Charis Palmer, The Conversation; Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation, and Diana Hodgetts, The Conversation
The Commission of Audit set the high water mark for reform designed to protect Australia against an economic downturn. One year on, little of it has made it into policy.
Amidst the hugging of cuddly animals, G20 leaders talked growth.
Andrew Taylor/G20 Australia/AAP
In April, Treasurer Joe Hockey set the tone for his economics policies in a speech in New York on what he referred to as ending the “entitlement culture”. Hockey, who had given a defining speech in 2012…
The failure to publish collected data is hindering understanding of the effectiveness and failures of government programs.
Flickr/LOD2project/European Data Forum
The McClure Review of Welfare, much like the Commission of Audit report, is unlikely to win the Abbott government many new fans in the social services sector. However, for those involved in social policy…
The government’s attempt to introduce a $7 compulsory co-payment for visits to the doctor and pathology services has drawn widespread criticism.
AAP Image/NEWZULU/PETER BOYLE
Arguments against health co-payments proposed in May’s federal budget will come to the fore again shortly as the Senate considers whether it will pass the necessary legislation. The government’s attempt…
The National Commission of Audit recommended sector consultations before imposing fee deregulation, which the government ignored. Now they’ve decided it was probably a good idea.
AAP
The government has contacted university Vice-Chancellors across the country asking for their advice on the implementation of fee deregulation, after initially ignoring the Commission of Audit’s recommendation…
Ever thus… there is a quite a history of the federal government pulling funding from the states.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The states have some justification in being annoyed about being stripped of $80 billion worth of federal funding for health and education funding. These programs were negotiated on the basis of shared…
The state of culture in Australia? Basically, it’s in rude health.
Ars Electronica
In the lead-up to the budget, the story of crisis has been hammered home, but there’s more to a country than its structural deficit. So how is Australia doing overall? In this special series, ten writers…
The Commission of Audit’s minimum wage recommendation shows no understanding of issues facing the low paid.
'No understanding anytime': artist: Richard Tipping, from the Signed Signs series, Brisbane Powerhouse, 2001.
There was nothing in the Commission of Audit’s terms of reference inviting it to make recommendations on the minimum wage. The Commission was asked to produce a report on “government expenditure”. Yet…
We’re unlikely to solve persistent challenges to the health system, such as ensuring equitable access to well-coordinated care, with quick fixes.
AAP Image/Quentin Jones
In the lead-up to the budget, the story of crisis has been hammered home, but there’s more to a country than its structural deficit. So how is Australia doing overall? In this special series, ten writers…
There’s no quick fix for the research industry in Australia, it needs a considered approach.
Flickr/US Army RDECOM
Douglas Hilton, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)
Most researchers would agree with the Commission of Audit’s finding that “given overall budget constraints, it is important to take a strategic, whole-of-government approach to where Australia’s research…
If the government won’t pay, then students will have to.
Flickr/Paul Wolfenden
Tim Pitman, Curtin University and Paul Koshy, Curtin University
The principle of divide et impera (divide and conquer) has been a political staple for centuries and the Commission of Audit’s recommendations regarding higher education are a salient example. Both universities…
Setting up an opt-out digital eGovernment is an expensive process … it would want to be worth it.
~lauren/Flickr
The Australian federal government’s recently published National Commission of Audit’s recommendation 62: e-Government suggests the government accelerate its transition to online service delivery that…
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is the tenth largest Commonwealth Government program, now costing over $9 billion a year.
Taki Steve/Flickr
When it comes to pharmaceuticals expenditure, the National Commission of Audit’s proposals rate highly on any policy change scale. Its two main recommendations are designed to reduce the overall cost to…
Commission chair Tony Shepherd has missed an opportunity to spark a genuine budget reform conversation.
Lukas Coch/AAP
There are some good ideas in the Commission of Audit report. Unfortunately they’re buried in so much else that it’s hard to find them. For a report focused on the costs and benefits of government, it shows…
For general patients, the minimum co-payment would be A$15.
Shutterstock
The Commission of Audit’s proposals about GP co-payments are just that, proposals. They are not government policy, nor should they be. Some aspects of the Commission’s recommendations are good. But the…
University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor Caroline McMillen says the government should look at the evidence before implementing the Commission of Audit’s recommendation to deregulate university fees.
Supplied
The National Commission of Audit released yesterday has made a recommendation to government in line with proposals from some Group of Eight vice-chancellors that university fees should be deregulated…
The Commission report recommends private health insurers take on a greater role in Australia’s health system.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The National Commission of Audit has made 86 recommendations with a focus on the federal government’s 15 biggest and fastest-growing areas of spending. Health is near the top of the list, with the Commission…
The recommendation made by the Commission of Audit to merge Screen Australia and the Australia Council is yet another example of this government’s policy incoherence. Locked into belligerent opposition…
The government will consider newly released recommendations from the Commission of Audit, which has suggested stringent cuts across the board.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Heavy on warnings that “business as usual” will leave future generations of Australians saddled with excessive debt, the National Commission of Audit has delivered the government a comprehensive platform…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne