Centre for Policy Development's Blog, page 71
May 10, 2013
PromiseWatch 2013: Industrial relations
Published in partnership with Crikey, the PromiseWatch 2013 series captures snapshots of the major parties’ platforms in major policy areas.
The mild industrial relations promises laid down by Tony Abbott and Eric Abetz yesterday may have drawn a collective yawn from the gallery and old school IR warriors like Nick Minchin, Peter Reith and the Business Council, but there is little doubt workplace policy remains a key — perhaps the key — point of difference between the major parties.
Ironically, both sides don’t have much wriggle room when it comes to new policies and promises.
Labor is cleaving tight to the Fair Work Act — forged in the fury over WorkChoices six years ago, while the Coalition and Tony Abbott are locked into a “dead, buried, cremated” promise on WorkChoices famously signed on Neil Mitchell’s 3AW morning show in July 2010.
So where do the parties currently stand on IR? Check out the roundup on Crikey.
ABC’s The Drum | 22 April 2013
Miriam Lyons, panellistJulia Baird hosted a panel of CPD’s Miriam Lyons, Tim Wilson of the Institute of Public Affairs and Mike Seccombe from The Global Mail. The panel discussed budgetary policy, consideration the deficit, private health insurance subsidies. Child refugees at the Curtin Detention Centre and the bombings in Boston.
Nick Cater joined the panel as a guest at the end of the program to discuss his book The Lucky Culture.
May 7, 2013
PromiseWatch 2013: Indigenous affairs
Published in partnership with Crikey, the PromiseWatch 2013 series captures snapshots of the major parties’ platforms in major policy areas.
If there’s one issue that marks Australia out as an international pariah, it’s extreme indigenous disadvantage. While the mining boom burbles along as a boy wonder of the global market, images of Third World-style conditions in bush camps continue to put a lie to the “lucky country” narrative.
The indigenous population lags behind on nearly every major social indicator. Making up 2.5% of the Australian population, indigenous people are vastly over-represented when it comes to poverty, life expectancy, health problems, disability, psychological distress and unemployment, according to the ABS. There is just one indigenous MP, Ken Wyatt, currently serving in the House of Representatives and only three Aborigines have ever been elected to federal parliament.
The current government has committed itself to Closing the Gap, a national intergovernmental program meant to address the disadvantages that indigenous Australians face. Under this program, the state and federal administrations aim to:
close the gap in life expectancy (the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous life expectancy is 11.5 years in males and 9.7 years for females)
halve the gap in mortality rates for indigenous children under five by 2018
ensure access to early childhood education for all indigenous four year olds in remote communities by 2013
halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for children by 2018
halve the gap for indigenous students in Year 12 (or equivalent) attainment rates by 2020
halve the gap in employment outcomes between indigenous and other Australians by 2018
The government has sought to directly intervene in the most disadvantaged indigenous communities in the NT, reshaping the policies of John Howard and Mal Brough’s NT intervention through the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory bills. The legislation seeks to address alcohol abuse, land reform and food security. Under the oversight of the federal government, penalties for alcohol possession on Aboriginal land will be increased, failure for children to attend school will be discouraged through a decrease in welfare payments, X-rated material will be banned in certain areas and customary law considerations can be excluded in sentencing and bail decisions.
So what have the major parties promised on indigenous affairs?
Labor:
Labor reiterated its support for the Closing the Gap program in its 2011 national platform, and says it recognises the disadvantage that Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders face in their daily lives. Areas selected for specific attention include literacy, numeracy, employment, infant mortality, life expectancy and education. Labor aims to close the gap by:
overcoming decades of under-investment in services and infrastructure
establishing clear expectations for governments, and holding all governments to account for their progress
supporting personal responsibility as the foundation for healthy, strong families and communities
building strong, respectful and robust relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, so that we can work in partnership.
The platform commits the party to investment in healthcare for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders of every age, along with better access to education, employment and housing.
Labor is in favour of the official acknowledgement of indigenous people in the constitution. It has passed a bipartisan Act of Recognition through Parliament committing to some change, however no referendum will be held on the issue until community support reaches an adequate level.
The ALP has preselected former sprinter Nova Peris for a winnable NT Senate slot, a move Julia Gillard says was explicitly designed to increase the party’s paucity of indigenous representation.
