Federalism
18 March 2007

Organised in conjunction with the Institute of Public Administration Australia.

Opening Discussion
Political Factors - Dr Michael Keating, Academy of the Social Sciences
International Influences and Trends - Professor Alan Fenna, Curtin University of Technology

Challenges and lessons from three sectors - health and aged care, education, and infrastructure & regulation
Health and Aged Care - Roger Wilkins
Education - Professor Simon Marginson, University of Melbourne
Infrastructure & Regulation - Ken Matthews

Accountability, subsidiarity and responsiveness in Australia's federation
States - Professor Andrew Parkin, Flinders University
Regions and local government - Dr A J Brown, Griffith University

Group discussions on short, medium and longer term options and priorities

Report by discussion group leaders
Panel comments from the persepectives of politicians, Commonwealth and State bureaucrats, academics
Final discussion

A policy roundtable on Federalism was held on the 17th-18th March, 2007, at the University of Canberra. The event was well attended, with a large group of roughly forty-five policy academics and practitioners making up an inner circle, and several more observers constituting an outer circle.
This roundtable provided for discussions between politicians, policy makers, academics, media representatives and business and community representatives on the underlying forces and political attitudes that are driving centralisation, and what is sustaining current federal arrangements. Proceedings focused on the issues pertaining to the division of responsibilities within the current federal arrangements, with a view to identifying current weaknesses and strengths, as well as proposing ideas for change and progression.

Proceedings from the Federalism Roundtable.

Community
24 November 2006

Community in the contemporary era: a new relevance?
Professor Anthony Elliot, Flinders University
Mr Chris Cuff, Pricewaterhouse Coopers Actuarial Pty Ltd

Assessing community strength and building upon it – using community wellbeing indicators to support policy development and strategic planning for successful outcomes.
Professor Jenny Onyx, University of Technology Sydney
Professor David Adams, Department of Victorian Communities

Community program responses: critical issues and opportunities – is the traditional national program model the right response to address disadvantage in communities?
Professor Lois Bryson, Research Centre for Gender and Health, University of Newcastle
Ms Deborah Winkler, Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Working across the whole of government: outcomes identification and funding models—place-based approaches in Indigenous communities, and the challenges of working across government to achieve outcomes.
Dr Tim Rowse, Australian National University
Mr Bernie Yates, Deputy Secretary, Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

A roundtable on 'Community' was chaired by Dr Mike Keating and held on 24 November in Canberra. The Roundtable was designed to explore aspects of community in contemporary Australian society, with a specific focus on identification of more vulnerable communities, assessment of the needs of these communities and the role of government in engaging with communities to address these needs. Some questions for discussion were: What impact does individual social and economic disadvantage have on the community, and what types of programs or services can ameliorate these levels of disadvantage? Is it possible to develop a community assessment tool that will provide a systematic approach to dealing with disadvantage through a process of identification, assessment, purpose-built responses and evaluation of outcomes? How can we work more effectively across the whole of government, and in partnership with business and the community, to improve the wellbeing of all Australians?

Proceedings from the Community Roundtable.

Wellbeing
4 August 2006

Finding the evidence for wellbeing
Ms Susan Linacre, Australian Bureau of Statistics
Professor Robert Cummins, Deakin University

Wellbeing and social capital
Commissioner Mike Woods, Productivity Commission
Professor Lenore Manderson, Monash University

Gender, wellbeing and welfare
Mr Sean Innis, Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Professor Bettina Cass, University of New South Wales

Wellbeing and government policy
Mr David Tune, The Treasury
Professor Mark Wooden, University of Melbourne

A roundtable on 'Wellbeing' was be chaired by Professor Sue Richardson and held on 4 August at the Australian National University. The roundtable will be dedicated to exploring the opportunities and challenges in extending our understanding of wellbeing in policy and program contexts. Lenore Manderson who edited the book Rethinking Wellbeing (API Network 2005) has invited some of her co-authors, Academy Fellows and social scientists from a range of disciplines to join with government policy advisors to explore conventional and innovative understandings and measures of wellbeing and how these can inform debates concerning resource allocation, policy development, and social welfare programs. Some key questions that were posed at the roundtable were: How adequate are current measures of wellbeing? To what extent do the indicators that derive from this work, and inform policy and programs, take into account of the particularity of human experience and need at local and community levels? Who misses out in such approaches, and for what reasons?

Proceedings from the Wellbeing Roundtable.

 

Work and Family
12 May 2006

Brief lessons from History
Professor Janet McCalman, University of Melbourne

What do children need that policy can provide?
Professor Stephen Zubrick, Curtin University
Ms Gillian Calvert, NSW Commissioner for Children and Young People

Family policy that supports what children need
Ms Liza Carroll, Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Professor Bettina Cass, University of New South Wales

A workplace that children would design
Professor Margot Prior, University of Melbourne
Professor Sue Richardson, Flinders University

What policy can do to help the workplace meet children’s needs
Dr Alison Morehead, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Dr Matthew Gray, Institute of Family Studies

A roundtable devoted to the issues of ‘Work and Family' and chaired by Professor Sue Richardson was held on 12 May at the University of Melbourne . The roundtable was designed to examine, in an informed and open way, the challenges and supports offered to working parents and how they can best be supported through both family policy and workplace policy. Sue Richardson and Margot Prior who edited the book No Time to Lose: The Wellbeing of Australia's Children (MUP 2005) have invited a multidisciplinary team of researchers and government policy makers to the roundtable on this important area of policy research. Some key issues discussed were: changes and challenges for parents in managing work and family responsibilities, child care issues, and the impact of the recent IR legislation on working parents, single parents and other disadvantaged groups.

Proceedings from the Work and Family Roundtable.