Centre for Policy Development

20/03/2026

01/10/2024

CPD is thrilled to host Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Club of Rome Co-President, for an exclusive lecture in Melbourne as part of her Australian visit later this month.

This lecture, drawing on her book, Earth for All, will explore two potential futures: Too Little, Too Late, which looks at the consequences of continuing on our current destructive path; and The Giant Leap, where we see the fastest economic transformation in human history.

Sandrine's lecture will be followed by a panel discussion with Sharan Burrow, Warwick Smith and Andrew Hudson on what it could look like to take the giant leap for Australia.

Tickets are free, so register now to avoid missing out. For those not based in Melbourne, this event will be live streamed.

Register here:

The Centre for Policy Development is proud to host this public lecture with Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Co-President of the Club of Rome.

14/11/2023

Welcome news: the 'Every Child’s Right to Thrive by Five – Make It Law' campaign aims to reshape Australia's early childhood system. The campaign highlights the need for accessible, quality education and support for families, as envisioned in CPD’s 2021 ‘Starting Better’ report. A crucial conversation for our children's future.

Read our full media release here: https://cpd.org.au/2023/11/media-release-securing-a-brighter-future-for-australias-children-and-families/

Read the original 'Starting Better' report here: https://cpd.org.au/2021/11/starting-better-centre-for-policy-development/

13/10/2023

“Let’s be blunt: it’s a sadly simple answer in Australia, as our system doesn’t care about things like productivity, workforce participation, economic security, human capital, or secure work. It literally only cares about kicking people off welfare at every moment.”

Shane Wright speaking with Julian Hill MP for The Sydney Morning Herald on findings from the Workforce Australia Inquiry and our broken employment services system.

CPD made a submission and testified to the Inquiry into Workforce Australia, and we look forward to the final report reflecting a number of our recommendations, including getting government to connect better with local communities.

Read more here: https://cpd.org.au/2023/07/submission-to-the-inquiry-into-workforce-australia-employment-services/

Julian Hill, who chaired a year-long inquiry into the $7 billion employment service sector, says privatisation has failed the unemployed and the country.

10/10/2023

"The Voice referendum is unsettling because it tugs at the corners of the blanket of forgetfulness to destabilise the dominant sense of who we are as a nation."

CPD Fellow Peter Mares for Inside Story on the great Australian silence.

Regardless of the outcome of the Voice Referendum, Australia’s past will continue to unsettle the present

09/10/2023

"To realise our country's untapped potential we must connect people and work using the power of local knowledge on a national scale."

A great piece by our Deputy CEO Annabel Brown for The Canberra Times on how we can reform our employment services system to better connect with local communities and make sustainable, inclusive employment a reality for all Australians in the decades to come.

The recently released employment white paper sets out a long-term vision.

25/09/2023

Great piece from Paul Karp for The Guardian on why the government can no longer be a hand’s off purchaser of employment services, and needs to be actively involved in their design and delivery.

Our Deputy CEO Annabel Brown testified to the Select Committee on Workforce Australia last week to outline where we’ve gone wrong, and how redesigning employment services to build on the unique strengths and capabilities of local communities can get us back to a system that truly supports the most vulnerable Australians.

Let’s hope Labor’s new model overcomes the barriers to work and ceases the endless churn of the unemployed

25/09/2023

The Government’s Employment White Paper, released today, candidly reveals the areas we are most failing job seekers in Australia, and shows how reforms to employment and early childhood services, and a focus on partnering with local communities, can help ensure anybody who needs work can find it.

Read our full media release here: https://cpd.org.au/2023/09/media-release-employment-white-paper-identifies-early-childhood-employment-services-as-key-to-future-of-work/

24/09/2023

The Green Gold report, out today, reveals which three key industries Australia should support with public investment to realise our renewable superpower ambitions.

Read it here: https://cpd.org.au/2023/09/green-gold/

13/09/2023

“What is still sorely needed is a bipartisan commitment to financing new social housing for decades into the future.”

CPD Fellow Peter Mares for Inside Story on Labor’s decision to add an extra $1 billion to the Housing Australia Future Fund, and what more needs to be done to fix Australia’s housing crisis.

Labor and the crossbench have finally come together to tackle Australia’s housing crisis, but more needs to be done