Alone Australian or collaboration for the nation we want?

Dr Millie Rooney, co-director of Australia Remade and long-time contributor here at Power to Persuade, has had some great ideas for new reality TV shows, following the success of ‘Alone Australia’. The question is - do we have contestants going it alone to survive, or a team effort to re-imagine a way for everyone to thrive?

Focus on children to improve national wellbeing

Deb Tsorbaris (@DebTsorbaris), CEO of The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (@CFECFW), discusses the recently launched national wellbeing framework, Measuring What Matters, and contends that if we're serious about enhancing the wellbeing of Australians, the first place to start is with our children and young people.

Policy and governance, AdvocacyPower to Persuade6 September 2023Children, young people, wellbeing, Social Welfare, family

DrinkWise: A wise partner choice?

Not too long ago a global survey named Australia the ‘drunkest country in the world.’ Meanwhile, studies are increasingly emphasising that there is no ‘healthy’ or ‘safe’ level of drinking. In today’s post, VicHealth (@VicHealth) Postdoctoral Fellow Florentine Martino (@FP_Martino) of Deakin University (@IHT_Deakin) discusses how the Australian alcohol industry influences health policy through its registered charity DrinkWise.

AdvocacyPower to Persuade15 August 2023public health, public policy, social determinants of health

Too early to declare it over – The ongoing implications of COVID-19 for homelessness responses

While COVID-19 is no longer considered a global emergency, Chris Hartley discusses its enduring effects on homelessness policy and practice.

AdvocacyPower to Persuade3 August 2023housing and homelessness, policy problem

Doing the right thing by Australia’s children

In today’s post, Deb Tsorbaris discusses the sobering findings of the landmark Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) released in April this year, and the need for policymakers and the child services sector to respond swiftly. The study reveals that child maltreatment is widespread in Australia and associated with early and persistent harm. Deb is the CEO at The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, (@CFECFW), Victoria’s peak body for child and family services.

Advocacy, Policy and governancePower to Persuade21 July 2023Children, family violence

Rethinking Income Limits for Disability Pension Recipients

Today’s post by Brandon Maki was commissioned by the Antipoverty Centre. Brandon is on the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and has written about the income free area and the focus of pushing people into work.

Antipoverty Centre, Advocacy, Policy and governancePower to Persuade20 July 2023Disability

Governments of Australia, consider this your debt notice

Today’s post from the Australian Unemployed Worker’s Union discusses the report of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt scheme released on 7 July 2023. AUWU describes the Royal Commission as “the most significant and damning investigation into our welfare system in decades” and pledges to “stand with victims and fight to extract justice for the mass abuse and denigration inflicted on the poor.”

Peer-led services: reducing barriers to healthcare for LGBTIQA+ people

LGBTIQA+ people are more likely to experience marginalisation, stigma, social exclusion, abuse, and violence than the wider community. Philippa Moss, CEO of ACT-based LGBTIQA+ peer-led health service Meridian, and Alison Barclay, researcher and social impact consultant, explain how peer-led services are helping to address this gap, and what more needs to be done.

Restorative Justice for Animal Harm

Recent animal cruelty court cases have once again shown that the traditional justice system falls well short for both victims and offenders. Felicity Tepper, senior research officer at ANU’s School of Regulation and Global Governance explores how restorative justice could have better outcomes for humans and animals alike.

Advocacy, Conferences, IssuesPower to Persuade5 July 2023justice, animal welfare, Research

The Prevention model of Community Visitors [excerpts from 2020-21 Victorian Community Visitor Annual Report]

AdvocacyPower to Persuade4 May 2023Disability, NDIS

A safe home for people with disability: the contrasting and complementary roles of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and Community Visitor schemes

In today’s post, moderator Dr Rae West @raelene_west discusses the balance between the roles of the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Commission and Community Visitor schemes in deterring and preventing harm to people with disability utilising funded support services in accommodation settings and homes.

Advocacy, Policy and governance, Service DeliveryPower to Persuade1 May 2023Disability, NDIS

Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Australia must do more for Climate Affected Communities

In the Indian Sundarbans, like in many places of the world, the climate crisis is a current reality. In this ‘age of adaptation’, climate change is not a future possibility – it is a present threat. In this post, Annabel Dulhunty (@AnnabelDulhunty) from the Crawford School of Public Policy discusses how Australia needs to convert rhetoric into reality when it comes to climate change, through meaningful emission reduction and increased aid for communities most impacted.

Advocacy, Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade19 April 2023climate change, foreign aid

Losing the chicken for the flock: Reforming animal welfare prosecutions in Australia

March and April of this year saw a spate of stories about animal cruelty reported across Australian news media. In today’s article, Serrin Rutledge-Prior (@serrinrp) from the Crawford School of Public Policy reviews prosecutions brought under animal welfare legislation across Australia, arguing that the treatment of non-human animals under Australian law is both inconsistent and insufficient in terms of delivering justice to victims of neglect and abuse.

Advocacy, IssuesPower to Persuade17 April 2023animal welfare, social justice, social policy

Experiences of Australian adults living in NDIS supported accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Advocacy, Accessibility, Creating using evidence, Issues, Lived experiencePower to Persuade6 March 2023COVID-19, Lived/consumer experience

First Nation Perspectives on a Universal Basic Income

As the inquiry into Robodebt reveals the depth of Australia’s shame over its treatment of welfare recipients, Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng, Wakka Wakka Wulli Wulli woman, academic, unionist, former public servant and proud grandmother, answers the question: ‘What opportunities and challenges does a universal basic income (UBI) present for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities?

After the apology: turning hollow words to actions in Indigenous child protection

Aboriginal academic Dr Sharynne Hamilton describes how her research co-partnership with Elders in the Perth Aboriginal community has lead to a clear path of action to achieve justice in child protection grounded in respect, and commnunity control.

Death in the deep colony: Intersectionality, human rights, and bail reform

Today’s post is from Megan Beatrice (@megbeatrice), who is pursuing her PhD in Law at RMIT. Using the lens of intersectionality, Megan urges us to go beyond bail reform and think about how we can address the deep colonial practices embedded within the criminal justice system.

AdvocacyPower to Persuade22 February 2023first nations, Aboriginal issues, prisons, Disadvantage, racism

Labor's Budget Leaves Trans People Behind

Advocacy, GenderPower to Persuade16 December 2022transgender, healthcare

Gendered Housing

Advocacy, Policy and governancePower to Persuade3 November 2022housing and homelessness, economic policy

Stretching ourselves beyond reason to deliver government savings: a response to the Albanese’s first budget – part 3

In the wake of the budget, the Antipoverty Centre asked people on Centrelink payments – the real social policy experts – for their reactions. A contributor shared how he and other carers performing unpaid labour save the government money, and another describes the devastating impact of the failure to raise the JobSeeker rate on welfare recipients.

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