Four ways the Global Commission on the Future of Work can deliver for women in the gig economy

Workers in the gig economy, whether it is their primary income source or supplemental, are in a grey area when it comes to legal protections. Because the majority of part-time workers are women, it is particularly critical for women that the conversations are thoughtful and evidence-informed. Recently Abigail Hunt (@AbiHunt) and Emma Samman of the Overseas Development Institute co-wrote a global report on the impacts of the gig economy on women. In today’s blog, Abigail shares four key take-away messages for protecting the most vulnerable workers, which are highly relevant for Australian policy-makers. This policy analysis originally appeared on the ODI website.

Confused about the Medicare rebate freeze? Here’s what you need to know

Last week, the Australian Labor Party announced that it will lift the Medicare rebate freeze if elected to office in the July federal election. We know health issues feature strongly in election debates, but what does this proposal actually mean for most of us? In our latest post, Helen Dickinson explores these questions and more #healthelection.

Carrots, sticks, and individual support in the welfare system: Welfare conditionality in the UK

Conditional arrangements designed to ‘correct’ the ‘problematic’ behaviour of welfare recipients have become commonplace in the UK, Australia and other countries for many years. What’s missing from current debates about welfare conditionality, and how can this problem be thought about differently? Professor Peter Dwyer from the University of York, and head of the Welfare Conditionality: Sanctions Support and Behaviour Change project, offers his views in this email interview for Power to Persuade.

The price of medical miracles in hospitals: time for a culture change

Amid continuing talk of burgeoning health costs, particularly in the lead-up to the 2016 Federal Budget, Dr Lesley Russell says it is time to look at the impact of extended hospitalisation, on patients, carers and the health system. She warns we should not be so consumed with technological and surgical wonders that we miss their adverse impacts on the very patients whose lives they save.

The marketisation of social and community services: Finest hour or poisoned chalice for the Productivity Commission?

The marketisation of health, education and welfare is one inquiry the Productivity Commission may well wish it had never been given, reflects Policy Whisperer Paul Smyth of The University of Melbourne.

Will the NDIS and individualisation of disability services enhance human rights?

Helen Dickinson (@DrHDickinson) of the University of Melbourne argues that investments in disability services are long overdue. The creation of the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is an important step, but on its own will not necessarily secure human rights for people with disabilities. If we are to secure human rights for people with disabilities, a broader set of reform processes will need to be considered that go beyond the funding of care services.

"Once you've looked at family violence you can't turn away" - meeting the 'adaptive challenge' of family violence

With a Royal Commission about to report in Victoria; a second Australian of the Year in a row listing family violence as a priority topic; a Family Violence Index on the cards; a new national evidence-based framework for prevention with bipartisan support; and significant commitment at the political level in both countries, family violence has never been more topical for Australian and New Zealand public servants. Sophie Yates (@MsSophieRae) reports here on insights from a family violence learning and leadership challenge conducted by the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG).

Social Policy Whisperer: Planned employment programs for remote Aboriginal Australia are bad policy design

The Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee chaired by Senator Cory Bernardi is holding an Inquiry into the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2015. Our Social Policy Whisperer Jon Altman made a submission number 8 to the Inquiry in January and was invited to give further evidence in a public hearing on 19 February 2016 at the Monash Conference Centre, Melbourne. The opening comments to his evidence are reproduced in this blog.

Should women work like men? Mainstreaming gender in health-related policies

Should we mainstream gender in policy? What would that look like? Taking employment and work as a key example, our guest contributor Associate Professor Lyndall Strazdins (ANU) examines how working hours, ability, gender and care are intersecting and cautions us about which groups are being framed as the new 'leaners'.

*This post is based on Assoc.Prof Strazdin's contribution to a panel debate at the PTP:Gender, Menzies Policy Grand Challenge held in Canberra last month.

It's a gig but is it a job?

