2024 wrapped - holiday reading from Power to Persuade

In 2024, Power to Persuade’s team of moderators sourced sixty articles on issues that made headlines, and issues they thought needed more attention. The posts we published offer insights into the design and delivery of social policy and - importantly from our perspective - its impact on people. The authors included policy experts, research teams, advocates, early career researchers, and people navigating or trying to navigate government service systems.

Our team is taking a break now, but we’ll be back in February 2025. Until then, here’s a selection of posts from this year to reread or discover.

Thank you to our readers, our writers, our social policy whisperers and our moderating team for 2024. We wish you all happy and safe holidays.

While our hard-working volunteer team takes a break, here’s a selection of posts published on Power to Persuade in 2024 to revisit or discover:

On issues affecting women, children and families

Reducing poverty and improving wellbeing for all children: Where do we stand? - Sharon Bessell and Cadhla O’Sullivan

The Big Question: How can we help end child poverty in Australia? - Life Course Centre

Australia’s response to preventing forced marriage should begin with listening to the needs of young women - Laura Vidal and Marie Segrave

Gender has always been 'shut out' from NDIS policy development - Molly Saunders

Unseen Impact: How Unpaid Caregiving Shapes Health and Lives - Enrico Pfeifer

The World is changing. What kind of ancestor do we want to be? - Brianna Delahunty and Tasha Ritchie

On poverty, income support and welfare-to-work

The slow wheels of reform and harmful mutual obligation - Simone Casey

A deliberate choice to keep people in poverty - Maiy Azize

"The money just simply does not stretch": living on Jobseeker as rent, energy and food costs soar - via the Antipoverty Centre

As a single parent, Jobseeker is brutal. Government should come up with a better 'Placesaver' to help me into my next job - via the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union

Crowing about a budget surplus? There are better ways for Chalmers to measure economic success - Kerry Beake

On disability and health

Victoria’s new anti-vilification laws could be a game-changer for mental health - Simon Katterl

Implications of the NDIS Amendment Bill 2024 for some of Australia’s most marginalised people - Muriel Cummins

Access regulation: Radical antitheses - Raelene West

A Choice or the Only Option? Supported residential services and private supported boarding houses - Elroy Dearn

The Rise of Online Food Delivery Services: Global trends and their disruptive impact on our food environments - Adyya Gupta and Anna Peeters

Sex education in Australia: Dismally out of touch with young people’s needs - Brianna Delahunty and Linnea Burton Smith

On peacebuilding

Colombian transitional justice: the need for prioritizing local voices in peacebuilding - Louis Monroy-Santander

On research, policy and practice

Public inquiries and policy design - Alastair Stark and Sophie Yates

Thinking differently about evidence: Collaborating with policy makers to create, share and apply knowledge for public health - Alexandra Chung

The Role of Social Impact Strategy in Driving Systemic Change - Rhiannon Parker

On the loss of our co-founder

The Power to Persuade: A tribute to Professor Gemma Carey - Kathy Landvogt, Susan Maury, Sue Olney, Sophie Yates and Tanya Corrie

We’ll be back in 2025

We’ll be back in February 2025 with new content, new experts, some new moderators, and fresh ideas. Thank you and best wishes to our readers, our authors, our social policy whisperers and our moderators. We wish you all happy and safe holidays.

The team at Power to Persuade