Centre for Policy Development's Blog, page 107

Malcom Fraser | 'End the appeal to meanness'

Malcom Fraser's opinion piece in The Age today,  'End the appeal to meanness' echoes the sentiments of our report, A New Approach: Breaking the stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers.

Fraser makes clear the urgent need for bi-partisanship on an issue that has left many of our political leaders divided.

There are alternative policies available to Australian governments. They have not taken them because neither party is willing to lift substantially the humanitarian intake. By substantially I mean at least doubling or even trebling it, especially if other countries could be persuaded to act likewise.

Meanwhile, our political leaders continue to demean Australia, to portray us as a narrow, wealthy, selfish community by the debates they conduct between themselves. …The Australian people deserve much better. Hopefully, one day our politicians will treat the Australian community with respect, instead of the contempt they show with their judgment of Australians.

Read the full article in The Age here.

Read the full CPD report: A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate of Refugee & Asylum Seekers here.

A New Approach comprehensively critiques Australia's refugee and asylum policies and finds they are inhumane, ineffective and expensive.

The Age | 'Plea for asylum policy rethink'

Featured today in The Age is our report, A New Approach,  released today.

"Prominent business and union leaders have endorsed a new strategy on asylum seekers that would have mandatory detention phased out within two years."

Read the full article here.

Read the full CPD report: A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate of Refugee & Asylum Seekers here.

A New Approach comprehensively critiques Australia's refugee and asylum policies and finds they are inhumane, ineffective and expensive.

A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers

Australia needs a circuit-breaker in our treatment of people seeking asylum from war and persecution.

Today, the Centre for Policy Development releases A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees and Asylum Seekers – a comprehensive report setting out how to advance Australia's national interest by assuring that the claims of asylum seekers are considered rigorously but with compassion.

"This is an issue that should be above and beyond politics, not one to be exploited in a mindless, short-term political race to the bottom, the "winner" being the toughest and most inhumane to those who are predominately desperate people fleeing war and persecution in search of a new life for themselves and their families."

- Dr. John Hewson, AM. Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia (1990 – 1994)

And remember, to stay up-to-date with commentary from the A New Approach authors sign up for our email updates here.

RELEASED TODAY | A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers

CPD has today released A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers, a report which comprehensively critiques Australia's refugee and asylum policies and finds they are inhumane, ineffective and expensive.

Download the full report here.

Australia needs a circuit-breaker in our treatment of people seeking asylum from war and persecution. On the 10th anniversary of the Tampa, Australia's asylum and refugee policies are still sadly characterised by human tragedy, political opportunism, policy failure and great cost.

The authors of the report – John Menadue, Arja Keski-Nummi and Kate Gauthier – draw on their extensive policy experience to inject facts into a highly-politicised debate and put forward policies that ensure we treat people seeking asylum with fairness, assess their claims rigorously but with compassion, and develop policies that are in the interests of all Australians.

The report outlines 13 recommendations which all aim to ensure that Australia:

Adheres to all international conventions which we have voluntarily signed
Quickly and correctly identifies those who are refugees and grants them protection
consistent with UNHCR policies and guidelines
Protects Australians from any health or security concerns
Discourages dangerous journeys, but treats fairly those who have made those journeys
Affords all people in Australia their human rights, as well as access to the legal systems which deliver them, and
Rapidly returns home in safety and dignity those who are found not to be in need of
Australia's protection.

"The new approach to refugees and asylum seekers proposed by the Centre for Policy Development deserves widespread community support and should be given serious consideration across the political spectrum. With genuine political will there is no reason why Australia cannot move away from the corrosive and divisive state of the current debate and back to the bipartisan approach which served Australia so well for so long."

- Heather Ridout, Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Group

"This issue should be above and beyond politics, not one to be exploited in a mindless, short-term political race to the bottom, the "winner" being the toughest and most inhumane to those who are predominately desperate people fleeing war and persecution in search of a new life for themselves and their families."

- John Hewson, AM. Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia (1990 – 1994)

"The Centre for Policy Development's report A New Approach is exactly the fresh and comprehensive approach that is needed in this policy debate. This report is the circuit breaker refugee advocates and policy makers have been looking for."

- Samah Hadid, Human rights activist and former Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations.

"Australia's policies for the treatment of refugees are tired, cynical, populist and punitive. I wholeheartedly support the CPD's thoughtful, comprehensive and realistic proposals, in the belief they will enhance the contribution this country makes to the alleviation of a worldwide problem."

- Gideon Haigh, Journalist 

To stay up-to-date with commentary from the A New Approach authors make sure that you are signed up to our email list here.

ENDORSERS34 prominent Australians have endorsed the findings of CPD's A New Approach Report. You can read their their full statement of support here.

MEDIA Download your copy of the media release here. For all interview requests or media enquiries, please contact Amelia Robertson on 0421 773 930 or amelia.robertson(at)cpd.org.au or Antoinette Abboud on 0414 920 801 or antoinette.abboud(at)cpd.org.au

CPD MEDIA: Making ideas about refugees matter

John Menadue: Navigating the refugee fact free zone

John Menadue offers a roadmap for those seeking the facts amidst the the heated debate about refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. He wades through the misinformation, lies and unfonded opinions to get to what we need to know to start a useful conversation. Read more here.

John Menadue: Trampling on human rights is expensive

Asylum seekers continue to suffer because of poll driven policies and their fate remains an enormous political problem for Australia. John Menadue adds up how expensive trampling on human rights really is. They find that a new approach is not only urgently needed but that it but saves money too. Read more in our Budget InSight edition here.

John Menadue: Malaysia swap offers hope on 'toxic' debate

John Menadue, says the Malaysia refugee swap is needed to break a deadlock in a "toxic" asylum seeker debate and represents a way out of the "dreadfully dark" debate on asylum seekers. Read Kirsty Needham's article in The Sydney Morning Herald here.

John Menadue in conversation with BTalks Phil Dobbie: Our Dark Angels

In a recent talk at the St James Ethics Centre Menadue said "If Ben Chifley and Malcolm Fraser had appealed to our darker angels we would never have taken large numbers of Jewish and Indochinese refugees."

Phil Dobbie from BTalk asks Menadue isn't the debate today really about Islam? Why else would we concern ourselves with the small number of boat arrivals, predominantly refugees from the Middle East, and be less concerned about the larger number of asylum seekers who arrive by air, many of which come from China?

Menadue says our attitude on the issue seems to be a race to the bottom — and we are paying for it. The Nauru solution, for example, cost a billion dollars and deflected only 46 asylum seekers to other countries.

So why has the issue of asylum seekers become so divisive in Australian society and what can be done to appeal to our better angels?

LISTEN to John Menadue in conversation with BTalk's Phil Dobbie here.

SURVEY on 'Big Society': Tell us what you think

We are moving into a new phase of our Public Service program.

As part of this we are researching 'Big Society' – a set of public sector reforms that redefine the role of public, community and corporate sector organisations in the provision of community services. 'Big Society' originated in the UK and we are interested in hearing about what you know and think about it.

The survey only takes minutes to complete and your responses will help inform and guide our research.

Click here to help us out with your ideas.

James Whelan | The Drum

We often hear about 'trimming the fat' in the public service but is there enough thought behind this popular phrase? CPD public service program research director Dr. James Whelan joined panellists Tim Wilson, Andrew Clennell and Scott Stephens on ABC's The Drum on Monday night to discuss the findings of our new study The State of the Australian Public Service: An Alternate Report.

The study found that despite an increase of in Australia's population of some 3 million people, the number of public servants employed by the government are around the same as they were in 1990.

"Any claims about an exploding public service personnel need some scrutiny" said Dr. Whelan, "the surplus fetish at the moment is the main basis for that argument".

Increasing community expectation on the public service places current public servants under greater strain; politically they are "caught in the headlights" as conservative ministers call for dramatic slashes to their budgets. However our study has found that the prevailing community attitude supports an increase in funding to APS if it would result in better services.

Discover the facts behind the rhetoric.

WATCH Dr. Whelan and the panel on ABC's The Drum here

Frank Cassidy | The Public Service – 702 ABC Sydney

Why is their a culture of "bashing" the public service in Australia?

Frank Cassidy, Director of Public Service News, was on ABC radio yesterday discussing our some of our findings in, The State of the Australian Public Service: An Alternative Report the often unforgiving attitude Australian's have towards public servants. The underlying issue, according to Mr. Cassidy, is the 'blame game' politicians play with the APS.

"Politicians see them as easy targets to blame when things go wrong" says Mr. Cassidy, they appeal to the general public's fear of "paying for things they don't have any control over"

Because public servants refrain from comment we seem to forget that they are following the initiatives of their respective ministers. How do we change this misguided perception?

LISTEN to Frank Cassidy's interview on 702 ABC Radio here

AND READ our new study The State of the Australia Public Service: An Alternate Report

LAUNCHING MONDAY | A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers

CPD is preparing to release a briefing paper which puts Australia's refugee and asylum seeker policies under the spotlight.

A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekrs will examine Australia's refugee and asylum seeker programs, past and present, within an international context – and outline options for real reform to break the current impasse which has slowed our nation's progress towards truly effective solutions.

