The subsidies for student places up to 2024 fall about $1.1 billion short of the level needed to create the extra places the government promised its Job-ready Graduates policy would deliver.
Beyond addressing key staffing issues, developing high-quality early childhood programs must involve using school boards to expand access and grow spaces while offering more affordable fees.
A sustainable private health insurance system requires enough young, healthy people paying premiums and not making claims. But government policies haven’t achieved this. Here’s what to try instead.
Many developing countries cannot free up public money to invest in economic stimulus packages. For them to join in the global recovery, they will need assistance.
Lowering the tax rates on profits from patents registered in Australia is unlikely to increase local research and development. But it will be a gift for multinationals.
The 2021-22 budget includes funding for 15 hours per week of free preschool education for all children in the year before school. This is great, but we need more detail.
The pledge to build 30,000 homes over the next five years exposes the government’s inaction, but it’s still only a fraction of the number Australians need.
The budget splashed out extra money for almost every sector deemed important to economic recovery (or politically sensitive). But with universities in a state of financial crisis, they missed out.
In this week’s federal budget we heard how this non-drug treatment for depression will be available on Medicare for people who’ve not responded to antidepressants.
The federal budget contains money for big-ticket items like the SKA telescope and mRNA vaccines. But dwindling funds for universities and fundamental science will leave us vulnerable to future problems.
The federal budget’s A$2.3 billion for mental health may well make it easier to access services. But there’s no guarantee this will translate to improved mental health in Australia — here’s why.
The government needs to address the whole ecosystem of the arts, increasing funding to the Australia Council so individual artists and small organisations get adequate support.
As provinces and territories beyond Québec develop early learning and care plans, they should be aware of the pitfalls of taking shortcuts in response to parent demand.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne