When John Howard introduced Australia's gun reforms after the Port Arthur massacre, he knew they would be controversial. He also knew they were necessary. Parliament now has another opportunity to show that kind of leadership. Nearly four in five Australians support a total ban on gambling advertising. Only one in three think the laws before Parliament go far enough.
Australia's soft plastics recycling industry now stands at a critical juncture. The growth in processing capacity and successful clearance of REDcycle stockpiles provide reasons for optimism. However, achieving a truly circular economy will require coordinated action from governments, manufacturers, retailers and consumers.
Having explicitly rejected any possible text and data mining exemption to copyright law, is the Australian government about to give away our most valuable cultural and natural assets?
The gender pay gap starts early. Research suggests there are even differences in the amount of pocket money girls and boys receive from their parents. The gender gap in superannuation also starts young – girls under the age of 18 have, on average, barely more than half of the super that boys the same age have, despite being more likely to be engaged in paid work.
The Albanese Government wants to make huge changes to the NDIS in the name of fixing fraud, however, only a small fraction of savings are expected to come from targeting fraud. So, while everyone has read stories about shonky NDIS providers, is NDIS fraud really more widespread than other types of fraud in the federal budget?
Today, the ABS has released its latest survey on barriers to work, and more than a quarter of women aged 18-64 who were not retired but would like to work, or would like to work more hours, cited child care as the main reason for not doing so.
Grievance politics is having a real moment in Australia and around the world. There is no shortage of people happy to exploit others and sell them easy answers. And one of the most common scapegoats has always been foreigners.
It’s no secret that Australia’s public universities are in a governance crisis. Wage theft, endemic casualisation, the erosion of academic freedom, excessive executive salaries, mass layoffs, and the gutting of courses have become routine.
Recently released Queensland police data shows the David Crisafulli-led Liberal National Party government has all but ceded gun control to the firearms lobby. As a result, gun theft is up, licence removal in domestic violence cases is down and the state is awash with more guns than any other Australian jurisdiction.
This month it was Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth announcing changes to the compulsory activities people on JobSeeker can be forced to undertake. The debate always focuses on the details. Which activities should people be required to do? How many appointments should they attend? What new obligations should be added or removed? But after thirty years of evidence, we should be asking a more fundamental question. What if helping people find work is not actually what this system is designed to do?
