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Indigenous advancement strategy
No full textIn September 2013, responsibility for the majority of Indigenous-specific policy and programs, as well as some mainstream programs that predominantly service Indigenous Australians, was transferred into the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the department). These substantial changes saw 27 programs consisting of 150 administered items, activities and sub-activities from eight separate entities moved to the department.
In May 2014, the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (the Strategy) was announced by the Australian Government as a significant reform in the administration and delivery of services and programs for Indigenous Australians. Under the Strategy, the items, activities and sub-activities inherited by the department were consolidated into five broad programs under a single outcome. The Australian Government initially committed 4.8 billion to the Strategy over four years from 2014–15.1 The 2014–15 Budget reported that the Australian Government would save 534.4 million over five years by rationalising Indigenous programs, grants and activities.
In the first year of the Strategy, from July 2014 to June 2015, the department focused on transitioning over 3000 funding agreements, consolidating legacy financial systems, administering a grant funding round and establishing a regional network.
Audit objective and criteria
The objective of the audit was to assess whether the department had effectively established and implemented the Indigenous Advancement Strategy to achieve the outcomes desired by Government.
To form a conclusion against the audit objective, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) adopted the following high-level audit criteria:
the department has designed the Strategy to improve results for Indigenous Australians in the Australian Government’s identified priority areas;
the department’s implementation of the Strategy supports a flexible program approach focused on prioritising the needs of Indigenous communities;
the department’s administration of grants supports the selection of the best projects to achieve the outcomes desired by the Australian Government, complies with the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines, and reduces red tape for providers;
the department has designed and applied the Strengthening Organisational Governance policy to ensure funded providers have high standards of corporate governance; and
the department has established a performance framework that supports ongoing assessment of program performance and progress towards outcomes.
The audit examined the department’s activities relating to the Strategy’s establishment, implementation, grants administration and performance measurement leading up to the Strategy’s announcement in 2014 and its initial implementation until the audit commenced in March 2016.
Conclusion
While the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s design work was focused on achieving the Indigenous Advancement Strategy’s policy objectives, the department did not effectively implement the Strategy.
The Australian Government’s identified priority areas are reflected in the Strategy’s program structure which is designed to be broad and flexible. The department considered the potential risks and benefits associated with the reforms. Planning and design for the Strategy was conducted in a seven week timeframe, which limited the department’s ability to fully implement key processes and frameworks, such as consultation, risk management and advice to Ministers, as intended.
The implementation of the Strategy occurred in a short timeframe and this affected the department’s ability to establish transitional arrangements and structures that focused on prioritising the needs of Indigenous communities.
The department’s grants administration processes fell short of the standard required to effectively manage a billion dollars of Commonwealth resources. The basis by which projects were recommended to the Minister was not clear and, as a result, limited assurance is available that the projects funded support the department’s desired outcomes. Further, the department did not:
assess applications in a manner that was consistent with the guidelines and the department’s public statements;
meet some of its obligations under the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines;
keep records of key decisions; or
establish performance targets for all funded projects.
The performance framework and measures established for the Strategy do not provide sufficient information to make assessments about program performance and progress towards achievement of the program outcomes. The monitoring systems inhibit the department’s ability to effectively verify, analyse or report on program performance. The department has commenced some evaluations of individual projects delivered under the Strategy but has not planned its evaluation approach after 2016–17
The boundaries and connections between the VET and higher education sectors: 'confused, contested and collaborative'
No full textInternationally, Australia’s tertiary education system, comprising the higher education and vocational education and training (VET) sectors, is highly regarded, with both sectors subject to ongoing national review and reforms. This paper explores in detail the multiple issues that lie at what might be termed the ‘boundaries and connections’ between these sectors.
One marker that delineates the sectoral boundaries is the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), in particular AQF level 5 (VET diploma) and AQF level 6 (associate degree/advanced diploma). VET diplomas sit on one side of this boundary, and those financed under the previous VET FEE-HELP program (to be replaced by the new VET Student Loans program) have recently attracted considerable public scrutiny.
The conditions for the operation of the tertiary education system, especially the boundaries and connections between the VET and higher education sectors, are set by national and state/territory policies, embodied in regulations, programs and funding. In exploring the multiple issues that have evolved at the sectoral boundaries and connections, this paper highlights examples that have eroded clear differentiation between the sectors, as well as their mutual value within a coherent tertiary education system. The present situation has been caused by a combination of: differing sector-specific national policies and agreements; differing sectoral financing/funding; and differing sectoral legislation, regulation and standards, as well as overlapping qualification frameworks and different standards for courses and qualifications.
Key messages
VET participation is declining in relation to higher education participation as a consequence of policy and funding reforms that have travelled along ‘different tracks’ over the last six to eight years.
The boundaries and connections between the sectors present examples of significant confusion and of considerable inter-institutional contest, as well as willing collaboration. In aggregate, this imposes an unquantifiable national cost burden.
