Policy Monographs
Policy Monographs (PM) are pieces directly commenting on government policy, new programs or legislation.
Categories
A Fair Go: Fact or Fiction?
The Australian ideal of a fair go is fact rather than fiction. By offering all individuals the opportunity to capitalise on their ambition and natural ability, Australia’s dynamic and socially mobile... Read More
Do Not Damage and Disturb: On Child Protection Failures and the Pressure on Out-of-Home Care in Australia
This monograph shows that the rising size, cost, and complexity of the out-of-home care system in Australia is directly linked to child protection failures. Children are entering care later and more damaged,... Read More
Populate and Perish? Modelling Australia's Demographic Future
Since the publication of the 2010 Intergenerational Report, Australia has been debating its demographic future and whether it is desirable for the nation to grow to more than 35 million people by 2050.... Read More
Family on the Edge: Stability and Fertility in Prosperity and Recession
Barry Maley argues that unless family law and policies rapidly change, family stability and a buoyant birth rate will be at risk with implications for the ageing of the population in the long term. Read More
Breaking the Cycle of Family Joblessness
Solving the problem of high family joblessness will require reform of the welfare, tax, and industrial relations systems. Read More
The Taxation of Shared Family Incomes
Terry Dwyer’s paper makes a compelling case for recognising family income sharing for tax purposes, and his arguments and proposals should be central to any future discussion of how to achieve a fairer... Read More
Divorce Law and the Future of Marriage
No-fault divorce law has precipitated marital instability in Australia, discouraging people from marrying, staying together, acting to support their spouses and having children. According to respected... Read More
Family and Marriage in Australia
The growing instability of the nuclear family is a fundamental cause behind a great deal of juvenile crime, youth suicide and poor school performance. The report - Family and Marriage in Australia -... Read More
Taxing the family : Australia's forgotten people in the income spectrum
Over the last two decades, the tax burden has shifted from taxpayers without to taxpayers with dependent children. While social security expenditure on welfare dependency has risen, spending on family... Read More
Beyond the Classroom : how parents influence their children's education
Parents are crucial to the academic success of their children. The report, Beyond the Classroom: How Parents Influence Their Children’s Education, argues that factors ranging from parents’ educational... Read More
Behavioural Poverty
The welfare debate is bedeviled by the failure to distinguish behavioural from financial poverty. The minimum income available to families on welfare are commensurate with those of families on average... Read More
Children's Rights : Where the Law is Heading and What it Means for Families
Barry Maley cautions that while children are citizens entitled to the protection of the state, he believes that some recent moves to secure this protection may actually be counterproductive. Read More
Social Capital Stories: How 12 Australian Households Live their Lives
Social capital - the network of informal social connections that helps to hold communities together - is often reported to be in decline. But is it? Read More
Affirmative Action: The New Discrimination
Gabriel Moens finds that the philosophical and practical ramifications of such 'affirmative action' may be worse than the original complaint. Read More
Free to Shop
Shopping hours and standards in Australia are far behind those of other countries. The trend of Governments in other countries has been to deregulate trading hours, not to control them further as in Australia."There... Read More
