HECS-HELP: A policy that has always struggled with fairness

Issues, EducationPower to Persuade16 August 2024HECS, universities, education

Support People, not Accommodation

Power to Persuade11 August 2024

On Being Alone and Unsafe in Crowded Places

Power to Persuade10 August 2024

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

SRS, Disability Royal CommissiPower to Persuade7 August 2024Disability Royal Commission, SRS, Private supported boarding houses, Disability housing policy

The World is changing. What kind of ancestor do we want to be?

GenderPower to Persuade31 July 2024young people, women

The Siren’s Call

In a departure from the usual style of our posts, we bring you a poem by Roger Chao on the lure of false promises in politics. Roger is a writer based in Victoria, Australia, who strives to use his writing to engage audiences to think critically about the role they can play in making a difference. He was inspired to write this poem by current international events, and politics here and overseas being shaped by forces whipping up and capitalising on fear of change.

AdvocacyPower to Persuade29 July 2024politics and democracy

Prioritizing Child Safety Over Gold Medals: Learning from Abuse Survivors in Sports

The whole world watches the Olympics and Paralympics, and national pride and achievement are front and centre. In today’s post, VicHealth postdoctoral research fellow Aurélie Pankowiak (@AureliePanko) of Victoria University (@iHealthSportVU) argues more resources need to be invested to ensure sport participants are safe from abuse. Learning from lived experience would allow for trauma-informed guidelines for both prevention and response and enable the creation of safer sport organisations.

Lived experiencePower to Persuade25 July 2024child abuse, Policy making, Lived/consumer experience

What can health professionals do about climate change?

By focussing on the health impacts of climate change, health professionals can play a vital role in framing the need for climate actions in a way that is more personally meaningful and less controversial for the public and policy makers. Today’s post by VicHealth postdoctoral research fellow Rongbin Xu (@RongbinXu) of Monash University (@MonashUni) explains how, and why this is important. This piece originally appeared in the Medical Journal of Australia’s Insight+ online magazine; you can read it in its original form here.

Advocacy, IssuesPower to Persuade24 July 2024climate change, health, Population health

Food marketing targets parents to influence children’s diets

Food marketing is a tried and tested strategy used to influence children’s diets, most commonly promoting unhealthy food and sugary drinks. In today’s post, VicHealth (@VicHealth) Research Fellow Alexandra Chung (@Chung_Alexandra) from Monash University (@Monash_FMNHS) explains some of the ways in which food industry marketing targets parents to influence young children’s diets.

IssuesPower to Persuade23 July 2024Children, parenting, health, public health, public policy

The Rise of Online Food Delivery Services: Global trends and their disruptive impact on our food environments

Online Food Delivery Services are becoming a popular mode of purchasing out-of-home meals, with a projected global increase from 800 million users in 2018 to almost 2.9 billion users in 2029. This week, VicHealth Postdoctoral Researcher Adyya Gupta (@AdyyaGupta) and Deakin Distinguished Professor Anna Peeters (@AnnaPeetersAus), of Deakin University (@IHT_Deakin @GLOBE_obesity) explain the burgeoning trend of online food delivery services and their implications for public health.

Creating using evidence, InnovationPower to Persuade22 July 2024technology, health, Population health

Shifting narratives about poverty in Australia

This is the final part of a 3-part series by Sharon Bessell and Cadhla O’Sullivan from the Children’s Policy Centre at ANU. Today’s post covers welfare policy narratives of individual blame and how they don’t reflect the reality of children’s lives.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade19 July 2024Children, Poverty, wellbeing, Policy Research

‘The Missing Middle’ in childhood poverty and wellbeing indicators

This is the second post in a 3-part series from the Children’s Policy Centre at ANU, focusing on childhood poverty and wellbeing indicators. Today Cadhla O’Sullivan, Megan Lang and Sharon Bessell highlight the gaps for children in the middle years, why this matters, and the importance of listening to children to understand their experiences of poverty.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade17 July 2024Measurement, Children, wellbeing

Reducing poverty and improving wellbeing for all children: Where do we stand?

This is the first post in a 3-part series by Sharon Bessell (@BessellSharon) and Cadhla O’Sullivan (@CadhlaOSull) from the Children’s Policy Centre at ANU. Today they identify some trends from their analysis of poverty and wellbeing.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade15 July 2024Children, wellbeing, Poverty

Revisiting the purple zone in regulatory public service

Navigating the politics of public administration continues to challenge public servants of all levels. In this piece, Isabelle Patterson, a student in the Masters of Regulation and Governance at the ANU, reflects on the duality of her experiences as a regulator and how her academic research supports her in navigating this.

Policy and governance, PoliticsPower to Persuade11 July 2024regulation, public service

Firsthand experience of migration, homelessness and disability reveals shortcomings in access to political participation: Student reflections on power and governance

Policy and governance, Lived experiencePower to Persuade9 July 2024politics and democracy, housing and homelessness, migration, mental health, Disability

Voting in Australia as a young, Queer person: Student reflections on power and governance

This week on the Power to Persuade blog, we will hear from students at RMIT University about their reflections on power and governance in Australia. First up is Em Dewhurst (They/Them). Em is a Bachelor of Social Work student at RMIT University, who has written a powerful reflection on voting in Australia as a young, Queer person. Em works as a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant at They/Say Consulting, a Facilitator for the Youth Disability Advocacy Service, and a Youth Engagement Support Officer for Hume City Council.

Australia’s response to preventing forced marriage should begin with listening to the needs of young women.

Gender, Lived experience, Policy and governancePower to Persuade5 July 2024women, Women's safety, violence against women

Beyond Screen Time Limits: Rethinking Digital Media Policies for Youth Mental Health

Dr. Rhiannon Parker discusses nuanced findings on digital media use and its impacts on youth education and wellbeing.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade2 July 2024social media, young people

Beyond job search theory: evaluating conditionality in employment services?

There is an urgent need for more a more coordinated approach to establishing a broad research and evaluation agenda without which it likely that economic models of evaluation like job search theory will continue to dominate policy development.The use of sanctions in employment services is a divisive subject.

Power to Persuade26 June 2024

Explaining the 2024 Net Overseas Migration surge

A recent surge in net overseas migration (NOM) has become a hot topic, with politicians and media commentators linking the surge with limited housing supply and other pressures. But what is the NOM? And do we really have unusually high volumes of migration? Alan Gamlen from the Australian National University explains. Y

Policy and governance, Politics, IssuesPower to Persuade19 June 2024migration policy, NOM, migration

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