This report promises practical alternatives for dealing with refugees and asylum seekers more fairly and cost-effectively, to shift this vexing public policy challenge from stalemate to success.

To stay up-to-date with commentary from the A New Approach authors in the lead up to the report's release, email: refugee.policy@cpd.org.au and be sure that you are signed up to our email list here.

"If Malcolm Fraser had decided that he wouldn't take Indo-Chinese refugees until he'd consulted opinion polls or focus groups, Australia would never have taken Indo-Chinese refugees. But Malcolm Fraser didn't take polls. He decided leadership was essential, it was something that Australia had to do, morally justified, and would be of benefit to this country if we did so."

- John Menadue, Former Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship

CPD MEDIA: Making ideas about refugees matter

John Menadue: Navigating the refugee fact free zone

John Menadue offers a roadmap for those seeking the facts amidst the the heated debate about refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. He wades through the misinformation, lies and unfonded opinions to get to what we need to know to start a useful conversation. Read more here.

John Menadue: Trampling on human rights is expensive

Asylum seekers continue to suffer because of poll driven policies and their fate remains an enormous political problem for Australia. John Menadue adds up how expensive trampling on human rights really is. They find that a new approach is not only urgently needed but that it but saves money too. Read more in our Budget InSight edition here.

John Menadue: Malaysia swap offers hope on 'toxic' debate

John Menadue, says the Malaysia refugee swap is needed to break a deadlock in a "toxic" asylum seeker debate and represents a way out of the "dreadfully dark" debate on asylum seekers. Read Kirsty Needham's article in The Sydney Morning Herald here.

John Menadue in conversation with BTalks Phil Dobbie: Our Dark Angels

In a recent talk at the St James Ethics Centre Menadue said "If Ben Chifley and Malcolm Fraser had appealed to our darker angels we would never have taken large numbers of Jewish and Indochinese refugees."

Phil Dobbie from BTalk asks Menadue isn't the debate today really about Islam? Why else would we concern ourselves with the small number of boat arrivals, predominantly refugees from the Middle East, and be less concerned about the larger number of asylum seekers who arrive by air, many of which come from China?

Menadue says our attitude on the issue seems to be a race to the bottom — and we are paying for it. The Nauru solution, for example, cost a billion dollars and deflected only 46 asylum seekers to other countries.

So why has the issue of asylum seekers become so divisive in Australian society and what can be done to appeal to our better angels?

LISTEN to John Menadue in conversation with BTalk's Phil Dobbie here.

David McLennan | Public Service 'Vulnerable'

The Australian public service is often taken for granted by both politicians and the public alike and the Coalition's plans to reduce it's number by 12,000 is just one example.

Our recent research released in The State of the Public Service: An Alternative Report queries many of the accepted perceptions of the public service and finds that rather than being the bloated inefficient bureaucracy it is sometimes depicted to be, Australians are overall satisfied with the job it's doing.

"Far from being "bloated", public service numbers are actually lagging behind when compared with population growth… public servants were vulnerable to attack because much of their work was taken for granted."

An article in The Canberra Times picks up our report's findings, read it here

Public Service in the News

Wiltshire libraries saved by more than 300 volunteers > "Mr Thomson, deputy leader at the conservative-led council, added: "The Big Society was going on in Wiltshire when Osborne and Cameron were still at Eton. It was here long before they came along. I don't think volunteers are on the cheap, they're giving their time and experience to the libraries."

We're pushing to budget surplus: Shorten > Talk of returning the budget to surplus turns to job losses in the public service sector. "I don't doubt that every day that is the guiding principle to push this government to make sure that we are able to achieve being in surplus by 2012/13."That contrasted "remarkably" with the opposition admitting it might have to find $70 billion in spending cuts to fund promises to axe Labor's planned mining and carbon taxes. The coalition is committed to cutting 12,000 public service jobs as part of its plan to return the budget to surplus. Mr Shorten said he did not believe there was a lot of fat in the public service to cut. "There's a lot of people doing a lot of hard work in the Commonwealth public sector," he said.

Minister in Big Society debate at The CLA Game Fair >  The Government's Big Society agenda was hotly debated at The CLA Game Fair, "countryside people have practised "Big Society" for hundreds of years and that it is important the Government's new initiative does not hinder the good work already going on."

Further information on what form Big Society is really taking on the ground out in the communities is being conducted by the Third Sector Research Centre. > With the government's "big society" policies laying great stress on the capacities and resources of communities, the Third Sector Research Centre is conducting some new analysis and establishing new data resources, to build a picture of how communities might fare under new policies. A consistent theme in the centre's work is the uneven capacity of communities. Their quantitative research has begun to show how these patterns relate to underlying social and economic conditions.