Centre for Policy Development's Blog, page 68
June 18, 2013
Weekend Today | 16 June 2013
CPD fellow Chris Bonnor talks education and personalised learning
The Australian education system currently has a general curriculum that attempts to suit most students. However many students do not respond well to this ‘one size fits all’ method and could potentially perform better with more personalised learning. Research indicates that with personalised learning students’ attendance increases, they pay more attention and are better engaged in the learning experience.
“There’s been a lot of talk about Gonski education funds and how they’ll stop thousands of Australian children falling behind at school. But one man believes a bike could be the simplest solution. Chris Bonnor is from Big Picture Schools and the Centre for Policy Development”
Transport Development & Solutions Alliance | Brisbane, 25-26 July
TDSA’s biennial conference: NFPs – Survive or PerishWhat’s Driving Your Future?
The not-for profit (NFP) sector is a major part of a healthy society along with the public and private sectors. TDSA’s focus on Driving Governance in 2013 seeks to stimulate its membership, readership and conference attendees to gain more knowledge and skills to be better able to drive their future rather than being driven.
Christopher Stone, CPD’s Public service research director, will deliver: Keynote #2, “Policy context for the third sector – Future direction”
Transport Development & Solutions Alliance (TDSA) is a Queensland statewide, non-profit, community-based organisation committed to supporting and facilitating a collaborative response to improved transport, access and mobility. TDSA’s biennial conferences aim to inform and shape policy development and decision making in Queensland at local, regional and state program and government levels.
WHERE
Robertson Gardens Conference Centre, Comfort Inn, 281 Kessels Road, Nathan, Qld, 4111
WHEN
7:30am 25 July
INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION
http://www.tdsa.org.au/conferences/nfps-survive-or-perish-whats-driving-your-future
COST
Full registration rates: TDSA Member - $390.00; Non-Member - $490.00
Day only rates (per day): TDSA Member - $250.00; Non-Member - $300.00
June 17, 2013
Northside Forum | Sydney, 6 July
Election 2013 – hung out to dry?
Sydney discussion addressing key factors in election 2013 features CPD fellow Eva Cox and CPD research director Christopher Stone. A convivial and constructive way to enjoy Saturday lunch!
WHERE
The Union Hotel, 271 Pacific Hwy, North Sydney [Upstairs Function Room]
WHEN
Saturday 6 July, 12 – 2pm
CONTACT
Keith 0407 287 329 or Colin 0411 578 178
ADMISSION: FREE!
SPEAKERS
Professor Frank Stillwell (PhD)
Professor Emeritus in Political Economy at the University of Sydney.
Principle Editor of The Journal of Australian Political Economy. Author of 11 books including Changing Track: A New Political Economic Direction for Australia & Who Gets What?: Analysing Economic Inequality in Australia.
Eva Cox AO
Sociologist, feminist, social commentator & activist. Awarded the Order of Australia in 1995 for her services to Women’s welfare.
Author of titles such as A Better Society: Ingredients for Social Sustainability & Australia: Making the Lucky Country.
Christopher Stone
Research Director of the Public service research program at the Centre for Policy Development. Academic qualifications in Law, Philosophy & Psychology.
Author of the Decoding Efficiency & Doing less with less reports which examine efficiency in the public sector.
Institute of Public Administration Australia | Melbourne, 25-26 June
IPAA Victoria State Summit: ‘The business of public administration & implementing change’WHEN
25–26 June 2013
WHERE
Melbourne Park Function Centre, Olympic Boulevard, Melbourne Victoria 3000
CONTACT/TICKETS
http://www.ipaavicsummit.org.au/
The business of public administration is to deliver the services that the private sector can’t or won’t deliver to the community. But there is still much that the public sector can learn from the skills and experience of the business sector. This includes understanding that the needs and demands of customers, and the users of government services, are constantly changing. This Summit will look at how public administrators can draw on this private sector understanding, as we meet the unique obligations of the public sector.
IPAA will present the inaugural State Summit on 25th -26th June 2013. This much anticipated 2-day event is for mid level to senior public administrators from across Local, State and Commonwealth departments and agencies together with representation from organisations who work with the public sector.
‘Views from the outside: What do we need to change about the public service?‘
CPD will contribute to this panel session on the morning of 25 June, which has the subtitle, ‘Big thinkers, each with a unique view on how public administration performs, offer their prescriptions for a better public service.’
PANEL SPEAKERS
Tim Piper, Director – Victoria, Australian Industry Group
Christopher Stone, Research Director, Centre for Policy Development
Carolyn Atkins, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Council of Social Service
Institute of Public Administration | Melbourne, 25-26 June
IPAA Victoria State Summit: ‘The business of public administration & implementing change’WHEN
25–26 June 2013
WHERE
Melbourne Park Function Centre, Olympic Boulevard, Melbourne Victoria 3000
CONTACT/TICKETS
http://www.ipaavicsummit.org.au/
The business of public administration is to deliver the services that the private sector can’t or won’t deliver to the community. But there is still much that the public sector can learn from the skills and experience of the business sector. This includes understanding that the needs and demands of customers, and the users of government services, are constantly changing. This Summit will look at how public administrators can draw on this private sector understanding, as we meet the unique obligations of the public sector.
