Centre for Policy Development's Blog, page 82
August 26, 2012
Miriam Lyons: Living with the Carbon Tax | Sydney Institute, 3 July 2012
CPD Executive Director Miriam Lyons addressed a crowded room on the controversial topic of living with the carbon tax. Presenting a contrary view of the same topic was Herald Sun business commentator Terry McCrann. The seminar was filmed for broadcast on a-pac TV (channel 684 on Foxtel).
Miriam’s paper will be published on The Sydney Institute’s website in the coming weeks. Watch for a link from the Sydney Institute website: http://www.thesydneyinstitute.com.au/speaker/miriam-lyons/
August 22, 2012
Green Capital Partners, 13 Sept, Sydney | Where to now for a green economy?
So is a green economy on the agenda?
Is there a new formula for creating green jobs and attracting clean tech innovation and investment?
Or has a decade of battling over carbon pricing exhausted the political appetite for green economic reforms?
For our next event Green Capital is asking: Where to now for a Green Economy in Australia? with opening remarks by NSW Treasurer Mike Baird and a special panel featuring the NSW Government’s leaders on sustainability, the NSW Minister for Environment and Heritage Robyn Parker and Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy Rob Stokes MP.
Parker and Stokes will be joined on the panel by CPD Executive Director Miriam Lyons and NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Professor Mary O’Kane. The panel will be followed by a keynote address from GE’s Director of ecomagination Ben Waters. This event is designed to enlighten its audience about what government, business and NGOs can do to keep the momentum going towards sustainability, and how this could affect your business.
Find out more and register for the Green Economy event , here
August 20, 2012
Lenore Taylor | Sydney Morning Herald, 18 August 2012
SMH National Affairs Correspondent interviews Big Society ‘architect’ Blond, drawing on CPD research
Lenore Taylor’s interview with Phillip Blond investigated the failings of David Cameron’s implementation of his Big Society ideas in the UK, combined as it was with “uninnovative” public sector cuts and possible implications for Australia.
Phillip Blond, director of British think tank ResPublica, says his ideas for a ”Big Society” can deliver big savings through a much smaller bureaucracy, while improving rather than taking away services… And for the Coalition, that’s like a magic formula that can help its budget add up without the political risk. Which might explain why Blond appears to have the ear of the Coalition.
Access full article: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politic...
VCOSS | More questions than answers on the Big Society
Phillip Blond’s appearance on ABC TV’s Questions and Answers last week stimulated a great deal of discussion both on and off screen. Blond’s assertions about the Big Society and its applicability to Australia were challenged across the Q&A panel, which included international ethicist Peter Singer and Australian Council of Social Service CEO Cassandra Goldie.
VCOSS published a brief article on its website explaining some of the ideas behind the policy framework, the reality of its implementation in Great Britain and its implications for Australia, referencing a number of useful sources including the CPD Big Society and Australia report published in May.
The program threw up some interesting discussion about how best to meet the needs of vulnerable people – and you can watch it online or read the transcript here – but some of the deeper questions about this significant social policy framework remain unanswered.
Phillip Blond talked about what drove him to first articulate the ideas behind the ‘Big Society’: ‘My politics about what the ‘big society’ is about is restoring our society, ending social isolation and recapitalising the poor and, indeed, recapitalising the middle class and creating an economy that works for everybody and a society where people aren’t abandoned and left alone.’
These are noble intentions and point to a central truth in most public policy debates – generally everyone wants what is best for societies and communities. The differences lie in their interpretations around how to do that.
August 14, 2012
Arja Keski-Nummi | ABC RN Drive
CPD Fellow joins Jenny McGregor in conversation with Waleed Aly
CPD Fellow Arja Keski-Nummi was interviewed on ABC RN Drive, alongside AsiaLink CEO Jenny McGregor.
Arja expressed her regret at the report published yesterday by the government’s ‘Expert Panel’, wit the result that today the Federal Government is seeking Parliamentary approval for offshore processing centres on Nauru and Manus Island as part of its asylum seeker policy. According to the programme, “key questions remain” on the likely length of detention for new refugees, as well as, “what the debate is doing to our relationships with Australia’s neighbours.”
Christopher Stone | ABC Radio National, 29 July 2012
CPD Researcher Chris Stone joins Julie Novak (IPA) and Stephen Bartos (ACIL Tasman)
Around 38,000 jobs have been culled from state and federal public service over the past few years and a further 24,000 positions may follow.
Yet while job cuts in the manufacturing industry cause widespread disapproval, those in the public service tend to inspire approval instead of outrage.
Our panel discussed why job losses in the public sector do not resonate with the community to the same extent, and how they compare to previous cuts.
Download recording: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/panel/4161764
August 13, 2012
Caroline Hoisington | The Mercury, 14 August 2012
CPD Fellow observes resistance from many Tasmanian sides, to incursion on fish stocks by super trawler Margiris
Hundreds of boats representing a range of interest groups joined a protest in Hobart last weekend against the planned arrival of the freezer factory ship – the largest to fish in Australian waters.
Local fishers, some commercial fishermen and 14 environment groups have united in opposing this activity…
It’s not surprising that opposition to the Margiris is bringing together people who often find themselves on opposite sides of fisheries management debates — it’s hard to imagine how trawling out low-value fish that are feed for high-value fish such as tuna could ever make sense.
Access the article online here: http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2012/08/14/353481_opinion.html
August 12, 2012
Menadue & Keski-Nummi | The Age, 13 August 2012
CPD Fellows propose a way forward as the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers reports today
John Menadue and Arja Keski-Nummi offer six action points to shape policy that recognises Australia’s obligation to create a strong system of protection for asylum-seekers and displaced people in the region.
We should not let this breakthrough pass us by. It would be another missed opportunity to make a difference to the lives of thousands…. So, what should Australia do?
Read the full article at http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/
July 30, 2012
Nature Conservation Council | Seeking media & communications officer
NCC of NSW is recruiting a dynamic and experienced candidate to coordinate and deliver its media and communication workFind job spec and details on NCC website http://www.nccnsw.org.au/content/media-communications-officer
Apply to ncc@nccnsw.org.au by 5.00pm, Monday 20 August 2012
July 29, 2012
Malcolm Fraser | Submission to Expert Panel on Asylum and Refugees
Malcolm Fraser (2008), photo copyright HREOC
Former PM urges “generosity and effective diplomacy”
This document was received from the office of the former Liberal Prime Minister, following our publication of the submission by CPD Fellows John Menadue and Arja Keski-Nummi.
The submission points out that recent debates on asylum and refugee policy have, “revolved around two approaches that are not going to work”: Offshore processing in Nauru and Malaysia.
Protecting asylum seekers seems to have been lost from the current debate and it’s time to restore this protection as integral to our approach to asylum seekers.
Download Malcolm Fraser’s submission here.
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