The Coalition:
Under its 2010 election policy, the Coalition outlined nine key areas. In March, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott pledged that he would put indigenous affairs at the centre of government by establishing a “Prime Minister of Aboriginal Affairs”. The Indigenous Affairs portfolio would be relocated to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. In its “Our Plan” policy precis released in January, the Coalition said it would “encourage indigenous Australians to get ahead” by:
working with indigenous communities to bring in a new suite of purposeful and innovative strategies
eliminating red tape and streamline programmes to move away from the complex web of overlapping initiatives
directing funding away from bureaucracies and overlapping and competing programmes towards local communities and real action
working with families to ensure all indigenous children attend school every day
supporting the Australian Employment Covenant and its many supporting employers to create more opportunities for indigenous Australians to get ahead and actively engage more indigenous Australians in real jobs
providing $10 million to fund four trial sites to train 1000 indigenous people for guaranteed jobs, working with the Australian Employment Covenant and Generation One
ending training for training’s sake and implement employment or work for the dole programmes
Tony Abbott continuing to spend a week a year in a remote community, to gain a better understanding of people’s needs
The party has also said it would retain former ALP national secretary Tim Gartrell as head of the group campaigning for constitutional recognition. And Abbott said last year he wants “authentic” Aborigines in parliament to join Wyatt.
The Greens:
The Greens’ indigenous affairs policies emphasise the respect and deference owed to the First Australians. Like Labor and the Coalition, the party seeks to obtain constitutional recognition of the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in pre-1788 Australia. Furthermore, it aims to provide equal access to services such as health, education, training, housing, community infrastructure, employment support, and policing. Under their watch, the Greens will:
provide protection and respect for indigenous cultural rights
prioritise programmes to improve indigenous health
establish community initiatives to address issues of family violence, alcohol and substance abuse
incorporate indigenous culture and language into the education system
repeal the Stronger Futures legislation
establish effective heritage protection laws and protection bodies
ensure food security for indigenous populations in regional and remote areas.
PromiseWatch 2013: NBN and broadband policy
Published in partnership with Crikey, the PromiseWatch 2013 series captures snapshots of the major parties’ platforms in major policy areas.
Crikey is ploughing through its popular PromiseWatch series in conjunction with the Centre for Policy Development. Today, the national broadband network and internet policy …
The news yesterday that the Gillard government was pressing ahead with plans to connect 1.3 million extra homes to the NBN — taking the total number of premises “connected” or where construction will have “commenced” to over 4.8 million by 2016 — has overshadowed the continued political brawling over broadband, with the two major parties battling over competing visions of a connected future.
Minister Stephen Conroy has been caught up in torturous interviews about what phrases like “premises passed” actually mean, while opposite number Malcolm Turnbull has been actively trying to “destroy” Conroy’s logic on the policy, leading to testy exchanges on online forums, where he branded Conroy a “grub”.
In the background, News Limited has been agitating against the plan, with The Daily Telegraph splashing with vitriolic front pages and The Australian persisting with its “NBN Watch” series, that aims to shine a light on contractor balls-ups in the style of its previous Schools Watch and pink batts series but is yet to secure any major scalps.
Still, the NBN is a massive deal. Advertisements for sub-contractors to get on board recently popped up at Mumbai airport, of all places, and even assuming a Coalition victory on September 14, rose gardens and existing fibre-to-the-home won’t be ripped up.
Background:
The National Broadband Network is a Labor government initiative aimed at increasing Australia’s open access broadband capacity. The NBN aims to provide direct fibre-optic cable connection to 93% of individual premises (know as fibre to the premises, or FTTP) at speeds of up to one gigabit per second, with the remaining 7% of homes and businesses to be serviced by a combination of satellite and wireless services, at speeds of up to 12 megabits per second. The NBN aims to enable improved remote health services, teleconferencing, and rural schooling options through increased ability to transfer large amounts of data at high speeds.
The construction and implementation of the NBN has been delegated to the government-owned National Broadband Network Co Limited, with a budget of $43 billion to be used in the NBN rollout over the next eight years . Construction of the infrastructure necessary for the network began in 2009, with the establishment of the NBN Tasmania Limited and the rollout of broadband services in Tasmania. NBN Co Limited estimates that the project will be completed by 2021, with NBN access available to all Australians.
