing line. Recent policy pronouncements by both the Government and the Opposition suggest that both parties agree that ‘middle class welfare’ should be cut.
Saving the Murray-Darling – the saga continues
patrickcallioni | May 7, 2012Managing the resources of Australia’s biggest river system to the satisfaction of primary producers and environmentalists was never going to be easy. Patrick Callioni says the current draft of the Murray-Darling Basin plan should be scrapped in favor of a fresh start.I have been watching the saga of the efforts by the Government to put in place a plan to manage the Murray-Darling system and I am afraid that the only conclusion I can reach is that the Government has made a mess of it. Why is this so?
Achieving sustainability – If not through education, where else?
Leanne Denby | May 4, 2012There is a lot of talk surrounding sustainability issues, but Leanne Denby says the hard work is in finding an approach that provides benefits for everyone, now and in the future.
Relevant science education essential for the future
Robert Hill | May 3, 2012The number of students studying science subjects in Australian tertiary institutions is on the decline. Prof Robert Hill looks at what the University of Adelaide is doing to keep science eduation relevant.
Whose responsibility is it?
John Kirk | May 2, 2012With increasing globalisation it’s easy to blame big businesses for the world’s problems. But John Kirk believes we need to take control of our responsibility as individual consumers."There is one and only one social responsibility of business: to use its resources to engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition, without deception or fraud." M. Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom.
UncategorisedConvergence Review report released
editor | May 1, 2012The federal go
vernment has released the Convergence Review Final Report, which sets out a vision for fundamental change to the regulatory framework of Australia’s digital economy, and identifies key areas for reform. The Convergence Review committee, led by former IBM Australia boss Glenn Boreham, has recommended scrapping the existing watchdogs in favour of a cross-platform super regulator and an industry-run standards body. The review was part of the terms of reference provided to the Convergence Review, whose final report this week focused mainly on media ownership and content regulation.
What if most greenies are going in the wrong direction?
Michael Mobbs | May 1, 2012Householders are increasingly asked to take on the task of sustainable living at home. But Michael Mobbs says the biggest impact individuals can make is to demand changes from the big polluters.
600,000 great reasons to give
Kylie Cirak | April 30, 2012Giving your time, your old clothes and your services can benefit charities in many ways, but the reality is that cold, hard cash still reigns supreme. Kylie Cirak says Australians are donating less money and charities are feeling the pinch.
Social investment – asking hard questions about not-for-profit organisations
David Crosbie | April 27, 2012
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