Dr Elroy Dearn
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.”
Read MoreLGBTIQA+ 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.
Read MoreThe exploitation of migrant workers continues to be a scourge across Australia, according to a new report from the Grattan Institute.
Read MoreMarisa Lo Bartolo (LinkedIn), from Good Shepherd (@GoodShepANZ) reflects on the recent Australian Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Recovery and Healing Conference in Wollongong. Marisa is a Policy and Advocacy Advisor, and has a particular interest in the primary prevention of gender based violence, trauma recovery, and issues faced by LGBTIQA+ communities.
Read MoreGlobally there is an increasing focus on the mental health and well-being of children and young people as youth mental health problems have replaced childhood mortality as the most significant challenge for society (WEF, 2020). Dr Sarah-Jane Fenton (@S_JFenton) presents findings from the early evaluation of a UK programme, which offers valuable insights (with Jo Ellins (@DrJoEllins) and the Health Services Management Centre (@_HSMCentre)).
Read MoreIn 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.
Read MoreIn 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.
Read MoreThe announcement, which fulfils a Labor election commitment, brings much-needed certainty to around 20,000 people who were found to be refugees or at risk of serious human rights violations. This article was first published on The Conversation.
Read MoreThe consensus from the UN, UNICEF and the WHO is that there is a fundamental relationship between human rights and mental health. Importantly, the UN has recognised that young people are often forgotten in the human rights framework and specific approaches should be used to ensure their rights are upheld because they differ significantly from those of younger children. They advocate that the most effective human-rights approach to young people’s mental health care should be based on public health and psychosocial support rather than overmedicalization and institutionalization.
Read MoreAs 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?
Read MoreAboriginal 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.
Read MoreThe sheer scale of placement breakdown and change for children in care in the UK has gathered increasing attention in recent years. We know that children and young people in residential care are more likely to experience placement breakdown and movement, often due to entering care later in adolescence, or being placed children’s homes which are inappropriate to meet their needs as a short term or emergency measure. It has also been noted that private residential placements can pose significant financial costs to local authority children’s services. In this blog, Helen Woods argues that it is vital then to consider what contributes to the success or failure of a residential placement.
Read MoreIn the wake of the budget, the Antipoverty Centre asked people on Centrelink payments – the real social policy experts – for their reactions. One said “This budget is democide. This is social murder. They cannot claim ignorance of the deaths that keeping the welfare rate below the poverty line will cause. A number of them have even said during parliament that the rate is far too low to survive on, but when it comes time to change it they chose not to.
Read MoreAfter the 2022 Federal Government budget, The Antipoverty Centre asked people on Centrelink payments – the real social policy experts – for their reactions. One example: “This budget is an exercise in austerity & cruelty for the poorest, most vulnerable Australians, but for the wealthiest Australians it's an exercise in government handouts.’
Read MoreAeryn Brown is a JobSeeker recipient from Tasmania. They authored the below open letter to social security minister Amanda Rishworth as part of the Break the Poverty Machine week of action, which will be held to mark the International Day to Eradicate Poverty on 17 October – one week ahead of the federal budget. People on low incomes and supporters can get more information and register to participate in the #BTPM protest (either online or in person in Adelaide) here: btpm2022.eventbrite.com.au
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