Would you choose workplace flexibility over pay? The future of work is here, we are told, and it is in the form of freelancing self-employment in the "gig" economy. But are we destined to become mini-entrepreneurs, free from the mundane 9-to-5? Or will we be imprisoned to a life of low-wage servitude and insecurity? In this post, which originally appeared on the OECD's Insights blog, Brian Keeley explores concerns about future job quality and job security in the "gig" economy.

Policy and governance, IssuesPower to Persuade16 October 2015service and social protection reform, employment

Domestic Violence and the welfare state

The problem of domestic violence has inspired much chest-thumping from Australian politicians and public figures alike. Grand statements are being made about collective social responsibility and social justice--perhaps attitudes are finally changing. In this article, however, Susan Hopkins and Jenny Ostini (University of Southern Queensland) argue that using populist rhetoric about domestic violence is inadequate while neoliberal governments continue to undermine key social services. Forms of support for women at risk of experiencing domestic violence remain dangerously underfunded. This article is reprinted with permission from the Overland Journal.

The side effects of 'wellbeing': from the welfare state to the wellness state

What happens when the state is concerned with how we feel and how healthy we are? André Spicer (Cass Business School) and Carl Cederström (Stockholm Business School) argue that with many governments now employing behavioural scientists to help shape policy, state interference in our private lives is increasing.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade14 October 2015service and social protection reform

Youth employment 'crisis' more about job quality

Do we have an immediate youth unemployment 'crisis' in Australia? Or is it more of a slow burn? In this post, Dr Iain Campbell of RMIT University provides some insights. This post originally appeared on The Conversation.

Shifting from Social Provision to Social Investment

The social sector has only recently begun to see itself as a critical economic player. But as governments shift more from social provision to social investment, David Hayward, Professor and Dean of the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University asks whet her it can and should think still more broadly and internationally – and even about how to ‘mix it ’ with the Sercos of the world?

This article was published in the latest edition of Insight, the VCOSS member magazine.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade1 October 2015service and social protection reform

Unconditional Basic Income and transitioning to a low-carbon society

Next up on Basic Income week, Professor Greg Marston explores how the simple yet powerful idea of basic income could help people vulnerable to climate change.

Basic income a no-brainer for remote Indigenous Australia

Continuing on with our contributions to International Basic Income Week, our regular contributor Jon Altman provides an important analysis of what basic income could do for remote Indigenous Australia.

A Neoliberalization of Basic Income Discourse?

Next up for International Basic Income Week, Dr Dale Carrico (@dalecarrico), lecturer in critical theory and technology studies at UC Berkeley and at the San Francisco Art Institute, offers an alternate view of the basic income discourse. This piece originally appeared on Dale's personal blog.

The missing link in child care policy

In recent years, child care has returned as a hot topic in politics and policy. Both the current and former governments have tended to view child care as a means to a similar policy end – increasing productivity, yet neither have adequately considered the centrality of worker’s needs in developing policy solutions to ‘fix’ child care. In this post, Lara Corr (@corr_lara) explains why workers’ mental health and working conditions must be front and centre in child care policy and the ongoing risks associated with policy that promotes the worker exploitation through poor conditions.

Policy and governanceDr Lara Corr28 August 2015service and social protection reform

The social invetment welfare state: the missing themE in social policy ebates

Following on from our latest Social Policy Whisperer piece, below Colin Crouch asks why social investment ideas haven't gain greater traction in political debates regarding social policy. While Colin writes about the UK context, his musing are just as relevant here in Australia and pick up on many of the themes Paul Symth raises on our blog. Colin Crouch is an emeritus professor of the University of Warwick. His latest book, Governing Social Risks in Post-Crisis Europe, has just been published by Edward Elgar. This piece originally appeared on the Politics and Policy Journal Blog.

IssuesPower to Persuade9 April 2015service and social protection reform

Workfare in Australia: Indigenous Work for the Dole Policies

Following on from our post last week, below Jon Altman offers his thoughts on Indigenous Work for the Dole policies. Jon Altman is an emeritus professor of the Australian National University based at the Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet), College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU. From 1990–2010 he was foundation director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research.

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