Centre for Policy Development's Blog, page 90

John Menadue | The Truth About Airborne Asylum Seekers

CPD founder and Board Director John Menadue condemns the Opposition's current stance on asylum seekers. Either using one-liners or  simply recycling failed policy plans of the past, such as Nauru, is not a credible refugee policy solution. Menadue states that the Howard government's Nauru 'solution' cost $1 billion over 5 years, and didn't actually stem the flow of asylum seekers coming to Australia, but rather shifted them from boats to air.

The Coalition has said that 'the more boats that come the better'. This cynicism has been reflected in two recent statements by Scott Morrison. The first was to criticise the meagre Government support for vulnerable asylum seekers in the community and second, by suggesting that asylum seekers were bringing infectious diseases to Australia. Surely we are a better country than this.

Read the full article in Eureka Street here

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Help us fill public debates about refugees and asylum seekers with good ideas not more fear and misinformation – Become an Ideas Sustainer.

ACOSS National Conference 2012 | 29-30 March 2012

When - 29 – 30 March 2012

Where - Australian Technology Park, Locomotive St, Eveleigh (Redfern), Sydney

As part of the ACOSS National Conference "Sharing the wealth of the lucky country", there will be a session titled  "Poverty and Inequality: How to protect a social safety net in an age of uncertainty" which will be touching on issues related to the Public Service research that CPD is conducting – looking at international approaches to social security and other welfare expenditure in the current age of economic uncertainty and looking at the possibilities fo using human rights and other strategies to address some of these challenges.

These issues will also be touched on in a number of other sessions including 'Low Income Households and rising living expenses' and  'Where will unemployed people find work'.

Further details and a full program are also available on the ACOSS website here

[image error] Change can happen faster than you think – help us seize the moment and point to the alternatives. Add your voice to ours!

 

Dr Gunter Pauli | Progress on The Blue Economy, New Economics and Learning for Sustainability, 3 April 2012

CPD and Sydney Ideas co-present Dr Gunter Pauli at the law school foyer Sydney Uni.  April 3rd, 6pm to 7.30pm (time TBC) -this is a free event and open to all, entry will be on a first come first served basis.

Gunter Pauli founded the "Zero Emissions Research and Initiative" (ZERI) at the United Nations University in Tokyo. He subsequently established The Global ZERI Network, redesigning production and consumption into clusters of industries inspired by natural systems, based on open source research and experimentation with a worldwide team of eminent scientists and design thinkers.

The culmination is "The Blue Economy", published as a Report to The Club of Rome in 2010, now published in 35 languages. It is a new way of designing business: using the resources available in cascading systems, where the waste of one product becomes the input to create a new cash flow – jobs are created, social capital is built and income rises – while the environment that provides the basis for our lives is no longer strained and polluted. Thus, we can evolve from an economy where the good is expensive, and the bad is cheap, to a system where the good and innovative is affordable.

Gunter will outline progress with these initiatives around the world since his last visit in 2011, which featured his talk on The Blue Economy: 10 Years, 100 Innovations, 100 Million Jobs, and explore their relevance for Australia.

 

Gunter Pauli was born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1956. He graduated in Economics from the University of Antwerp and obtained an MBA from INSEAD. His entrepreneurial activities span business, culture, science, politics and the environment.

He has founded and managed many companies that focus on delivering environmentally friendly services and products, including PPA Holding, the European Service Industries Forum (ESIF) and Ecover. He has been visiting lecturer and professor at universities around the world, and a board member of NGOs and private companies in Asia, USA and Latin America.

Since 2009 he has taken responsibility for the design of an economic development concept based on GNH (Gross National Happiness) principles and values as part of his advisory role in designing an economic development strategy for Bhutan.

He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences (San Francisco, USA), a Member of the Club of Budapest (Hungary) and of the Club of Rome. Gunter has published 19 books and 36 fables bringing science and emotions to children. Fluent in seven languages and having resided on 4 continents, he is a world citizen.

