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The Administrative Appeals Tribunal might sound like a dry, dusty component of the machinery of government, but its decisions – on anything from child support and tax to migration and citizenship – can be life-changing. Although it rarely makes headlines, experts see the AAT as an essential check on the power of government.
That’s why concern began growing earlier this year when the federal government was found to be making an increasing number of political appointments to this independent decision-making body.
But the problem is broader than the AAT, Grattan Institute researchers found when they began looking at appointments to a whole range of government boards and commissions. More than a fifth of the board members at Australia Post, for example, have a political connection of some kind, and half of the Productivity Commission’s board have links to the Coalition.
The process urgently needs depoliticising, say the Grattan researchers, and in today’s lead article the institute’s Kate Griffiths and her colleagues explain how.
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Amanda Dunn
Section Editor: Politics + Society
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Kate Griffiths, Grattan Institute; Anika Stobart, Grattan Institute; Danielle Wood, Grattan Institute
The federal government needs a transparent, merit-based process for all public appointments
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Yen Ying Lim, Monash University
Dementia doesn’t affect everyone equally. Social factors can determine how likely you are to suffer from the illness, including your socioeconomic status, where you live, and your background.
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Steven Lewis, Australian Catholic University
Apple is positioning itself as a global education expert. It’s providing not just computers to classrooms, but also professional learning for teachers.
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Sara Webb, Swinburne University of Technology
Why is the universe 13.8 billion years old, but 93 billion light-years across? It’s all about how light travels through the cosmos.
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Jessica Turner, University of Adelaide; Alexandra Whittaker, University of Adelaide
Vale Tricia: the beloved Asian elephant called Perth Zoo home since 1963. Her death has led to an outpouring of grief in Perth, especially among zookeepers and her fellow elephants.
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Greg Dolgopolov, UNSW Sydney
U311 Cherkasy was the first Ukrainian film about the annexation of Crimea, and played an important role in shaping the national identity.
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Cassandra Atherton, Deakin University
Two new books examine the life and legacy of an inspiring poet whose work resisted patriarchal constraints.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The Albanese government will reinstate the pandemic leave payment for workers who have to isolate but do not have sick leave, after earlier vigorously defending its ending on budgetary grounds.
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Olga Oleinikova, University of Technology Sydney; Jaya A R Dantas, Curtin University; Tetiana Bogachenko, Curtin University
Although it has been extended by two more weeks, the decision to end the visa program is disappointing given heavy fighting continues and the humanitarian crisis worsens.
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Adrian Fernandez-Perez, Auckland University of Technology; Alexandre Garel, Audencia; Ivan Indriawan, University of Adelaide
Our mood can influence our spending choices. But where do low mood investors put their money? Turns out, as moods dip, investments in sustainable stocks increase.
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Hunter Fujak, Deakin University
In a country that has largely avoided political and cultural hyper-partisanship, the Barassi Line is perhaps our strongest sociographic dividing characteristic, and certainly novel globally.
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Kate Gleeson, Macquarie University; Robert Ross, Macquarie University; Shaun Wilson, Macquarie University
Most Australians do not believe religious institutions should be allowed to discriminate against people based on the teachings of their faith.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and Assistant Professor Caroline Fisher discuss the week in politics
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Health + Medicine
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Holly Seale, UNSW Sydney
If our immunity from COVID vaccines is waning, then wearing a mask to prevent infection is even more valuable. But not many people seem to be thinking that way when they’re out and about.
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Tony Blakely, The University of Melbourne; Michael Baker, University of Otago
Based on certain criteria, New Zealand is clearly ‘winning’. But getting policy settings right over the long haul is about more than just having the most favourable assessment on selected criteria.
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Julaine Allan, University of Wollongong; Azizur Rahman, Charles Sturt University; Jayne Lawrence, Charles Sturt University; Jodie Kleinschafer, Charles Sturt University; Mark Lock (Ngiyampaa), University of Technology Sydney
A new study has found First Nations people in rural NSW experienced more anxiety and fear about COVID than non-Indigenous people. How did government messaging contribute to this?
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Environment + Energy
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Kathryn Lucas-Healey, Australian National University; Alice Wendy Russell, Australian National University; Hedda Ransan-Cooper, Australian National University; Hugo Temby, Australian National University
New research finds rooftop solar maintenance is becoming a form of housework, and this has the potential to become an equity issue.
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