The establishment of student ‘loans’, spanning VET diplomas to degrees, has, by design or not, reset higher education and VET sector policy, program and funding boundaries.
From the perspective of students, the ability to pick and mix the best from university and vocational education and training, be it skilling, academic study or work experience, can only be beneficial to the needs of employers and to students’ future jobs.
Policy and incentives need to ensure the equitable funding of mid-level professionals, including, for example, associate degrees and higher apprenticeships.
Improving and systematising cross-sector transfer arrangements for students is a priority, supported by use of common data standards and a system-wide unique student identifier (utilising existing sectoral numbering)
Future-proofing justice: building a research agenda to address the effects of technological change on the protection of constitutional rights
No full textNew technologies have changed the types of data that are routinely collected about citizens on a daily basis. For example, smart devices collect location and communication data, and fitness trackers and medical devices capture physiological and other data. As technology changes, new portable and connected devices have the potential to gather even more information. Such data have great potential utility in criminal justice proceedings, and they are already being used in case preparations, plea negotiations, and trials. But the broad expansion of technological capability also has the potential to stress approaches for ensuring that individuals\u27 constitutional rights are protected through legal processes.
In an effort to consider those implications, we convened a panel of criminal justice practitioners, legal scholars, and individuals from the civil liberties community to identify research and other needs to prepare the U.S. legal system both for technologies we are seeing today and for technologies we are likely to see in the future. Through structured brainstorming, the panel explored a wide range of potential issues regarding these technologies, from evidentiary and procedural concerns to questions about the technologies\u27 accuracy and efficient use. Via a Delphi-based prioritization of the results, the panel crafted a research agenda — including best practice and training development, evaluation, and fundamental research efforts — to provide the criminal justice community with the knowledge and capabilities needed to address these important and complex technological questions going forward
Annual returns locator service
No full textInformation
While Donors are required to declare only their donations, Political Parties and Associated Entities must give details of all receipts above the disclosure threshold for the financial year ($13,000 for 2015-16). Many of these receipts are not donations and may represent, for example, subscription fees or proceeds of goods sold. Although not required by law, most Political Parties and Associated Entities mark each receipt as a ‘donation’ or an ‘other receipt’.
It is recommended that you read the Glossary for terms that are used in the Annual Returns Locator Service to ensure correct interpretation of information provided.
Depending on the volume of concurrent users, you may experience a short delay while data is being downloaded.
Disclaimer
This service contains a database of records that have been entered from the original Annual Returns lodged with the AEC. Copies of the original returns, as submitted, are available as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. While all efforts have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information in the database, the definitive information is that contained on the returns.
Any information obtained from the database should be confirmed against the original PDF returns
Who moves what where: better informing transport planning for Australians
No full textThis discussion paper sets out the lessons from the Who moves what where project to date, proposes recommendations to fill identified information gaps, and provides opportunities to improve data collection and sharing to benefit planning for transport and related areas in Australia.
We are seeking stakeholder comments to finalise the recommendations that will be presented to ministers in the second half of 2017.
Submissions will be accepted until Friday, 10 March 2016
NSW custody statistics: quarterly update September 2016
No full textThis report presents 24 months of reception, discharge and custody population data for New South Wales and comparisons between the current and previous quarter for age, gender, indigenous status, most serious offence and the average length of stay.
Separate figures are presented for juveniles and adults.
The counting unit is a custodial episode. An individual will be counted multiple times in a period if they have multiple custodial episodes in that period
The American far-right origins of Pauline Hanson’s views on Islam
No full textOverview
In the context of One Nation’s presence in the Australian Senate, indications of increased voter support for the party and wider populist trends in the United States and Europe, Australians need to understand One Nation’s world view – especially where the party’s ideas come from. It is important to chart One Nation’s ideological and political topography rather than to just narrowly fact check the details of its claims and policies.
One Nation has made numerous controversial statements on Islam that have attracted a measure of public support and considerable criticism. These were the centrepiece of the party’s 2016 federal election campaign and remain at the heart of its political agenda. Perhaps none of these claims is more striking, indeed outrageous, than the claim that Islam is not a religion.
This is a radically new proposition within Australian public life --- a claim that one of the world\u27s major faiths, practiced in Australia for more than 150 years, is not actually a religion. One Nation\u27s signature policy on Islam is a call for “an inquiry or Royal Commission to determine if Islam is a religion or political ideology”.
Australia’s High Court has already established precedent for the meaning of ‘religion’ in a 1983 case regarding the tax treatment of Scientology. There is no doubt that Islam meets all of this case’s requirements to be constituted as a religion. The idea that a Royal Commission could determine whether Islam is a religion is an obvious legal and political non-starter. However it is clear that One Nation will continue to press its claims that Islam is not a religion as a key part of a broader campaign to exclude Islam and Muslims from Australian politics, society and life.
Investigation of the origins of this claim highlights the One Nation party\u27s intellectual debt to far-right groups in the United States and Europe. As early as June 2007, conservative American Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson said “we have to recognise that Islam is not a religion. It is a worldwide political movement meant on domination of the world.”
