The Age’s Good Weekend magazine almost always offers interesting longer articles for relaxed weekend enjoyment. But in a recent edition (3 February 2018) there was a disturbing aspect to the publication. The front cover of the magazine highlighted the feature story about property developer Michael Buxton and his art collection with the the tropes: MAKE…

This month in Sydney, I gave a presentation on the future of work to a group of employment service providers who work with very disadvantaged clients. Their core task is to help people who are in some way on the back foot in the competitive job market of the present time. With so many predictions of…

For some years, I have been following the global debate about the adoption of universal basic income (UBI) while researching and writing about the changing face of employment – and the changing face of social welfare – as reflected in the content of this website. My doctoral research focussed on employment insecurity and the difficulties…

At the moment the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) is focussing much attention on issues relating to the “future of work”. I had my say and answered a few questions about the future of work – also the present reality of work –  on the Drive program yesterday on ABC radio 774. My interview starts at the…

In July, I took on a tough interview (also delightfully challenging!!) with a couple of blokes, Bill Kerr and Tommy Ahern, from Adventurefit Travel.  They wanted to know what I thought about what’s happening in the world of work and what changes might be on the way via robots and AI. They also asked what I…

The OECD Forum Bridging the Divides which I attended 6-7 June in Paris was in some ways an extraordinary event broaching some of the most challenging issues of these times. With so many losers from global capitalism and the immense pressures this has placed on political systems around the world, the Forum was certainly timely. The…

In the last week I have given 2 presentations at events for Melbourne Knowledge Week on behalf of Humanities21 which promotes the study of philosophy, history and literature. One of the events was for the Disruptive Business Network and the other for Humanities 21 itself at Melbourne Museum in a panel alongside author and academic Dr. Tim…

In this article, just published in the Economic and Labour Relations Review, I examine the barriers for mature age women trapped in precarious jobs of continuing on in employment until the later pension eligibility age in Australia (67) and other countries (67-68) that are now coming into effect. I also report on how the later pension…

The promise to restore manufacturing jobs, and the communities that depended on those jobs, was pivotal to Donald Trump’s presidential success. Turns out there is massive support for the revival of manufacturing in Australia too. But what does this mean and is it possible?  My new article for Open Forum explores what might be involved.…

My article in Eureka Street looks at how old equal opportunity aspirations are being killed off by the loss of middle level jobs: https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/hollowed-out-labour-market-stymies-equal-opportunity