 "Let us not demand more of the Earth. Let us do more with what the earth provides"

Means Test Selective Parents

There is a serious equity issue in our schooling system, and its not just the public vs private debate, but within the public school system itself. Citing CPD fellow Chris Bonnor, SMH's Rachel Browne discusses the ways in which selective streaming in our public schools has created an apartheid, furthering the difference between the haves and have-nots. With students from affluent backgrounds being over-represented in selective schools compared to those from disadvantaged backgrounds, there are calls for wealthy families in selective schools to make an extra financial contribution through a means-tested levy.

Following on from the recently released Gonski report, there is a broad spectrum of advice stating that selective schooling is simply multiplying the already stark social disadvantage in our education system.

It's clearly an equity issue. Children from less fortunate backgrounds, while they may be just as intelligent as children from more affluent homes, struggle to compete right from the word go.

Read the full article in SMH here

Ian McAuley | A Smarter Way to Police Pokies

Politicians and voters both say they hate poker machines but reforms are moving slowly. Is there a better way? Ian McAuley explains in New Matlida how the distribution of GST revenue to the states could provide incentives to rein in gambling.

Were it not for the combination of cowardice from Labor politicians, and bloody-mindedness from Coalition politicians, we would now have implemented the Productivity Commission reforms of bet limits and mandatory pre-commitment. We wouldn't be proposing yet another trial. The ACT trial is almost doomed to fail because Queanbeyan in NSW is a lot closer to Canberra than Ceduna in South Austrlalia is to Perth, and because Canberra's demographics are not typical of the outer suburbs of other capitals where problem gamblers live.

Read the full article in New Matilda here.

Post Carbon Pathways: A Critical Overview of Post Carbon Economy Transition Plans | 15 March 2012

Date:   Thursday 15 March, 2012

Time: 5.30pm-7.00pm

Venue: Woodward Conference Centre, Level 10, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton

The Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute at The University of Melbourne and the Centre for Policy Development are delighted to invite you to the launch of a new report; Post Carbon Pathways: A Critical Overview of Post Carbon Economy Transition Plans

The Post Carbon Pathways report presents a concise overview of the key goals and priorities of eighteen of the world's most ambitious and innovative large-scale post carbon economy transition plans and strategies, from both government and non-government sources.

This launch event will feature short presentations and reflections on key lessons of the Post Carbon Pathways report from:

-      Prof Craig Pearson, Director, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute

-      Miriam Lyons, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Development

-      Prof David Karoly, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne

-      Prof John Wiseman, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute

This report marks the completion of the first stage of the ongoing Post Carbon Pathways project, designed to strengthen understanding of the most effective ways of overcoming barriers to the rapid implementation of large-scale post carbon economy transition plans. The project is informed by the view that, while increased public acceptance of the necessity of urgent climate change action is crucial, the transformational changes required to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions also depend on broad recognition that alternative, more desirable futures and pathways are indeed possible. Analysis of the growing array of integrated post carbon transition plans provides an important foundation for meeting this challenge.

The event is free but space is strictly limited so please RSVP to: Emma Joughin, ejoughin@unimelb.edu.au

Enquiries: Taegen Edwards, taegene@unimelb.edu.au

[image error] Change can happen faster than you think – help us seize the moment and point to the alternatives. Add your voice to ours!

Ben Eltham | Gillard's Solar Burn-Out

With the Labor leadership debacle somewhat behind us, PM Julia Gillard faces the grand task of turning the ship around, writes Ben Eltham in New Matilda. However, recent events show that she has once again failed to steer the headlines toward a positive direction. The sudden retraction of the $1000 federal subsidy for  households to install solar hot water systems has been slammed by consumers and business as 'disastrous' for the energy sector and labelled as the kind of 'stop-start policy making' simply aimed at attaining a budget surplus. The move has also raised a few eyebrows about the consistency of the government's industry policies, given that they continue to provide large subsidies for uncompetitive industries like auto manufacturing and steel making, yet are rolling back subsidies for solar.

Federal and state renewable energy policy in recent years has been yo-yoing between generous subsidies and abrupt phase-outs, particularly for household solar. Time and again, initial enthusiasm for so-called "complementary" measures like subsidies for householders to buy solar panels or a solar hot water system has led to generous government hand-outs. These subsidies have spurred rapid growth for a host of solar installers and manufacturers, driven by aggressive marketing that prominently features the free government cash. Then, when governments try to rein in the spiralling cost of such subsidies, activity in the subsidised industry collapses.

