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Welfare State

social-policy-welfare

Despite a rapid increase in wealth and living standards over the past few decades, more Australians are dependent on the public purse than ever before.  Today, almost one in six working age Australians relies on welfare for all or part of their income.  A growing welfare state means an ever higher tax take is needed, bringing more taxpayers in to the welfare system.  How can government promote individual responsibility and self-reliance, while still providing a safety net?  How can patterns of joblessness and dependency be broken?

Publications

  1. Defeating Dependency: Moving Disability Support Pensioners Into Jobs

    Jessica Brown | 28 Apr 2010 | Issue Analysis

    Jessica Brown, policy analyst with the CIS argues that the focus of reform efforts should be on encouraging some of the 750,000... Read More...

  2. What’s Next for Welfare-to-Work?

    Jessica Brown | 15 Oct 2009 | Issue Analysis

    In 2006, the Howard government’s Welfare to Work reforms placed new eligibility requirements on recipients of the Disability... Read More...

  3. Supping with the Devil : Government Contracts and the Non-Profit Sector

    Peter Saunders | 09 Aug 2009 | Policy Forum

    Big-government corporatism is now in danger of smothering the third sector altogether. The temptation for non-profit organisations... Read More...

  4. Fatally Flawed: The Child Protection Crisis in Australia

    Jeremy Sammut | 25 Jun 2009 | Policy Monographs

    It is not underfunding or an overwhelming workload that has caused child protection services to fail the vulnerable children... Read More...

  5. A Streak of Hypocrisy: Reactions to the Global Financial Crisis and Generational Debt

    Jeremy Sammut | 15 Dec 2008 | Policy Monographs

    Dr Jeremy Sammut says that ‘household savings have collapsed due to an unnecessary dependence on welfare handouts. A new... Read More...

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Opinion & Commentary

  1. Alternatives to a life on welfare

    Jessica Brown | 17 Feb 2010 | The Drum – Unleashed

    The Disability Support Pension (DSP) has become a one-way ticket. The government is trying to reduce the number of people ... Read More

  2. Antidote to welfare dependency

    Jessica Brown | 19 Jan 2010 | The Australian

    The federal government’s extension of income management across the country, announced late last year, reflects a new consensus ... Read More

  3. Some kids really need to be rescued

    Jeremy Sammut | 18 Nov 2009 | The Australian

    As a researcher your gut always churns when you are about to release a new report, but when the Centre for Independent Studies ... Read More

  4. Motivate those on hand-outs

    Jessica Brown | 15 Oct 2009 | The Australian

    The Rudd government’s approach to sole-parent families, as with that of its predecessor, is that the best form of welfare ... Read More

  5. We’re wasting billions on tax churn

    John Humphreys | 08 Oct 2009 | Business Spectator

    By pulling the middle class into the welfare net, the government is crowding out civil society and undermining personal responsibility, ... Read More

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Ideas@TheCentre

  1. Overcoming poverty of ambition

    Jessica Brown | 16 Jul 2010

    Study shows that children of the poorest parents – both in terms of income and education – can go on to become tomorrow’s ...

  2. Money doesn’t grow on trees

    Sara Hudson | 19 Mar 2010

    Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s decision to support Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin’s income management bill ...

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