Australia’s utilitarian tradition of government – the greatest good for the greatest number – has a dark side: there are always those whose voices struggle to be heard and whose needs are overlooked.
While demand for subsidised services is high and rising, many parts of the system need improvement. The federal budget can’t solve these problems by placing the entire burden on taxpayers.
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Grattan Institute’s Danielle Wood on election’s thin policy debate
Michelle Grattan speaks with Danielle Wood, the CEO of the Grattan Institute, an independent think tank, where policy experts research and advocate for policies to improve Australians' lives.
Labor’s two-party lead has been cut back slightly, to 54-46%, and its primary vote has fallen in the post-budget Newspoll. But Anthony Albanese would have a strong win if the latest poll were reproduced at the election.
It’s a paradox. The Morrison government, in deep trouble, has produced a budget that’s shamelessly designed to try to buy votes. But Labor, censorious in its rhetoric, has found itself having to embrace the budget’s central measures.
Picture how you’d like to be cared for as an older Australian who needs help. Now compare that to the reality for today’s aged care residents and carers.
University of Canberra Professional Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Associate Professor Caroline Fisher discuss the week in politics
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne