5 reasons for doing online learning for school students well
13 April 2020
Insights
The views shared in each Insight are those of Mary Clarke, the Principal and Founder of DXP Consulting. They do not in any way purport to reflect those of DXP Consulting's clients.
35 is to be the new 50, but it shouldn’t
22 February 2024
This article discusses five reasons why the proposal to lower the age limit for temporary graduate visa eligibility is bad policy and should be reconsidered. Namely that it:
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is a blunt instrument;
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is premised on faulty logic;
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deprives Australia of premium global talent;
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places Australia at a competitive disadvantage in the race for global talent; and
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is unnecessary as international student numbers have come down.
Inflated half truths
21 December 2023
This article discusses five half-truths that have been promulgated in recent times on either the subject of inflation or the means to bring it under control:
1. high inflation is increasing our cost of living;
2. strong demand explains high inflation;
3. there is a Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment;
4. wage increases risk driving inflation higher; and
5. migration is driving up inflation.
Should we be waging a war on wages?
6 March 2023
There has been much commentary on wage growth doing the rounds over recent years. Claims variously include that wage growth has been too slow, workers are worse off, migrants depress wage growth, reforming industrial relations is needed to support higher wage growth, and that wage increases risk a wage-price spiral. This article examines the veracity of these claims and asks: should we be waging a war on wages? The conclusion reached is "No". Keep on reading to find out why.
Enhancing Paid Parental Leave: Why it's Not Just Good for Mums
13 July 2022
Enhancements to Paid Parental Leave need to come back onto the table. Not just because they are good for mums. They are also good for dads, opposite and same sex couples, single parents, their children and employers. This article explains why.
Losing the competition for overseas students
29 July 2021
This article laments what is happening to international education. Australia is not even in the competition. It’s borders remain closed to overseas students. Any expectation that Australia can re-join the frontrunners once this pandemic is over is false hope. This pandemic is not going to magically be over any day soon. Australia needs to get back in the race now for the Government to remain true to its dual priorities of saving livelihoods as well as lives.
Let's hear it for the boys
23 December 2020
The norm is to argue gender equality from the female perspective and to rejoice or decry changes in their labour force and other statistics. This article makes the case for equality for the men. It finds that dads who spend time with their kids generally do so by altering when and where they work, and not how long. Now is the time to address the assumptions, laws and other social structures that constrain the choices of men. Let's hear it for the boys. Let's give the boys a hand.
Supporting the pipeline of job-ready law graduates?
29 September 2020
The Government's higher education reforms should be shelved and replaced by reforms that have been drafted after a proper consultation process open to all key stakeholders. Using law as a case study, this article argues that:
1. a focus on ‘job-ready’ is both misleading and inappropriate;
2. high student contributions risk exacerbating social inequities;
3. student contributions are poorly aligned to private benefits;
4. the evidence does not support the implied public benefits; and
5. sometimes contradictory price signals could have unintended consequences.
Fighting for livelihoods while protecting lives: the importance of skilled migration
7 August 2020
Policies that keep highly skilled migrants out for too long run the risk of deepening the recession and prolonging recovery. As Australia fights for recovery, skilled migrants are a critical part of its arsenal. With Australia viewed by the rest of the world as a relatively COVID-safe place to be, now is the time to be crafting policies designed to attract the best and the brightest from across the globe.
5 reasons for doing online learning for school students well
13 April 2020
As over 600,000 of Victoria's government school students commence online learning, there are at least five reasons for doing this well, namely that:
1. we are talking about the learnings and wellbeing of too many students not to;
2. it can be and is being done well by some;
3. teachers are the best teachers;
4. it can lead to sustainable gains in the equity of access to a quality education; and
5. recovery depends on parents’ capacity to work.
Free, frank and fearless?
17 September 2019
Do political appointments to top public service roles, public servants being told to get on and deliver, and a revolving door of prime ministership, spell the end of free, frank and fearless advice? These developments certainly do not bode well. But they do not have to.
Re-imagining school funding
14 May 2019
Imagine school funding entitlements that follow students, unchanged by the school or sector that parents choose to send their children to within their state or territory. Conditioned only by learning needs and the capacity of parents to contribute to fees. Imagine jurisdictions have the flexibility to design funding arrangements to best account for local circumstances and priorities. I have.
Business studies empowering Indigenous success
21 May 2018
With the settlement of native land claims and other developments, unprecedented opportunities are opening for Indigenous Australians. The risk is that best advantage is not taken unless Indigenous Australians take charge of driving their own success. Business studies hold the key for empowering Indigenous success.
The future is bright for professionals, but what does it hold for their membership bodies?
27 April 2018
The employment of professionals has gone from strength to strength and this growth is expected to continue unabated. It is reasonable to assume a similarly bright future for their professional bodies. Reasonable, but naive. In order to not merely survive, but thrive, professional bodies need to embrace bold change.
Why skilled migrants matter for growth
24 November 2017
Skilled migrants have expanded the productive capacity of the nation and contributed to growth through their consumption. Current policy settings and practices, however, fail to take maximum advantage of the potential.
Are we ready for the future of work?
8 November 2017
The future of work is here, in abundance, it is widespread, and it is morphing at an accelerating rate of change. But are we ready? Are our social systems and institutions adapting at an equivalent rate of change?