If you print it, will they come?

If you’ve gone down the print on demand (POD) route to publish your first book, the next step is to build a profile and, hopefully, generate interest that translates to sales. Continue Reading →

A question of numbers

These next few weeks are all about numbers. And with the biggest number cruncher, the May Budget, only a fortnight away, there has been plenty of speculation about what Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s cost-cutting government is going to deliver.  Continue Reading →

The place for research in developing policy

There’s a problem with many of our political systems at the moment. Or, more specifically, the way our policy is put together. Think tank’s are assembled, productivity inquiries commissioned and research is gathered to guide the policies that are created to make our nation stronger. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Continue Reading →

Interview with an artist: Deborah Kelly

It is viewed as the premier event on Australia’s visual arts calendar, with the invitation to exhibit a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many artists. But this year, a shadow was cast over the Biennale of Sydney, with several artists boycotting the festival’s long-time sponsorship by Transfield Holdings (Transfield is a shareholder in Transfield Services, the company recently contracted by the Abbott Government to run the detention centres on Manus and Nauru islands.) Continue Reading →

Early education and care under review

Right now, the Productivity Commission is weighing up the future of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector, delivering recommendations for the sector in October this year. Continue Reading →

Terror, treachery and the ABC

If you listened to Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his inner sanctum, Australia is facing yet another war. Not with the people smugglers (again, still), or Indonesia (from fallout of the PM’s handling of spying allegations, people smuggling, general relations…) but with the national broadcaster, the ABC. Continue Reading →

New CEO for Congress

The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples today announced the appointment of Geoff Scott as chief executive officer until June 2014. Continue Reading →

Desperately seeking asylum

January in Australia is usually hot. Stinking hot. Right now, this minute, Australia is literally the hottest spot in the world*. Adelaide reached tops of 46+ degrees today, which is pretty bloody hot, but I am reminded by many on Twitter about the horrible conditions the asylum seekers on Nauru face, every day. Continue Reading →

Coalition doesn’t give a Gonski

These last few weeks we’ve seen the relatively new Abbott Government backflip on a few pre-election ‘promises’ – that is when they’re actually releasing information – including our budget “emergency” and promises of a no-surprises, transparent government. Now it seems the latest to be broken is Tony Abbott’s pre-election promise when he said there was “no difference” between he and Kevin Rudd on the issue of school funding. Continue Reading →

Are infographics worth a thousand words?

In our fast-paced world of social media and mass communication, the old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words may never be truer, as the use of infographics continues to provide effective, engaging tools to communicate messages. Continue Reading →