There are a lot of reviews on the internet about Professor Guy Standing’s book A Precariat Charter published about a year ago. But it’s worth some reflections here especially in view of its focus on a reinvigorated rights based approach for dealing with the current crisis in employment and economic inequality and most particularly the…
I take forward my analysis of the human rights dimension of unemployment, commenced a couple of weeks ago, in this article published on the social policy website Power to Persuade – A human rights lens on unemployment and welfare-to-work My article reflects on the arguments made by Dr Tania Raffass in her article in the Australian Journal of Human…
At the National Press Club, 2 Feb 2015, Prime Minister Tony Abbott responded to the question on the fairness concerns about the 2014 Budget by resorting to the argument that his government’s aim is to help future generations by reducing the debt burden they would inherit. Hence, he argues, the 2014 budget and his government’s debt…
In an article for the Conversation, published in December 2014, I argued that Prime Minister Tony Abbott should dump not refine his signature paid parental leave scheme. My argument was that Australia already has a scheme that is working well according to recent evaluation. I also said that funds would be better channelled into child…
Unemployment and Punitive Activation as Human Rights Issues is an academic paper published in the Australian Journal of Human Rights July 2014, Volume 20, No. 1. The paper, by Dr. Tania Raffass, recalls the little acknowledged fact that the right to work is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). It is part of a core of…
It is greatly dispiriting that Australia’s Prime Minister- and Minister for Women- thinks that a tiny boost in income for average households resulting from the carbon tax repeal was the highlight of his government’s achievement for women in 2014. In Abbott’s view of the world, women are essentially the home-makers and secondary earners, if they earn at…
My presentation at the Australian Services Union National Conference 2014 asks how the changing nature of work and employment effects union membership. And moreover, how do unions need to respond. The presentation can be downloaded here: Unions of the Future: Opportunities and Challenges
There is an air of crisis in Australia and the international community about youth unemployment (for 15-24year olds) that has remained persistently high in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. But it is often overlooked that youth unemployment has been very high since the late 1970s, when the levels were not that different from what…
It was a moving experience yesterday to provide a comment for the Conversation on the impact of the Whitlam Government in social policy in the article: Gough Whitlam’s life and legacy: experts respond While my last post lamented how difficult it remains for single parents, my reflections on Whitlam’s legacy in terms of establishing the single…
New analysis has emerged that women will be worse off as a result of the 2014 Federal Budget and single mothers will be particularly badly affected. This is very troubling given the struggles that single parent families already face. In Australia, one in five families are single parent families and most of these (87%) are headed by…
Dr. Veronica Sheen 