So where do the parties stand on broadband? Check out CPD’s research on Crikey
May 6, 2013
Australian Policy Online | May 2013
Australian Policy Online (APO) is a research database and alert service from Swinburne University, which provides free access to research reports, statistics and other resources. APO captured the latest landmark report from CPD research director Laura Eadie, noting that it is,
the first economic assessment of future electricity price shocks if fossil fuels continue to dominate. The report takes a close look at Australia’s electricity price security and singles out rising gas prices and more frequent droughts as key risks.
Access the APO listing for Going solar report
Sunshine Coast Daily and APN regional papers | 30 April 2013
New report by Laura Eadie is covered in the Sunshine Coast Daily, Gympie Times and Gladstone Observer
We’ve heard a lot lately about rising electricity prices. Going solar, the latest report from CPD’s Sustainable Economy team recommends policies to insure Australia’s electricity system against future price shocks.
Author of the article Daniel Burdon outlines the findings of the report for the impact solar options could have in reducing electricity prices for all consumers.
“Rooftop solar panels could help reduce power bills for all households, regardless of whether they install them or not…”
PromiseWatch 2013: Taxation
Published in partnership with Crikey, the PromiseWatch 2013 series captures snapshots of the major parties’ platforms in major policy areas.
There is perhaps no bigger core ideological issue for Australia’s political parties than taxation. If the Labor Party was founded to ensure a fairer redistribution of capitalism’s surplus and the Liberal Party as a check on that progressive tendency, then tax should by rights remain a key battleground.
Surprisingly for such a flaming hot issue, in recent decades the political struggle over tax appears to have dimmed. Last year’s budget papers showed Australia’s tax-to-GDP ratio is much lower than most OECD countries and as a proportion of GDP since Gough Whitlam tax was actually lower under the Labor governments of Bob Hawke (22.3%), Paul Keating (20.7%) and Kevin Rudd (21.45%) than under Liberal PM John Howard (22.3%).
Nevertheless, as part of the 2008-09 budget, the Rudd government announced an overhaul of the Australian tax system as business pressure for “simplification” increased. The Henry Review, known formally as “Australia’s Future Tax System“ was chaired by then Treasury Secretary (and wombat fan) Ken Henry. His report was released to the public in May 2010.
Henry was charged with making “recommendations to create a tax structure that will position Australia to deal with the demographic, social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century and enhance Australia’s economic and social outcomes”.
In total, Henry produced 138 recommendations, most of which were ignored by the Rudd and Julia Gillard governments. These recommendations stemmed from the first recommendation of the Henry Review itself — that tax revenue should be drawn from four efficient, broad-based taxes: personal income, business income, rents on natural resources and land, and private consumption (p. 80). Henry argued that all other taxes should be phased out, except taxes that address social and economic costs, such as tobacco, alcohol or environmental damage. Overall, the review argued for a simplification of the tax system.
While not a comprehensive list, some of the key changes included:
A reduction in company tax to 25%;
A higher personal tax free threshold of $25 000; and
Introduction of a resources rent tax.
So, three years after Henry, where do the parties stand on tax? Check out CPD’s research on Crikey
May 5, 2013
The Conversation | 2 May 2013
Laura Eadie’s article in The Conversation addresses common concerns and outlines the new report.
The latest report from CPD’s Sustainable Economy team recommends policies to insure Australia’s electricity system against future price shocks. Australia has just reached one million solar homes, with two million likely before 2020. The report takes an open-minded look at the economics of rooftop solar, finding that all Australians can benefit from high levels of rooftop solar.
“Rooftop solar will play a key role in Australia’s transition to a clean, affordable and reliable electricity system. The public debate needs to consider the risks of not embracing this shift.”
Download Going solar: renewing Australia’s electricity options
Read the full article “Rooftop solar reduces the risk of price hikes … for everyone”
May 3, 2013
Economics Q&A | Sydney, 6 May
The event will be in the style of the ABC’s Q&A television program – but with economics-related questions and panellists.
The audience will have the chance to ask our expert panel questions as they debate the upcoming budget and the economic issues of the day. The panel will be moderated by Peter Martin, national economics correspondent for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times.
Date: Monday 6th May
Time: 5:30pm for a 6:00pm start.
Venue: Sydney University New Law School building
Following the event, food and drinks will be served.
To book a place, or submit a question, please send an e-mail to ecosocnsw@ecosoc.org.au Places are limited.
The panel includes:
Bill Evans is the Chief Economist at Westpac. Bill is a graduate from the University of Sydney and the London School of Economics. He has worked as a Research Manager for the Reserve Bank of Australia and as Treasurer at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Jessica Irvine is the National Economics Editor of News Limited’s metropolitan daily newspapers. Before that she was economics writer for The Sydney Morning Herald, including a two-year stint in the federal Press Gallery in Canberra. She also authored “Zombies, bananas and why there are no economists in heaven: The economics of real life”.
Stephen Kirchner is a research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies. Previously he was a Senior Lecturer at the School of Finance and Economics, University of Technology, Sydney. His areas of expertise include monetary and fiscal policy, financial markets, trade and investment and public choice.
Miriam Lyons is the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Development. Formerly the Policy Coordinator of New Matilda, Miriam has a long history of bringing policy ideas to new audiences, as the founding director of the Interface Festival of Ideas in Sydney, and director of the Ideas Program for the Straight Out of Brisbane Festival.
Prof Colm Harmon is the Head of the School of Economics at the University of Sydney. His main research interests are the economics of education, labour economics and applied economics policy. He has held visiting appointments at Princeton University, University of Chicago and UCL.
PromiseWatch 2013: the Houston panel
Published in partnership with Crikey, the PromiseWatch 2013 series captures snapshots of the major parties’ platforms in major policy areas
Refugee policy and the plight of asylum seekers continues to inflame passions on both sides of politics, nearly 12 years after the Tampa incident. The drama continued unabated this week, after Four Corners exposed sub-optimal conditions on the Papua New Guinean outpost of Manus Island and cost blowouts and cramped lodgings on Nauru.
The arrival two weeks ago at the West Australian port of Geraldton of 66 Sri Lankan asylum seekers shone a spotlight on ethnic Tamils who continue to be “screened out” and flown home before their application for asylum can be lodged. This week 42 Sri Lankans were flown from Christmas Island to Colombo, taking the total number returned since last August’s Houston report to 1071, 862 of which have been involuntary.
Following the Rudd government’s decision to ditch John Howard’s Pacific Solution, the Labor government has copped a sustained broadside over its response to what immigration bureaucrats refer to as Irregular Maritime Arrivals (IMAs).
The government commissioned a report, led by former defence force chief Angus Houston, to address the issue and mollify critics. Released last August, it made 22 recommendations for Australian Irregular Immigration policy, including a “no advantage” principle meant to deter asylum seekers from getting on boats in the first place. This doesn’t appear to have worked. As Four Corners noted, since the recommencement of offshore processing, a total of 15,543 people have arrived on 259 boats.
The Houston panel set out a plan that seeks to prevent asylum seekers risking their lives on dangerous boat journeys to Australia. It called for government policy to be “hard headed but not hard hearted” — the full Houston report can be read here. Key points included:
An increase in Australia’s humanitarian program to 20,000 from 13,000 places per annum;
Continuing bilateral communication with Indonesia so as to improve cooperation on “joint surveillance and response patrols, law enforcement and search and rescue coordination”;
Strengthening ties with Malaysia and pursuing amendments to the arrangement negotiated in 2011;
Re-establishing detention facilities in Nauru and PNG;
Prevent IMAs from applying for family reunion visas, so as to discourage participation in irregular migration.
The reopening of old offshore detention facilities was the government’s response to the increase in requests for asylum over the past 10 years. After reaching a low point in 2004 at 3208 requests, the numbers rose to 11,491 in the calendar year 2010-11. In comparison to other industrialised countries, Australia’s intake has been quite low. Despite having less than half the population of Australia, Sweden received 31,819 applications for asylum in 2010, a number more than double Australia’s 12,673 applications.
The estimated cost of implementing the report’s recommendations will be several billion dollars, to be divided thusly:
Increase in the humanitarian program visas — $1.4 billion
Increase in the family migration visas — $0.8 billion
Nauru processing facility — $1.2 billion – 1.4 billion
PNG processing facility — $0.9 billion
Implementation of Malaysia Agreement — $80 million
The overall stated aim of the Houston report was to prevent further loss of life at sea by asylum seekers. To this end, the panel has recommended “strategies need[ed] to shift the balance of Australian policies and regional arrangements to give greater hope and confidence to asylum seekers that regional arrangements will work more effectively, and to discourage more actively the use of irregular maritime voyages”.
So where do the parties officially stand on immigration and asylum? Check out CPD’s research on Crikey.com.au and compare the rhetoric to the real data on refugeefacts.cpd.org.au
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