With Australia experiencing declining fertility rates over the past four decades, governmental concern has increased over the consequences of the falling birth rate and how the trend might be reversed…
Both Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd have been busy visiting manufacturing facilities during the election campaign. However neither is promising inspiring economic policy.
AAP/Julian Smith
Election 2013 Essays: As the federal election campaign draws to a close, The Conversation asked eminent thinkers to reflect on the state of the nation and the challenges Australia – and whichever party…
Research on work and family policies support an approach that responds to the intensive demands of early childhood, as well as birth.
Image from www.shutterstock.com
When the Labor government introduced a national paid parental leave (PPL) scheme on 1 January, 2011, it was late to the international party. The International Labour Organisation had been recommending…
A roundtable of academics have reviewed family and work policies proposed by the major parties in the lead up to the 2013 election on September 7.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation e Patrick Hutchens, The Conversation
Australia is approaching a “care tsunami” in which more people will find themselves juggling work with care of children and the elderly but experts have warned that neither major party has proposed adequate…
Does Labor’s most recent attack ad pass the truth test?
Labor Party
Election FactCheck is checking key claims in political advertisements. Here we look at the “If Tony Abbott Wins, You Lose” ad from Labor. Families will lose the Schoolkids Bonus The Coalition has made…
How generous is the Coalition’s paid parental leave scheme?
“Of the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 33 offer paid parental leave schemes. Of these 33 countries, Australia is one of only two that fails to pay leave…
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey on Q&A’s National Economic Debate.
“The biggest beneficiaries [of the Coalition’s Paid Parental Leave scheme] are the women of Australia. Of all the people earning A$100,000 a year under the age of 50, 2% are women. Just 2% are women. How…
Caring is part of everyday life; it taps into our vulnerabilities and allows us to turn possibilities into material outcomes.
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Welcome to the The Conversation’s Election 2013 State of the Nation essays. These articles by leading experts in their field provide an in-depth look at the key policy challenges affecting Australia as…
Opposition leader Tony Abbott has said he hopes the recently announced Coalition paid parental leave (PPL) scheme will lead to a baby boom. Such hopes are consistent with his earlier expression of support…
Universal paid parental leave is now standard in Australia, but would the Coalition’s scheme affect low-paid workers?
[Under the Coalition’s proposed parental leave scheme] “the woman working in the local chemist in Gippsland in regional Victoria would be subsidising the paid parental leave of the woman working in the…
Despite criticisms that Julia Gillard has overplayed the gender card, the policies of her government have put in place a framework for true gender equality in the workplace.
AAP/Alan Porritt
I was recently phoned by a journalist and asked to reflect on what the Labor government had done for gender equality. I started to jot down a number of reforms on the back of an envelope and surprised…
Opposition leader Tony Abbott is under pressure to drop his signature paid parental leave scheme ahead of this year’s federal election.
AAP/Dave Hunt
There is an odd consensus emerging between conservative Liberals opposed to their own leader’s paid parental leave scheme and defenders of the Gillard government’s version of the same policy. Into the…
Liberal moderate Mal Washer has called on Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey to explain their commitment to the paid parental leave scheme.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The row over Tony Abbott’s controversial paid parental leave scheme has widened with prominent Liberal moderate Mal Washer calling on the opposition leader and shadow treasurer to explain to the party…