The underlying purpose of these claims has been to deny the status of Islam is “protected” status under the First Amendment of the United States constitution. The claim helps the Christian far-right square their love of religious freedom with their desire to clamp down on another faith. Similarly One Nation seeks to deny Islam’s status as a religion and thus deny Australian Muslims constitutional protection for their human rights of freedom of religion and belief. If left unchallenged this has the potential to significantly undermine respect for freedom of religion and potentially give a green light to acts of overt discrimination and hostility towards Australian Muslims and other minorities.
The exact origins of the claim that Islam is not a religion are somewhat obscure. Beyond the claims of some American Christian evangelists, proponents of this view include:
Iranian-born Canadian ex-Muslim activist Ali Sina who argues Islam is not a religion but rather an unreformable, violent, militant political cult.
Rebecca Bynum, publisher and managing editor of the British far-right New English Review, who claims “If it is a religion it is not a religion only. Islam is a total system of life … [including] geo-political aspirations – the conquest and administration of territory.”
An obscure American former professor of engineering Bill French, who writes under the nom de guerre of Bill Warner, who published ‘statistical analyses’ of the Koran and other Islamic texts to argue that Islam is “political, not religious. Islam is a political ideology.”
Although ostensibly an Australian nationalist party, Pauline Hanson\u27s One Nation is in large measure serving as a political portal for the introduction of American and European far-right positions, policies and rhetoric into the Australian political landscape.
One Nation has conspicuously celebrated President-elect Donald Trump\u27s victory in the United States. The idea that Islam is not actually a religion is now espoused by people who will occupy positions at the highest levels of the US Government. As further papers in this series will show many elements of One Nation\u27s outlook and policies have their origins in American far-right thinking and activism. It can be confidently anticipated that One Nation will continue to draw inspiration and adopt ideas and policies from the US ”alt-right” for some time to come. 
A housing affordability crisis in regional Australia? Yes, and here’s why
No full textThe newly released annual Demographia report on housing affordability has found – once again – that Australia has some of the least affordable housing markets in the world. Sydney was ranked as the second-least-affordable housing market behind Hong Kong.
This news came just a day after incoming NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that improving housing affordability would be a priority for her government.
What was more surprising was that Australia had the dubious distinction of having four of the ten least-affordable housing markets covered by the survey. Melbourne was ranked the tenth-most-unaffordable housing market. Wingecarribee and Tweed Heads came in at seventh and eighth respectively.
This is sobering news given the report covers major world centres such as London and New York. And for many commentators this outcome came as a shock: how could regional Australia – which is perceived as less dynamic than the capital cities and with ample space for housing – be so unaffordable?
Read the full article at The Conversatio
Global and regional sea level rise scenarios for the United States
No full textExecutive summary
The Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Hazard Scenarios and Tools Interagency Task Force, jointly convened by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and the National Ocean Council (NOC), began its work in August 2015. The Task Force has focused its efforts on three primary tasks: updating scenarios of global mean sea level (GMSL) rise, 2) integrating the global scenarios with regional factors contributing to sea level change for the entire U.S. coastline, and 3) incorporating these regionally appropriate scenarios within coastal risk management tools and capabilities deployed by individual agencies in support of the needs of specific stakeholder groups and user communities. This technical report focuses on the first two of these tasks and reports on the production of gridded relative sea level (RSL, which includes both ocean-level change and vertical land motion) projections for the United States associated with an updated set of GMSL scenarios. In addition to supporting the longer-term Task Force effort, this new product will be an important input into the USGCRP Sustained Assessment process and upcoming Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) due in 2018. This report also serves as a key technical input into the in-progress USGCRP Climate Science Special Report (CSSR)
Settlement in the digital age: digital inclusion and newly arrived young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds
No full textIn 2016 the first Australian Digital Inclusion Index was released, recognising the enormous role access to and engagement with digital technology and the internet plays in facilitating the economic and social inclusion of Australians in economic, social, cultural and civic life. The index reveals that while digital inclusion is improving, it is uneven and many Australians are missing out on the benefits digital participation derives for our public and private lives.
Young people are recognised as some of the most prolific users of technology and the internet and are often described as having ‘grown up digital’. However, while many young people may be confident with technology, and disposed to use it, the benefits of this new digital age are not spreading equally to everyone. This is a concern, as we are moving closer to a future where digital participation is less of a choice and more of a necessity, where economic and social participation are increasingly linked to digital skills and technical competencies.
This paper looks at the digital inclusion of newly arrived young people, those in their first five years of settlement in Victoria. The process of settlement involves a complicated series of negotiations and adjustments, as refugees and migrants seek to establish themselves in their new country and become “part of the social, institutional and cultural fabric of a society”. Upon arrival to Australia, newly arrived young people are being thrust in to an intensely digital environment where their digital inclusion offers an abundance of potential advantages for navigating settlement