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Australian national security law
No full textAims
A poll conducted by the Australian National University in 2016 on Attitudes to National Security revealed that 56 percent of Australians believe that the government ‘could do more’ to prevent a terrorist attack. Ten years earlier, that figure was only 39 percent. The strong message that the most recent poll sends to Australian governments is that there is a mandate to strengthen national security laws in the face of the threat posed by Islamic State. However, the problem with this figure – and with governments acting in reliance upon it – is that previous polls have shown that a large number of Australians lack a clear understanding of the laws already in place. This field of national security law and policy is extremely complex and, furthermore, has historically been shrouded in a veil of secrecy. The purpose of this website is to consolidate information about national security law and policy in Australia in a clear and accessible form so as to improve public knowledge of this field. We also are hopeful that it will be useful in providing background information for media outlets as well as in enriching political debate
NSW economic update summer 2017
No full textOverview
The Summer 2017 edition of the NSW Economic Update presents a current snapshot of the NSW economy and provides relevant points of comparison with other Australian States and Territories.
For the fourth consecutive quarter, New South Wales has been the best performing State in Australia. Commsec\u27s January 2017 State of the States Report found that NSW remains the top State for business investment, retail trade, and dwelling starts; recently became top-ranked on unemployment and economic growth; and is in second place for construction work and population growth.
Nevertheless, a range of trends relating to employment should remain of concern to policymakers. As reported by the Reserve Bank of Australia, recent employment growth in Australia has come almost entirely from part time employment rather than full time jobs. However, ABS employment data may understate these problems, with observers arguing that, because of the way the ABS Labour Force Survey defines \u27employment\u27, the Bureau underreports the true level of unemployment. Alongside other ABS data that suggests underemployment is becoming an increasingly important issue for State and Commonwealth Governments, it has been argued that a new method of measuring employment is needed to more accurately assess the economic health of the NSW (and national) labour force
What is a bond aggregator and how does it help build affordable housing?
No full textAHURI research into a bond aggregator model for affordable housing was central to the Affordable Housing Working Group (AHWG) report to Australian Federal, State and Territory Treasurers meeting during the Council on Federal Financial Relations.
As a result, the Council recommended establishing an expert taskforce to design a bond aggregator model
Life history strategies and psychopathology: the faster the life strategies, the more symptoms of psychopathology
No full textThere is little extant empirical literature examining the associations between life history strategies and symptoms of psychopathology. The current study (N = 138) investigated the associations between life history strategies, symptoms of psychopathology, aggression, incidence of self-harm behaviour, and attachment (perceived parental support) in sample drawn from the general population and community mental health service providers. The results from the study indicate those with a faster life strategy report greater levels of aggression and symptoms of psychopathology. Further, perceptions of poorer parental support were associated with a faster life history strategy. Implications for life history theory, conceptualising psychopathology, and future research directions are discussed
Sensible reform to finance affordable housing deserves cross-party support
No full textTreasurer Scott Morrison’s visit to cold old London last week in the middle of the Australia summer was time well spent. Morrison made time in his hectic schedule for a lengthy meeting with the UK’s Housing Finance Corporation (THFC) to discuss an affordable housing financial intermediary with its chief executive, Piers Williamson.
Founded in 1987 to make up for the shortfall in public funding, THFC is a finance aggregator and intermediary that co-funds affordable housing for rent and ownership. And Williamson is no stranger to Australia’s housing problems. He has been a source of advice and advocate for policy reform in various Australian industry and government forums. He also has the ear of our largest superannuation funds.
And, much like Australia, the UK has a serious problem with housing affordability and supply, made worse by policy and market settings that fuel instability rental housing. In this context, channelling investment via a specialist financial intermediary towards new, affordable housing provided by landlords with a social purpose makes good sense.
The idea just needs an effective champion in Australia. In fact, it needs a bipartisan team of champions.
Follow the link to the full article at The Conversatio
Can life-cycle assessment produce reliable policy guidelines in the building sector?
No full textLife-cycle assessment (LCA) is an established methodology that can provide decision-makers with comprehensive data on the environmental impacts of products and processes during the entire life cycle. However, the literature on building LCAs consists of highly varying results between the studies, even when the assessed buildings are very similar. This makes it doubtful if LCA can actually produce reliable data for supporting policy-making in the building sector. However, no prior reviews looking into this issue in the building sector exist. This study includes an extensive literature review of LCA studies on the pre-use phase of buildings. The purpose of this study is to analyze the variation between the results of different studies and find out whether the differences can be explained by the contextual differences or if it is actually the methodological choices that cause the extremely high variation. We present 116 cases from 47 scientific articles and reports that used process LCA, input–output (IO) LCA or hybrid LCA to study the construction-phase GHG emissions of buildings. The results of the reviewed studies vary between 0.03 and 2.00 tons of GHG emissions per gross area. The lowest was assessed with process LCA and highest with IO LCA, and in general the lower end was found to be dominated by process LCA studies and the higher end by IO LCA studies, hybrid LCAs being placed in between. In general, it is the methodological issues and subjective choices of the LCA practitioner that cause the vast majority of the huge variance in the results. It thus seems that currently the published building LCAs do not offer solid background information for policy-making without deep understanding of the premises of a certain study and good methodological knowledge
Evolution not revolution: views on training products reform
No full textAt the request of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Industry Skills Council (ISC) and the Skills Senior Officials Network (SSON), a National Training Product Reform Group, comprising representatives from all of the jurisdictions, considered the longer-term reform of training products. This exercise, conducted during 2016, aimed to ensure that training products remain relevant and support skills development, in the face of technology, jobs and industry change. The role of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) was to convene a group of thought leaders to consider the challenges and opportunities for the reform of training products.
