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23 January 2025
Food insecurity is a growing problem for Australians – but we need better data and evidence to understand it. Here’s how government can implement more robust and comprehensive data collection to inform policymaking on food security.
Sue Kleve, Katherine Kent and Rebecca Lindberg
17 January 2025
Prevention, early intervention, harm reduction and education should be prioritised in the NSW Government’s new Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Strategy.
Jack Wilson, Kate Ross and Steph Kershaw
18 December 2024
We published more articles and authors than ever before in 2024, as The Policymaker continued to grow as a leading platform for public policy analysis and ideas. Here are our five most popular articles from this year.
Hugh Piper
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2 September 2024
By measuring outcomes beyond immediate upfront costs, governments can develop a more holistic understanding of the downstream effects of their decisions. Here’s where to start.
Cressida Gaukroger
27 August 2024
Innovative analysis of paleoclimate data from the last thousand years is informing better environmental management. What more can governments do to harness this valuable natural record to improve policymaking?
Philippa Higgins, Chris Turney, Jonathan Palmer, Tristan Derham, Lucinda Duxbury and Matthew Fielding
20 August 2024
Local microfactories have the potential to sustainably supply the metals and critical materials needed for Australia’s green transition. But what are the right policy settings to support the reprocessing of waste for manufacturing?
Veena Sahajwalla & Anirban Ghose
How research can enhance policymaking: improving the interface between academia and government
Breaking down the barriers to collaboration between researchers and policy practitioners takes relationships of trust, innovative knowledge-brokering institutions and better mutual understanding.
The AI genie is out of the bottle – here’s how to regulate it
Generative AI is here to stay. But with a nuanced understanding of the technology, sophisticated regulation and a long-term view, we can minimise its harms and capitalise on its transformative potential.
Measuring what matters: embracing Mental Wealth as an overarching indicator of national prosperity
As Australia embraces a broader definition of national progress, we should use metrics that prioritise the wellbeing of the economy and society together.
The wellbeing economy: our opportunity to redesign a more humane economy
Australia and the world need a new economic and social paradigm that prioritises people and the planet.
Australia should enhance the ESG capabilities of small businesses – here’s how
Australia can be a leader in sustainable business and contribute to a greener and more socially responsible future by developing strategic supports, incentives, stricter regulations and collaboration platforms for small and medium enterprises.
A black sky and some green shoots: how to shape AI for the common good
A passive approach to emerging artificial intelligence technologies could generate significant social problems – but “mission economy” and “just transition” approaches to AI can unlock a better, more inclusive future.
The biggest risks of AI don’t come from it getting smarter than us – they come from us
Policymakers should prioritise the risks of inequality, a loss of creativity and self-interested manipulation when thinking about AI.
How Australia can catch up on clean energy transition
In the face of global warming and the limited capacity of renewables, Australia squandered its hydrogen opportunity. What can we do to catch up on the clean energy transition?
Community battery storage and the promise of a just transition
Policymakers can empower communities to contribute to greater energy efficiency and resilience by applying a “just transition” lens to new technologies such as community battery storage.
The five building blocks that nurtured Sharee’s Strong Spirit
Putting First Nations people in the driver’s seat of community development isn’t just the right thing to do – it delivers better outcomes too.
