Grattan Institute

Australian governments are currently fast-tracking transport projects, hoping for an infrastructure-led recovery from the COVID-19 recession. But our infrastructure pipeline is already bulging with several megaprojects underway across the country. And the history of such projects in terms of cost is not great. Governments have often ended up spending millions - and even billions - more on these projects than they first told the public they would. Listen to Senior Associates Owain Emslie and Greg Moran, in conversation with Paul Austin, about their latest report: The Rise of Megaprojects: Counting the cost.

This week Victoria reached 0 COVID cases and 0 deaths – in what has affectionately been dubbed ‘Donut Day’. It’s been a hard-won road with the dramatic shutdown of the entire state for 112 days. Hospitality, retail and the arts have been hard hit, not to mention the tragic deaths and illnesses due to the virus itself. But in reaching zero, Victoria has achieved a world first. No other place in the world has tamed a second wave this large. Listen to Kat Clay in conversation with Tom Crowley, Grattan associate, about how Victoria's response compares to other countries around the world. Read the article in discussion on our website: https://grattan.edu.au/news/at-zero-new-cases-victoria-is-on-top-of-the-world/

With this week’s release of the historic 2020 Federal Budget, economic stimulus seems to be all about high-vis and hard hats. But what about the hardest hit? In this podcast, three Grattan Institute experts give their extended take on what can only be described as one of the most significant budgets of our generation. Listen to Danielle Wood, Grattan's CEO, Marion Terrill, Transport and Cities Program Director, and Stephen Duckett, Health Program Director, as they evaluate the 2020 Federal Budget.

By September this year, there have been about 2000 COVID cases and 500 deaths in residential aged care, which accounts for 70% of Australia's COVID death toll. At the same time, we are faced with the horror stories of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, that include a lack of dignity, neglect, abuse, and the inappropriate use of chemical and physical restraints. And yet, there have been a multitude of reports and proposed reforms into aged care through the years that have gone ignored. Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, discusses the latest Grattan Report, Rethinking aged care: emphasising the rights of older Australians, with Anika Stobart, Associate in Grattan's health program.

In early September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the reform of the energy system to aid Australia’s economic recovery from COVID-19. Much of this announcement focussed on gas as they key to stimulating manufacturing and investment in Australia. But is this really the case, and could Australia be missing an opportunity to move to more renewable energy sources? Two of Grattan's energy experts, Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, and Guy Dundas, Energy Fellow, shed light on these recent announcements in our latest podcast. Donate to Grattan Institute https://grattan.edu.au/donate

Faced with the hard task of economic recovery from COVID-19, governments need to prioritise policy changes that makes a difference, while minimising the political cost. But Australian policy has stagnated under the lack of prioritisation. The failure to prioritise has been labelled as one reason for the failings of the Rudd Government, the Abbott Government, and the Shorten Opposition. In today’s special prioritisation podcast, Senior Fellow John Daley discusses his latest report, Prioritising a Government’s Agenda, with Fellow Kate Griffiths. You can read the report in discussion here: https://grattan.edu.au/report/prioritising-a-governments-agenda/

A big part of the Morrison Government’s response to COVID-19 has been allowing people early access to their superannuation. At the same time, compulsory super contributions are legislated to climb from 9.5 per cent of wages to 12 per cent over the next five years. We’ve all been told we need to put more money into super, so letting people have access to their superannuation early sounds like a bad idea. But is it? And does it justify higher compulsory contributions? On today's Grattan podcast, Household Finances Program Director Brendan Coates discusses the early super release scheme, and whether or not super should rise to 12 per cent.

COVID-19 is the biggest issue of our age, and one of the biggest questions is how can we best fight coronavirus? Can we realistically get to zero active cases in Australia? Or should we just let it rip? On today's podcast, Stephen Duckett discusses his new report "Go for zero: how Australia can get to zero COVID-19 cases", the Victorian roadmap to COVID Normal, and how other states can do the same, with Paul Austin. You can read the report in discussion free online: https://grattan.edu.au/report/how-australia-can-get-to-zero-covid-19-cases/

One of the biggest challenges facing our largest cities before the pandemic, and one we will eventually have to face again, is congestion on our roads. With so many people either out of work or working from home, now might seem like a strange time to be thinking about tackling congestion in our cities. But, there are many reasons why it might also be the best time. Kat Clay is joined by Senior Associate Greg Moran, to talk about why congestion charging is back on the agenda and why that’s a good thing. You can read our report on congestion charging in Sydney and Melbourne here: https://grattan.edu.au/report/right-time-right-place-right-price/

Increasing female workforce participation is one of the biggest long-term economic opportunities for governments. Australia’s female workforce participation rate is above the OECD average, but Australian women are much more likely to work part-time than their overseas counterparts. Before COVID-19, a typical Australian woman with pre-teenage children worked 2.5 days per week. Is this what women want? Why do the work patterns of mothers look so different from those of fathers? Why is part-time work so common for Australian women compared to women in other developed countries? How has COVID-19 changed the equation? And what can governments do to reduce the barriers for women who want to do more paid work? Our expert panel discussed these issues and more at this State Library Victoria and Grattan Institute Policy Pitch event. Speakers: Miranda Stewart - Professor and Director of Tax at Melbourne University Law School Emma Walsh - CEO, Parents At Work Danielle Wood - CEO, Grattan Institute Moderator Paul Au

