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Reposted by Peter Whiteford

Michael Klapdor @mklapdor.bsky.social · 6d

Draft program for the Senate Community Affairs Committee public hearing on the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 tomorrow from 9am - www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...
In Canberra but will be streamed: www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Eve...

Screenshot of the public hearing program

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · 6d

When a partner has a health shock, our study shows what happens to work, chores and fun
theconversation.com/when-a-partn...

When a partner has a health shock, our study shows what happens to work, chores and fun

Research shows exactly how entire families adjust when a partner’s sick.

theconversation.com

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · 8d

My review from 2024: ‘The social engineering of shame’: Rick Morton’s Mean Streak exposes the populism behind the unlawful Robodebt scheme theconversation.com/the-social-e...

‘The social engineering of shame’: Rick Morton’s Mean Streak exposes the populism behind the unlawful robodebt scheme

Rick Morton brings complex evidence into an accessible format for the public – and policy makers – to understand.

theconversation.com

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · 14d

The more in favour of welfare you are, the more likely you are to support cycle lanes
theconversation.com/the-more-in-...

The more in favour of welfare you are, the more likely you are to support cycle lanes

Findings show that the most political people have the strongest views on green transport infrastructure, potentially skewing the debate.

theconversation.com

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Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 20d

And if you’d like the whole ebook (or any of the 27 chapters) completely free, it’s always just a one-click download from @LSEPress here press.lse.ac.uk/books/e/10.3...

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Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 20d

Happy to say that the paperback book edition of “Australia’s Evolving Democracy” can be purchased for less than £11 from Amazon UK. Great value for 600 pages. www.amazon.co.uk/Australias-E...

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · 26d

The ABS has released an Information Paper on why it did not release results from the 2023-24 Survey of Income and Housing www.abs.gov.au/statistics/d...

Survey of Income and Housing 2023-24 Review Report

The paper provides additional background on the decision to not release statistics from the Survey of Income and Housing

www.abs.gov.au

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · 26d

Does Australia rely too much on taxes on incomes?

New OECD report shows Australia has the fourth lowest share of revenue from income taxes and social security contributions in the OECD in 2022.

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · 26d

Rising health expenditures and population ageing prompted OECD governments to increase social security contributions in 2024, reflecting a broader trend towards increasing revenues to strengthen the long-term sustainability of social protection systems. www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

Tax Policy Reforms 2025

This is the tenth edition of Tax Policy Reforms: OECD and Selected Partner Economies, an annual publication that provides comparative information on tax reforms across countries and tracks tax policy ...

www.oecd.org

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · 29d

1 in 8 households don’t have the money to buy enough food (in 2023) theconversation.com/1-in-8-house...

1 in 8 households don’t have the money to buy enough food

Food insecurity is widespread and shaped by disadvantage – and has serious health consequences.

theconversation.com

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · Sep 5

We can’t fix what we don’t track. That’s why Australia needs an official poverty measure
theconversation.com/we-cant-fix-...

We can’t fix what we don’t track. That’s why Australia needs an official poverty measure

Some estimates say up to one in seven people are living in poverty, but Australia doesn’t properly measure it. Here’s how we could.

theconversation.com

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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · Sep 2

New jobs here! I'm on the Advisory Board of this Leverhulme Trust-funded project investigating 'The long-term impact of New Labour’s social and economic policies', and there are two Research Fellowship posts available: jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

Job Vacancy at the University of Nottingham: Research Fellow (Multiple positions, fixed term)

We are now recruiting 2 full time Research Fellows to work with Stephen Farrall and colleagues at Warwick (Emily Gray) and Queen Mary College, University of London (Maria Grasso) on their research int...

jobs.nottingham.ac.uk

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · Sep 4

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... An overview of yesterday’s announcement

The robodebt class action settlement may be the biggest in Australian history – but the trauma isn’t over | Peter Whiteford

Class action members will have the option of individualised assessments, which means some will receive more than others

www.theguardian.com

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Levana Magnus @levanamagnus.bsky.social · Aug 18

Using my first Bluesky post to share that Marsha Wood & I have a new article out! 🎉

We take a gendered street-level look at how Universal Credit policies shape parents’ everyday realities of navigating work, care & welfare.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

“They’re Not Thinking on the Same Side We Are”: Street-Level Activation of Parents under Universal Credit | Social Policy and Society | Cambridge Core

“They’re Not Thinking on the Same Side We Are”: Street-Level Activation of Parents under Universal Credit

www.cambridge.org

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · Aug 30

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Australian concept of a ‘fair go’ is a furphy – especially when it comes to tax, education and care

For years, policymakers and politicians thought they could square the circle: a market-driven economy with a robust social safety net. But that has become harder

www.theguardian.com

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · Aug 28

Australian Economic Review: Volume 58, Issue S1
Fifty Years Beyond the Henderson Inquiry: Rethinking Poverty Measurement for Australia (free) at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14678462...

