Centre for Policy Development's Blog, page 85
June 26, 2012
Preserving our marine wealth
The report, by CPD Fellow Caroline Hoisington and Research Director Laura Edie, looks at the proven benefits of marine parks for fish stocks (and therefore for the fishing industry), and estimates the value of ecosystem services provided by areas to be covered by the new marine parks. It also puts the modest and short-term economic impacts of the new marine reserves on the fishing industry in context, noting the need to avoid the flaws in the Great Barrier Reef compensation package, and looking at the advantages of designing compensation to support the long-term profitability of commercial fishers in Australia.
DOWNLOAD the report here
Download our media release here
Change can happen faster than you think – help us seize the moment and point to the alternatives. Add your voice to ours!
Preserving our marine wealth | CPD Occasional Paper #OP19
The report looks at the proven benefits of marine parks for fish stocks (and therefore for the fishing industry), and estimates the value of ecosystem services provided by areas to be covered by the new marine parks. It also puts the modest and short-term economic impacts of the new marine reserves on the fishing industry in context, noting the need to avoid the flaws in the Great Barrier Reef compensation package, and looking at the advantages of designing compensation to support the long-term profitability of commercial fishers in Australia.
DOWNLOAD the report here
Download our media release here
Change can happen faster than you think – help us seize the moment and point to the alternatives. Add your voice to ours!
June 25, 2012
ABC Radio National Late Night Live | James Whelan and Kevin Andrews
CPD public service program Research Director Dr James Whelan was interviewed by Philip Adams about his report, Big Society and Australia, while Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services commented on opposition plans for Australian public services. The debate was lively and masterfully ‘refereed’ by the Late Night Live host.
Two years ago, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced the aims of his ‘Big Society’ program would include empowering communities, by encouraging a diversity of service providers and fostering volunteerism and mutualism. However, critics of ‘Big Society’, like the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams have denounced them as ‘aspirational waffle’. But what’s been the impact of these “Big Society” programs, and are we likely to see the same here, given that the Coalition’s policies sound very similar to those of David Cameron?
Hear the full discussion on Late Night Live here
Access the Big Society and Australia report and background information here
PS News | Big Society is big trouble for PS
PS News, “independent news for the Australian public service” has picked up news of the CPD Big Society and Australia report by Dr James Whelan.
The article emphasises the threat of ‘alarming parallels’ between David Cameron’s policy agenda which has had such drastic consequences in the UK, and emergent policy trends in Australia.
Read the CPD report and more background here
Access Big Society and Australia page in CPD Public Service program pages here Access article on PS News here
June 24, 2012
Dr James Whelan | Online Opinion 22 June 2012
James Whelan was invited by Online Opinion to contribute a piece in response to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services Kevin Andrews’s ‘landmark speeches’ on 8 and 15 June respectively. Whelan notes that both speeches, ”celebrate the ‘little platoons’ or community groups and volunteers that comprise civil or ‘associative’ society.” He also hits a note of caution that while such ‘small government’ rhetoric is couched in terms of principles few people would dispute, those policies have had markedly different outcomes when implemented in the UK. Increased volunteerism and community activism are appealing notions, but the reality under David Cameron’s government has been substantial withdrawal of funding to public services, themselves an important source of support for those activities…
Access the full article on Online Opinion here
June 18, 2012
Big Society and Australia | Brisbane Times letters page
CPD public service program Research Director Dr James Whelan’s report on the Big Society and Australia has sparked an informed debate in the Australian press – just as we hoped it would! Janice Creenaune of Austinmer wrote a strident letter to the Brisbane Times with a highly critical letter accusing the report of disingenuity. Let’s hope there will be more responses to follow…
Access the Brisbane Times letters page here (third letter down), and access the article by James Whelan which sparked the comments here
Read the full Big Society and Australia report and background here
June 14, 2012
IPAA 2012 International Congress | 18-20 September
The Institute of Public Administration Australia’s 2012 International Congress will be held in Melbourne, Australia, bringing together more than 1,000 administrators in one of the largest gatherings of public administrators ever held in Australia. Already the ideas and speakers on the program are impressive. Full details available here.
Speaker highlights include:
DR SHASHI THAROOR is a former UN Under-Secretary-General and Indian Minister of State for External Affairs. India’s central and state government employ 10 million public administrators, serving a population of 1.2 billion people. Dr Tharoor will examine the challenges of administering in both a super-state and in the international arena.
DANIEL BELL is Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy and Director of the Centre for International and Comparative Political Philosophy at Tsinghua Univeristy in Beijing. The author of China’s New Confucianism (Princeton University Press, rev. ed. 2010), he will discuss trends in political reform in China and their normative challenges to ‘Western’ ways of political thinking.
TERRY MORAN was, until very recently, Australia’s most senior public administrator. As Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, he chaired the Advisory Group on the Reform of Australian Government Administration which developed a comprehensive blueprint for reform of the Australian Public Service.
BILL EGGERS literally wrote the book on Gov 2.0 in the US. He is also the author of If We Can Put a Man on the Moon… Getting Big Things Done in Government and is one of the United States’ best known authorities on government reform. He is currently the executive director of Deloitte’s Public Leadership Institute and is responsible for research and thought leadership for Deloitte’s Public Sector practice. See his latest thinking @wdeggers
PETER SHERGOLD is Macquarie Group Foundation Professor at the Centre for Social Impact and is the new head of the New South Wales Public Service Commission. From 2003 to 2008, he was Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Find more speakers here and program highlights here.
SPECIAL OFFER: Register by 25 January 2012 to go into a draw to win an iPad2 PLUS GET a huge Early Bird Discount!
MORE INFO & REGISTER for IPAA2012
Proudly supported by the Centre for Policy Development’s Public Service Research Program.
The CPD Public Service Program aims to develop a robust knowledge base about the state of the public service: its funding and capacity; performance in delivering community services; and attitudes toward and expectations of the Australian Public Service. Click here to read more.
Find more ideas and publications on the Australian Public Service in one of our major research programs here.
[image error] Help us counter evidence-free attempts to downsize and privatise our public sector – Become an Ideas Sustainer.
June 13, 2012
What did 15,000 public servants ever do for us, right? Wrong | SMH Opinion, 14 June 2012
CPD Research Director Dr James Whelan penned an opinion piece at the invitation of Sydney Morning Herald opinion editor Joel Gibson. The piece considers our research report on Big Society and Australia, in light of Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott’s speech on 8th June to the Pratt Foundation, and the NSW budget as announced this week by Treasurer Mike Baird.
Workforce Planning for the Public Sector 2012 | 28-30 August 2012
CPD public service program Research Director James Whelan will speak on Day 1 at 11am, on the topic of, “Workforce Planning in the Big Society: How the UK Government is Dismantling the State and What it Means for Australia”
The conference and workshops focus on three key areas:
A. How do you cope with the urgent need for strategic workforce planning to ensure you have the right people in the right jobs BUT then balance this with reduced budgets & reduced employees?
B. How do you maintain morale during the inevitable austerity drives and how do you manage the negative flow on effects this generates?
C. How do you create a culture of innovation & satisfaction to attract and retain top talent in government positions and what are the proven methods to stop these people moving into the private sector?
June 12, 2012
Australian Policy Online | Big Society and Australia
Australian Policy Online has published an article about the the Centre for Policy Development’s new report, “Big Society and Australia“. The report presents a comprehensive analysis of the UK’s ‘Big Society’ policies and programs and examines their potential impact if adopted and implemented in Australia.
The article summarises the Big Society changes made since David Cameron’s election as British Prime Minister. These include an £81 billion cut in public spending over four years, reducing the UK’s public service by up to 710,000 public servants over six years, a £5 billion funding cut to the UK’s community sector and funding cuts of £110 million to 2,000 UK charities.
Read the complete Australian Policy Online article here.
[image error] Change can happen faster than you think – help us seize the moment and point to the alternatives.
Centre for Policy Development's Blog
- Centre for Policy Development's profile
- 1 follower
