Free, or not so free ? The cost of education

State school education is widely considered to be free, but there are many extra costs parents are asked to pay. For families facing disadva ntage, these can be difficult to meet and community organisations are increasingly stepping in to help families to meet school costs. Monica Thiel king, Paul Fl atau and Anne Hampshire tell the story.

Reducing crime by investing in communities

While Victoria has pursued a harsher law and order approach to sentencing, justice reinvestment approaches appear to be proving effective in the USA and are being trialled in the UK. Michelle McDonnell outlines what the results have been overseas and recommends our politicians consider justice reinvestment over law and order approaches if they want to make our state safer.

Something to crow about? Victorian government finances under the Coalition

The Coalition Government claims a strong economic record going into the election. David Hayward examines its levels of infrastructure spending, social policy spending and debt levels to see whether the claim stands up to scrutiny.

Changing the culture, changing the system

The following is an edited extract of a speech about tackling family violence, given by Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay at the 2014 VCOSS Summit in May.

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Free, or not so free ? The cost of education

State school education is widely considered to be free, but there are many extra costs parents are asked to pay. For families facing disadva ntage, these can be ... Read More

Changing the culture, changing the system

The following is an edited extract of a speech about tackling family violence, given by Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay at the 2014 VCOSS Summit in ... Read More

The changing face of employment

The Business Council of Australia says significant investment in education and training is needed to help stem the tide of rising unemployment, particularly among ... Read More

Something to crow about? Victorian government finances under the Coalition

The Coalition Government claims a strong economic record going into the election. David Hayward examines its levels of infrastructure spending, social policy ... Read More

Train people up, don’t cut them down

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) says that with unemployment rising, rather than slashing the social safety net, we need a well-resourced VET system ... Read More

Right train, wrong platform

As we head towards this year’s state election, Alan Attwood urges our politicians to remember that they are part of the community; not separate to it. Several ... Read More

Reducing crime by investing in communities

While Victoria has pursued a harsher law and order approach to sentencing, justice reinvestment approaches appear to be proving effective in the USA and are being ... Read More

Time to sweat the small stuff on transport

Developing a first-rate public transport network isn’t just about cutting ribbons on mega infrastructure projects. If we want to improve our public transport ... Read More

Housing crisis needs political leadership

The shortage of affordable private and social housing is at crisis point in Victoria, yet it struggles to gain serious political traction. Terry Burke looks at ... Read More

Listening to our children

After listening to the stories of almost 200 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care, Andrew Jackomos says we must face up to the truth about the struggles some ... Read More

INSIGHT EXTRA

Opening the ‘black box’ of policy

Pitching policy to government can be both an art and a science. After researching the ‘black box’ of policy-making processes, Gemma Carey says social change advocates need to break ... Read More

Reimagining the relationship

Amid change and reform, the community sector and government can work together positively to support people facing disadvantage, Helen Dickinson says. The old adage that ‘the only ... Read More