Childcare should be made cheaper to enable more women to do more paid work, and to help lift the economy out of the COVID recession. Find out how Australian governments can enable mothers to do more paid work (and how to manage being a CEO with a toddler at home) on this week’s Grattan podcast with CEO Danielle Wood, Fellow Kate Griffiths, and Senior Associate Owain Emslie. Read the report in discussion on our website: https://grattan.edu.au/report/cheaper-childcare/

Should Australia dump the decades-old dream of building a bullet train from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra? The east-coast bullet train advocated by the federal ALP could be an expensive folly: Australia’s small population and vast distances present major economic and environmental risks. How realistic is the notion that upgrades to regional rail would ease population pressures on our major capitals and boost struggling regional cities and towns? What’s the best way for governments to help commuters get to work in the booming outer suburbs of the capital cities? The alternative of renovating rail lines to boost train speeds from capital cities to surrounding regions is less expensive and might be worth doing – but these renovations are unlikely to fulfil all the wishful thinking of their proponents. Watch Marion Terrill, Grattan's Transport and Cities Program Director, Gabriel Metcalf, CEO of the Committee for Sydney, and Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, in a lively discussion on

The second part of our two-part special podcast on Grattan's past and future. This week John Daley, our CEO of eleven years, interviews our new CEO, Danielle Wood, on the future of Grattan, the importance of public trust in institutions, and her optimism in the potential for policy change in Australia.

As we farewell Grattan's CEO of eleven years, John Daley, and welcome our new CEO, Danielle Wood, we present the first part of a special two-part podcast series, looking at where Grattan has come from, and where Grattan will go. This week, Danielle Wood interviews John Daley on his achievements and the origins of the Grattan Institute. Next week, John will interview Danielle on where she sees the future of the Grattan Institute and policy in Australia.

Australia continues to debate whether achieving very low or net zero emissions will cost jobs or open a new era for the country as an energy superpower. In this Grattan Institute/State Library of Queensland Webinar, a panel of experts explored the opportunities and barriers Australia will face in a low-emissions world. Speakers: - Anna Skarbek, CEO of ClimateWorks Australia - Professor Ross Garnaut, Professorial Research Fellow in Economics at The University of Melbourne - Guy Dundas, Energy Fellow, Grattan Institute - Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, Grattan Institute

COVID-19 is the biggest social and economic shock since World War II. Within two months, policies and systems for welfare, employment, childcare, health, and education have been turned on their head after decades of (at most) incremental reform. Recovering from such a shock is a big task that will stretch government resources. Other less urgent (but important) reforms will have to wait until there are time and resources to do them properly. In this special Grattan Institute/State Library Victoria Webinar, a panel of policy experts from the Grattan Institute discussed our latest publication, The Recovery Book, which identifies the extensive policy agenda Australia’s federal, state, and territory governments should deal with over the next six months. To read the report in question, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/report/recovery-book/ Speakers Danielle Wood – CEO of the Grattan Institute Stephen Duckett – Director of Grattan’s Health Program Brendan Coates – Director of Grattan’s Household Finances Program M

Teachers and students responded quickly and well to remote learning when the COVID-19 crisis forced the closure of schools. But new research suggests most students learnt less at home than they would have in the classroom – and that disadvantaged students fell further behind. In this special Webinar, experts from the UK, the US, and Australia discussed their latest findings and identified the extent of the ‘equity gap’. And as schools reopen and students return to the classroom, the panel suggested ways to help our most vulnerable students to catch-up, answered questions on school education in the age of COVID-19. Speakers: - Anthony Mackay AM - President & CEO of the Washington DC based National Centre on Education and the Economy - Dr. V. Darleen Opfer - Vice President of RAND Education and Labor and the Distinguished Chair in Education Policy at the RAND Corporation - Robert Coe - Director of Research and Development at Evidence Based Education and Senior Associate at the Education Endowment Foundation

After COVID-19, Australia’s health system looks nothing like the health system of six months ago. All aspects of the system – primary care, mental health, and alcohol and other drug services – have embraced new ways of working because of spatial distancing. Health professionals took on new roles, services pivoted from waiting for people to make appointments to reaching out to patients, and many face-to-face consultations were replaced with phone or video consultations. Read our latest health report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/coming-out-of-covid/

Australia should launch a $1 billion, six-month tutoring blitz to help 1 million disadvantaged school students recover learning lost during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Governments should send a battalion of 100,000 tutors into schools between now and Christmas to conduct intensive small-group sessions on reading and maths. Many disadvantaged students – those from the poorest 25 per cent of families and rural areas – will have fallen further behind their classmates during the COVID-19 school closures. Listen to Julie Sonnemann, School Education Fellow, in discussion with Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, about how to help disadvantaged students recover lost learning. For more information or to read the report in discussion, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/report/covid-catch-up/

Australia should dump the decades-old dream of building a bullet train from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra, and we should be wary of expensive promises to upgrade regional rail to ease population pressures on our major capitals and boost struggling regional cities and towns. Listen to Greg Moran, Senior Associate, and Tom Crowley, Associate, discuss the latest Grattan Report, Fast train fever: Why renovated rail might work but bullet trains won’t. Hosted by Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications. You can read the report in discussion here: https://grattan.edu.au/report/fast-train-fever/