Housing affordability is a major political priority for both state governments and the Australian government. Treasurer Scott Morrison has announced an affordable housing taskforce, the New South Wales Government has announced a cross-government working group ‘to explore all options’ and the Victorian Government has announced policy changes including stamp duty changes and options for shared equity. Concerns over housing affordability and home ownership are not new. Over the last fifteen years, there have been many inquiries and reports that have examined housing affordability, home ownership and related issues. The table below sets out some of the major... Read more...
This year is shaping up as a big year for Australian foreign policy. This FlagPost highlights some of the key milestones expected over the coming months Read more...
The Government has announced that it will discharge the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Omnibus Savings and Child Care Reform) Bill 2017 (Omnibus Bill) from the notice paper, if it can secure passage of a new social services savings Bill and an older Bill which provides for the same child care reforms. The new savings Bill, the Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2017 (Social Services Bill), contains three measures from the Omnibus Bill and a different measure, first proposed in the 2014–15 Budget by the Abbott Government. Read more...
The United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed with a series of worldwide events on 21 March every year. Proclaiming the Day on 26 October 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination (resolution 2142 (XXI)).The date of 21 March was chosen to commemorate that day in 1960 when police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid ‘pass laws’. Since those earlier days, the UN observes there has been progress: … the apartheid system in South Africa has been dismantled... Read more...
There have been a number of developments in residential (nursing home) aged care funding since the 2016–17 Budget. This FlagPost briefly outlines key changes to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI), a tool used by aged care providers to determine the base funding they receive to care for each resident. Read more...
The cashless debit card is the latest of a series of measures designed to tackle alcohol abuse in Ceduna. The Government has recently released an interim evaluation report on the measure. Read more...
Wednesday 8 March 2017 is International Women’s Day: a time to celebrate women’s achievements, to reflect on the challenges faced by women around the world, and to focus on taking action to improve gender equality. Read more...
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Šimonovic, held a press conference yesterday outlining initial findings from her visit to Australia. Audio of Ms Šimonović’s end of mission statement is available online. Ms Šimonović has previously said that ‘violence against women continues to be one of the most pervasive human rights violations globally, affecting every woman worldwide and Australia is no exception’. Speaking yesterday, she is reported to have said that ‘women’s human rights in Australia are protected in an incomplete, patchwork way in different states and territories’. The role of Special Ra... Read more...
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