IPAA will present the inaugural State Summit on 25th -26th June 2013. This much anticipated 2-day event is for mid level to senior public administrators from across Local, State and Commonwealth departments and agencies together with representation from organisations who work with the public sector.
‘Views from the outside: What do we need to change about the public service?‘
CPD will contribute to this panel session on the morning of 25 June, which has the subtitle, ‘Big thinkers, each with a unique view on how public administration performs, offer their prescriptions for a better public service.’
PANEL SPEAKERS
Tim Piper, Director – Victoria, Australian Industry Group
Christopher Stone, Research Director, Centre for Policy Development
Carolyn Atkins, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Council of Social Service
Crikey | 11 June 2013
Asylum seeker policies that utilise scare tactics will not work.Both major parties want to tighten up the refugee determination process and stop the boats, CPD’s John Menadue and Arja Keski-Nummi ask, ‘where is the voice for decency?’.
Tony Abbott insists he will ‘stop the boats’. CPD fellows and former senior DIAC officials, John and Arja contend that this is simply a slogan and an empty promise that capitalises on people’s fear. The policies the Coalition proposes to achieve this are ones which have failed before, or in the case of ‘turning back the boats’, been criticised by the Indonesian government and the Australian navy as unworkable. The ALP’s current policies, which promise stricter refugee determination and mandatory detention, are no better.
“… the numbers of asylum seekers coming to Australia by both air and sea are very small in world terms. Our “problem” is overwhelmingly a political one, with politicians on both sides appealing to our darker angels of fear.”
The planned refugee program increase to 20,000 indicated that some ‘reasonable thought seemed to be going on’, but if this agreement is rescinded, we go back to asking, ‘where is the voice for decency?’.
June 16, 2013
The Wire | 13 June 2013
A comparison of immigration policies…While both major parties pursue populist policies, whether either set will work is questionable.
CPD fellow Arja Keski-Nummi discusses the details and compares the party policies on immigration, with asylum seekers a major issue this election.
Bill Walter asks about regional cooperation where Arja points out that a regional solution is the only way to effectively address regional problems, and that Australia cannot do it working in isolation. There is also a risk that current government volatility will hurt our chances of cooperation with neighbouring countries.
Listen to the story at The Wire‘s page on the 2SER website
Help us fill public debates about refugees and asylum seekers with good ideas; not more fear and misinformation –
Become an Ideas Sustainer.
The Canberra Times | 31 May 2013
Politicians aren’t doing enough for climate change. Is it up to our business leaders?Current policies and climate targets will not be sufficient to avoid detrimental effects due to global warming. CPD fellow Ian Dunlop argues that senior business leaders are the ones to show us the way. They are acknowledging the need for action as climate change will hit businesses hard and Australia’s current policies leave our future looking bleak.
“The chairmen and chief executives of Australia’s major companies must stop hiding behind self-interested industry associations that seek to maintain the status quo at the cost of our future, and add to this momentum by showing real leadership, committing to and advocating emergency action.”
Read Ian’s article at The Canberra Times
Short-term thinking cannot address Australia’s long-term dilemmas – Help us look further ahead!
New Matilda | 12 June 2013
The three lies Labor should attack…
In this excellent article, CPD fellow Ian McAuley identifies and unravels statistical conceits, and straightforward deceits underlying three major planks of the Coalition’s policy offering.
The Liberal Party’s three main slogans – boats, debt, and the carbon price – are all based on outright falsehoods. Why hasn’t Julia Gillard been tackling Tony Abbott’s lies, asks Ian McAuley.
New Matilda | 28 May 2013
A skilled Australia needs higher education and vocational trainingThe majority of working Australians rely on more than a school education, so why is this not a focus?
CPD research director Christopher Stone addresses the fact that political leaders place little emphasis on higher education and vocational training when talking about employment. Tony Abbott and Wayne Swan may talk about a skilled workforce, but neither are proposing plans to achieve it. While Gonski reforms and school education are important, statistics indicate that people with only a school education find it much harder to get a job
“The 2011 census data shows that of the 10 million Australians in paid employment, 5.9 million had non-school qualifications (degrees, diplomas, or certificates) as their highest level of education. The majority of the workforce did not rely solely on their school education to obtain a job. This inference is borne out when examining the figures for those looking for work. Of the 600,000 people who were unemployed and looking for work, only 246,000 had non-school qualifications. This is a much lower proportion (41 per cent) than amongst the employed (59 per cent), indicating that those with only school education have a harder time finding work.”
The benefits of a skilled nation are countless and will be what keeps Australia in the economic race.
Read Chris’s article at New Matilda
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