Read Ben's full article in New Matilda here

Essential Vision | Should We Fear a Big Society?

CPD's recently released report, Big Society: How the UK Government is Dismantling the State and What it Means for Australia outlined the ways in which David Cameron's Big Society policy has crippled certain state funded services in the UK. The policy has become a household term in the UK, and is debated and criticised among many in mainstream media, yet here in Australia the phrase is little heard of. CPD executive director Miriam Lyons warns of the possible implications of such an agenda being implemented in Australia, "The extreme and rapid dismantling of the state in the UK shows us what we might expect if we continue down this path."

The whole debate raises some interesting questions about how publicly unpopular theories can be successfully framed to garner support.

For example, John Howard's 'voluntary student unionism' sounded like a positive policy because most people are opposed to things that are compulsory. By removing its fund base, Howard rapidly killed off student activism in Australia.

On the other hand, Greenpeace made huge inroads in their campaign on genetic engineering by introducing the notion (and language) of 'genetic pollution'. When industry began to use the same expression, Greenpeace's influence was clear.

Read the full article in Essential Vision here

We are looking for a Communications Manager

We are looking for someone who will be responsible for building our public profile and promoting our work to the media and a diverse range of stakeholders.

This role is about making sure that the world knows about CPD. That means promoting our research, publications and events through mainstream media, marketing, and social media.

Someone with lots of energy and a passion for working towards a fair and sustainable future. We'd also like you to be able to demonstrate a strong mix of the following skills:

Media – You'll need the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with key media contacts and to maximize media coverage of CPD research.

Communication – Communicating ideas in plain, accessible language is what CPD is about! We are looking for someone with excellent written and verbal communication skills, as you will be required to draft media releases, fundraising materials and other communications. You will also be involved in the development and implementation of media and communication strategies for separate research program s and the organisation as a whole.

Publicity and marketing – You should have experience in publicity and marketing and in coordinating editing, designing and producing promotional materials. Experience working in a non-profit environment or on a tight budget would be a plus: you'll need to be able to use your creativity and contacts to make a small pot of money go a long way. You should also be proficient in the use of social media and website content management.

Flexibility and great organising skills – the CPD is a small outfit with limited resources. You'll be an important member of a small team, so you'll need to be reliable, resourceful, creative, and able to make things happen quickly, effectively, and with minimal supervision.

And for bonus points it would be great if you had:

Experience using WordPressFundraising experience (especially online fundraising for small regular donations)Web-design, graphic design or desktop publishing skillsExperience dealing with designers, web designers, printers, etc

The position is based in CPD's Sydney CBD office. Employment is for 3 days per week at $60,000 pro rata plus 9% super. Initial employment will be for a 3-month trial period. A review will then be conducted, with a view to making the position permanent

If this sounds like a job for you then please send an email briefly outlining your skills in the above areas and a copy of your CV to marian.spencer@cpd.org.au

 

Mark Bahnisch | Behind the seams: Bob Katter & Larissa Waters sing from same song sheet

An unlikely alliance has come to the fore in the debate surrounding Coal Seam Gas exploration in Queensland. CPD fellow Mark Bahnisch, along with FAQ Research, interview Bob Katter MP, federal Member for Kennedy and leader of Katter's Australian Party and Queensland Greens Senator Larissa Waters at the February 20 Jondaryan Big Day Out protest against coal seam gas and coal mining on prime agricultural land. The general consensus on the day called for landholders' rights and the protection of agricultural land. Furthermore, Senator Waters repeated her call for a Senate inquiry into the full range of issues raised by Coal Seam Gas, including its social and community impacts.

The Courier-Mail today announced it would avoid covering campaign stunts from the major party leaders, calling for a debate about policy. A debate about mining and agricultural and community policy has been brewing on the Western Downs. The question is when the shockwave created by the alliance of farmer, activists, Greens and Bob Katter hits Brisbane.

The full article can be read in Crikey here