Fifty Years Beyond the Henderson Inquiry: Rethinking Poverty Measurement for Australia: Australian Economic Review: Vol 58, No S1

Click on the title to browse this issue

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Luke Buckmaster @luke-buckmaster.bsky.social · Jul 17

And one on housing policy www.aph.gov.au/About_Parlia...

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Luke Buckmaster @luke-buckmaster.bsky.social · Jul 17

Brand new publication type from the Parliamentary Library - Policy Brief. Here's the first batch: www.aph.gov.au/About_Parlia...

Research

www.aph.gov.au

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Michael Klapdor @mklapdor.bsky.social · Jul 17

DSS statement here: www.dss.gov.au/news/update-...
Ministerial media release: ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releas...

www.dss.gov.au

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Michael Klapdor @mklapdor.bsky.social · Jul 17

Importantly, the Fed Court rejected the AAT's interpretation of when income is first 'earned'. The AAT's interpretation overturned how DSS/Centrelink had assessed earnings for decades and would have created a lot of issues for calculating pre-December 2020 debts

Screenshot of Fed Court decision para 172:
'172 The Tribunal erred in law in concluding that all of Mr Chaplin’s income was earned on Sundays when, according to the Tribunal, a legal entitlement to the week’s income first arose. It thereby misdirected itself and reached a conclusion which was not open on the facts. Whilst it depends on the terms of the relevant contract (and any other instrument or law affecting the terms of employment), generally casual employees earn wages as the service for which they are entitled to be paid is provided. Contracts for casual employment usually provide for service by the hour, shift or day, and so casual employees usually earn income by the hour, shift or day upon the rendering of that service. Wages are not “earned” only when a legally enforceable right to payment arises on the express or implied terms of the contract.'

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Michael Klapdor @mklapdor.bsky.social · Jul 17

Federal Court decision in Chaplin v DSS Secretary (test case relating to method used to recalculate unlawful income apportionment debts) - accepts DSS' preferred method for assessing income where there is insufficient info on when the income was earned. www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Ju...

Chaplin v Secretary, Department of Social Services [2025] FCAFC 89

www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · Jul 17

This appears to be actually legal - but is it good public policy to pursue debts based on calculations in a system that was so complex that the administration got it wrong.

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · Jul 16

Social Services cleared to pursue historical welfare debts www.themandarin.com.au/295770-dss-c...

Social Services cleared to pursue historical welfare debts

Court backs DSS use of tax data to pursue paused welfare debts, drawing a legal line between robodebt and evidence-based recovery.

www.themandarin.com.au

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Peter Whiteford @peterwhiteford.bsky.social · Jul 14

Synergy to repay $2.29 million after overcharging Centrelink customers for power www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

Synergy to repay $2.29 million after overcharging for power

WA's main electricity bill utility Synergy overcharged nearly 2,850 vulnerable customers on their electricity bills dating back to 2009, with the total amount owed equalling $2.29 million.

www.abc.net.au

Reposted by Peter Whiteford

Tax and Social Policy SPA group @taxsocialpolicy.bsky.social · May 6

A new blog co-authored by Agustín Redonda has just been published by @socialpolicyuk.bsky.social on tax expenditures. These are tax reliefs designed to pursue social or economic objectives - a welfare policy often overlooked in policy debates.

Read more 👇

social-policy.org.uk/spa-blog/blo...

Blog - Shedding Light on the Use of Tax Expenditures for Social Spending - Social Policy Association

By Flurim Aliu and Agustin Redonda, Council on Economic Policies, Zurich, Switzerland. — Keywords: tax expenditures, social spending, fiscal policy, government transparency When we think [...]

social-policy.org.uk

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