Lessons from Robodebt

Whatever specific findings the Robodebt Royal Commission makes, the main outlines of the story are now clear. Between 2015 and 2019, the Coalition government, keen to make savings, undertook a data matching exercise with the Tax Office and Centrelink, designed to flush out welfare fraud. The government was convinced many …

The population trap: why we need a new demographic transition

As humans, we are prisoners of the frames we use for bounding and understanding reality. Despite abundant evidence that we need to reconsider, the world’s obsession with economic growth continues. If our economies do not grow we are convinced they must, by definition, be declining. Even climate change has not …

Two years on

I wish I could write more about grieving, but as others have found, by the time you are conscious of having moved through a stage, another has come upon you – or memories you thought had passed, re-invent themselves, over and over again.

The good old days

It’s said that every generation has misgivings about the next. I know I do. It’s probably a natural part of growing older. Not only do the young seem younger than ever before, but those in charge, those now in their forties and fifties, seem, in ways both mysterious and self-evident, …

Who is Christianity for?

Christianity is for believers, right? This is certainly the message that Christians send to those outside the church. Christians of all denominations project their faith through liturgy, song and prayer. The message, whether stated through the recitation of creedal liturgies or not, is unmistakable: ‘I believe, I believe, I believe’. …

Home and away

  If you are a fan of British comedy, you will no doubt recall that memorable episode of Fawlty Towers, when Basil, the crazed Torquay hotel-keeper played by John Cleese, welcomes some German guests. The more Basil tries not to mention the war, the more obsessed with it he becomes, …

The glittering prizes

  The first time I missed out on promotion (a type of prize, I guess), a wise old academic said to me that it was always tempting to reject a system that had rejected you. It’s a fair point. Any committee that selects oneself, shows startling sagacity. One that does …

Finding the spirit

I was talking to some friends the other day about spiritual discipline – not the sort that involves self-mortification – but the kind of practice that enables us to communicate within, and without. Reading William James’s Varieties of Religious Experience has been a great help to me in understanding a …

Finding your place

I have never known an organisation that would not have been improved by a few well-judged changes. Not, I hasten to add, re-structurings or purges, just the addition of a bit of common sense to the pot pourri of accepted practice.

Innovating ‘below the radar’ Australian Higher Education Links with Latin America

Wendy Jarvie In 2004 the Australian Government Department of Education Science and Training (DEST) opened an education office in Santiago, Chile. The initiative turned out to be highly successful.  In terms of students enrolled the region grew from 7,000 to 34,000 over 5 years – and was the fastest growing …

Time to Change the Paradigm

Public Servants and Aboriginal Communities Wendy Jarvie Closing the Gap is the current Commonwealth and State government strategy for improving indigenous outcomes in Australia. Its focus is on reducing the marked disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, in opportunity and outcomes, including in health, education, infrastructure, employment and justice. Money, …

Pathway to a post-federal Australia

By Mark Drummond There is wide acknowledgement that the economic growth Australia has achieved in recent years through China’s huge demand for our commodity exports has masked significant structural deficiencies in the Australian economy. The ongoing drought and recent car manufacturing plant closures in Victoria and South Australia further highlight …

Practice is the way

Brian Martin Over the past few decades, research into expert performance – in fields such as chess, music, sport and science – has challenged conventional ideas. The traditional view is that stellar performance depends on natural talent. Researchers have found, to the contrary, that even the greatest performers require years …