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On Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a significant reshuffle that includes some big promotions for women.
Michaelia Cash is Australia’s second female attorney-general and Karen Andrews is minister for home affairs. Meanwhile, a new cabinet task force – co-chaired by the elusive minister for women, Marise Payne – will focus on issues like gender equality and women’s economic security.
As Michelle Grattan writes, apart from dealing with the problems presented by Christian Porter and Linda Reynolds, Morrison is trying to manage the deep problem he and his government are facing with women’s issues and their anger.
Elsewhere, other solutions are being offered to try to address the toxic culture within federal parliament. Here, the jury is already in (spoiler: they are not going to work).
As human resources specialist Sue Williamson tells us, it is highly unlikely disgraced government MP Andrew Laming can be helped by a spot of compulsory empathy training. “People are right to be dubious about empathy training — it has all the hallmarks of a human resources fad.”
And after some MPs floated the idea of alcohol testing politicians at work, drug and alcohol researcher Nicole Lee writes this won’t solve the broader problem of a sexist workplace culture.
As she notes, most workplaces don’t allow their people to be drunk at work, so a ban on drinking while working is good policy.
However, she writes: “Although most sexual harassment and bullying is associated with alcohol use, alcohol is not the reason people harass, bully or intimidate. The fundamental problem behind those behaviours is attitudes to women.”
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Judith Ireland
Deputy Editor, Politics + Society
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Mick Tsikas/AAP
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
With his cabinet reshuffle Scott Morrison hopes to make his “women's problems” a whole-of-government challenge.
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Andrew Laming (second from right) with colleagues in the Coalition party room.
Andrew Taylor/AAP
Sue Williamson, UNSW
Scott Morrison and Michael McCormack have both called for empathy training for MPs. But it has all the hallmarks of a human resources fad.
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AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Nicole Lee, Curtin University
Alcohol is not the reason people harass, bully or intimidate. The fundamental problem behind those behaviours is attitudes to women. On-site testing doesn't address those deeper cultural issues.
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Rick Sarre, University of South Australia
The laws on filming, recording and in some cases distributing the images of another person in Australia are clear — and the potential consequences for the accused are substantial.
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Nick Gibbs/AAP
Catherine Bennett, Deakin University
It's all well and good to be able to connect cases through genomic sequencing. But it's important to be able to connect them epidemiologically as well.
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Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland
According to Google Trends, Moon-related searches are up by more than 60% over the past week in Australia. We asked an expert in astrophysics to answer your Moon questions.
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Ross Bradstock, University of Wollongong; Hamish Clarke, University of Wollongong; Luke Collins, La Trobe University; Michael Clarke, La Trobe University; Rachael Helene Nolan, Western Sydney University; Trent Penman, The University of Melbourne
As bushfires become larger under climate change, the area exposed to intense and severe fires is likely to increase.
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Lisa Gibbs, The University of Melbourne
Our report draws on data from more than 1,000 participants who told us of their experiences through community meetings, repeated surveys years after the fires or in-depth interviews.
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Environment + Energy
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Thomas Longden, Australian National University; Fiona J Beck, Australian National University; Frank Jotzo, Australian National University
If Australia pushes ahead with producing fossil fuels, we may lock in a new high-emissions energy system, or one that's uncompetitive. Clearly, green hydrogen is the best way forward.
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Science + Technology
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Sam Baron, Australian Catholic University
A long-sought crack in the Standard Model of particle physics may have been spotted.
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Christian Moro, Bond University; Charlotte Phelps, Bond University
What side are you on, paper or dryer? In either case, here's the bottom line on what to do after using the toilet.
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Health + Medicine
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Matthew Barton, Griffith University; Michael Todorovic, Griffith University
It's a mixture of your genes which you get from your parents, and also your life experience.
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Arts + Culture
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Sally Breen, Griffith University
English professor Frannie Thorstin gets tangled in a sticky web of male attention in the novel and film versions of In the Cut as she tries to sort the bad guys from the good.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
A Labor government would set up a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund to promote manufacturing in Australia’s post pandemic economy.
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Adrian Beaumont, The University of Melbourne
After a terrible few weeks, the prime minister's approval rating has plunged. Meanwhile, a redistribution sees Victoria gain a seat and WA lose one.
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Parkes Place, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2600, Australia — National Library of Australia
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Online course by BehaviourWorks Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia — Monash University
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Level 21, 15 Broadway,, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
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online, Perth, Western Australia, 6000, Australia — University of Western Australia
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