NCVER commissioned three essays to inform discussion at a symposium, held on 9 August 2016. The sixty or so symposium participants considered training product reform from the perspective of industry, educators, students and regulators. Their views are captured in this summary, which was prepared to assist the reform group. The areas of agreement are presented in the key messages that follow. The points of difference, about how to balance the various interests represented in the system, were also raised. This task will require deft negotiation to avoid the introduction of further complexity into training products, given that all participants agreed that training product simplification must be an essential goal of reform.
Key messages
An industry-led training products framework remains a cornerstone of the national training system.
Training products should:
establish occupational standards
enhance the capacity of learners to enquire and analyse
support dialogue between industry and educators
enable effective regulation to support training quality
encourage lifelong learner involvement and empowerment in the development of skills and knowledge.
Reform efforts should aim to preserve the effective aspects of the current training products while also looking to the future. These efforts should concentrate on the fundamentals:
high-level national industry standards, along with educational standards
educator and industry involvement in design and delivery.
Training products should reinforce principles for partnerships between industry and educators, as well as across education sectors, supporting more agile review and the efficient update of training products.
For people with educational disadvantages, VET training products shouldn’t be differentiated, but the learners should receive tailored support. They may be better assisted outside the current framework of training products.
Testing initiatives before implementing wholesale reform was generally viewed as the best approach, with pilots and trials seen as good ways to further inform the design of the training product system
Native title anthropology after Timber Creek
No full textIn August 2016, the traditional owners of Timber Creek in the Northern Territory, the Ngaliwurru and Nungali peoples, were awarded over 1.3 million of this award was a solatium payment, that is, compensation for hurt arising from damage caused by the loss of connection to the land. Griffiths v Northern Territory of Australia (No 3) [2016] FCA 900 (Timber Creek), which was heard by Justice John Mansfield, is the courts first litigated award of compensation for the loss or impairment of native title rights. In making his decision, Justice Mansfield relied on the evidence of anthropologists when assessing not only connections to country, but also the qualities and consequences of the social impacts that accompany the loss of connections to country.
This paper considers the implications of the Timber Creek decision for the work of native title anthropologists and highlights some of the conceptual and methodological shifts required for research on native title compensation claims. The author draws attention to the demanding nature of native title compensation cases and the potential for research to aggravate existing trauma associated with loss of country, arguing for the need for all involved to be attentive to this risk when pursuing future claims
People-centred policy: through behavioural insights, design thinking and better use of data
No full textThe Policy Project collaborated with the Government Economics Network (GEN) committee to facilitate workshops following the 2016 GEN conference on ‘People and Policy – how to make better and smarter policies through behavioural insights, design thinking and better use of data’.
This document records:
Reflections from Day 1 of the GEN conference from the keynote speakers.
MoJ’s presentation of ‘an investment approach to justice’
Insights on ‘value add’ and ‘what to watch out for’ from each of the methods and approaches – data, behavioural insights, design
Next steps to ‘bringing it all together’: actions for building a more sophisticated policy toolkit and understanding when, how and in what combinations to apply a variety of tools and methods to policy challenges. 
The new New Zealanders: why migrants make good kiwis
No full textWhen it comes to immigration, a natural but complicated question to ask is: “Is immigration good for New Zealand?” There are a number of ways immigration affects New Zealand and New Zealanders, and a number of concerns and fears New Zealanders have about immigration. This report analyses the effects of immigration and how these effects should be considered in the immigration debate. It is a timely contribution given immigration is becoming a significant issue in the 2017 election. Due to the subjective nature of how many of the effects are viewed, this report cannot definitively say immigration is good for New Zealand. However, many popular concerns about immigration are overblown and benefits under-represented. Any policy change must be sensible and not reactionary.
Despite having relatively large flows of migrants into New Zealand, we seem immune to many of the issues facing other countries. When it comes to immigration, we are doing it well. Overall, New Zealand’s experience with immigration is positive. Kiwis are very accepting of migrants, valuing both their economic and cultural contribution to New Zealand. Migrants too embrace New Zealand culture while adding their own unique flavour, and ultimately integrate successfully. Migrants place less pressure on housing markets than popular opinion seems to suggest, and the case for fixing housing markets is strong regardless of the immigration rate. Migrants’ effect on the New Zealand economy and labour market is broadly positive. It all looks pretty good.
On balance, the available evidence suggests that New Zealand benefits from migration, or at the very least the country is not made worse off. The current policy settings look broadly fit for purpose, but policymakers should be vigilant to ensure this remains the case.
Government should also consider reducing bureaucratic drag in the immigration system. Measures such as letting high salaries count towards a migrant’s point tally, and letting private businesses sponsor migrants could ease some of the red tape that keeps high quality migrants from moving here. New Zealand also needs to jump on opportunities for bilateral free movement agreements with other countries. Lastly, where there are concerns that migration imposes a burden on local infrastructure, Government could consider imposing an upfront levy on migrants