When leaving home means being abandoned
Much has been written about the apparent failure of child protection authorities to rescue children from situations of significant abuse or neglect, or to protect the rights of children who are living in substitute...
A different kind of welfare reform
Philip Mendes explains why spending on social services has ballooned under a government that believes in letting people fend for themselves. He outlines an alternative vision for welfare reform that would give service recipients...
Equality of Opportunity: Levelling the playing field
Social mobility requires free and competitive markets, a lightly regulated labour market and active redistribution strategies, according to Fred Argy. Any attempt to remove the barriers to social mobility through active social investment should...
Franchising ‘mutual obligation’
Minh Nguyen describes the Howard Government's development of 'mutual obligation' into a national policy brand. Wherever this brand is applied, from the welfare system to foreign aid, it points the finger at the disadvantaged...
A social plimsoll line?
When citizens are treated like consumers they become subject to all the risks contained in the old Latin phrase caveat emptor – let the buyer beware, writes Eva Cox.