Age and disability discrimination in the workforce - barriers to participation

In 2015, the Federal Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis asked the Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, to undertake the Willing to Work: National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians and Australians with disability. The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry required the Commissioner to examine practices, attitudes and Commonwealth laws that deny or diminish equal participation in employment and make recommendations to address employment discrimination against older Australians and Australians with disability. Some of the report's key findings are summarised below: 

• People aged 55 years and over make up roughly a quarter of the population, but only 16% of the total workforce. This age cohort is the fastest growing in Australia, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. While labour force participation for older people has been growing in recent years, particularly for older women, labour force participation continues to decline with age.

• In November 2015, 73.8% of Australians aged 55–59 years were participating in the labour force, with 56.5% of 60–64 year olds and 12.7% of those aged 65 years and over in the labour force
• While mature-age people have a lower unemployment rate than younger people, they tend to have greater difficulty finding subsequent employment when they do become unemployed.
• In November 2015, the average duration of unemployment for mature-age people was 68 weeks, compared with 30 weeks for 15–24 year olds and 49 weeks for 25–54 year olds.

Of note, benefits to the Australian economy as a result of increased workforce participation are well established including increased gross domestic product (GDP), reduced overall welfare expenditure and increased self-reliance in retirement. A 7% increase in mature-age labour force participation would raise GDP in 2022 by approximately $25 billion, while an estimated $50 billion could be added to GDP by 2050 if Australia were to move up into the top eight OECD countries for employment of people with disability.

Commissioner Ryan has grouped her recommendations for change into three themes: Priority Government Commitments; improving existing systems; and what employers and businesses can do. Underlying all the recommendations is the need for societal attitudes to change.

With the Age Pension qualifying age increasing every year to reach 67 years in 7 years time, it's become essential to enable people to remain in the workforce as long as possible.

The Commissioner's Report to the Attorney-General can be accessed at this link:

Willing to Work - National Inquiry Report

Film Review - Eye in the Sky

Helen Mirren as Colonel Katherine Powell in Eye in the Sky

Director Gavin Hood has chosen a very topical subject for his film Eye in the Sky - the use of remote controlled military drones for seeking and, if necessary, destroying strategic human targets. The film has multiple settings for the action - England, Kenya and the United States however it was shot entirely in South Africa. The screenplay by Guy Hibbert focuses on the choices and decision-making of senior military and political leaders when ordering a drone strike against dangerous Al-Shabaab  extremists operating in Kenya. In terms of the plotline for the film, Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is coordinating a mission with the Kenyan Army to capture Al-Shabaab militants including British converts. During the course of surveillance, its becomes apparent the militants are preparing for a imminent mission of their own with suicide bombers being fitted with explosive laden vests. Powell makes a decision to change the mission from capture to kill and orders the drone pilot to prepare a missile strike against the targets. A mission oversight committee in London headed by Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman), while monitoring the situation is unable to come to a clear decision to authorise due to conflicting opinions from assembled politicians. Searching for a legal position to provide the basis for authorisation and with differing opinions about the risk of collateral civilian casualties, the oversight committee dithers as the militants steadily complete their preparations.  

This is a well paced and executed film with a strong cast and high production values. There are small elements of contrived situations and moments of excessive sentimentality but nevertheless the film does effectively portray the challenge of balancing impact versus cost.

The late Alan Rickman as General Benson in Eye in the Sky

Film Review - RAMS - Icelandic drama

Brothers Gummi and Kiddi herd their prize sheep into the mountains

Written and directed by Grímur Hákonarson, RAMS is the story of the relationship between two brothers in the harsh rural hinterland of Northern Iceland. Gummi (actor, Sigurður Sigurjónsson) and his older brother, Kiddi (actor, Theódór Júlíusson) both aged in their 60s live on adjoining farming properties but have not spoken to each other for over 40 years. Instead they communicate by written message delivered by their dog. Their livelihood and passion are their sheep and the annual Ram competition in the small Icelandic community which is their home. When the contagious sheep disease, scrapie, is discovered  in the valley and in Kiddi's prize ram, a crisis envelopes all the farming community as they face the destruction of their herds. Gummi and Kiddi's isolationist stance toward each other is finally broken as they make one last desperate gamble to save their prize breeding stock.

This is a film structured and fashioned within the Icelandic genre of deadpan, almost absurdist black humour and long brooding expressions of Icelandic stoicism. Sweeping landscapes and atmospheric effects abound in this film and as one reviewer commented, " if there's an end to this Earth, this must surely be the place".

American Politics - How Australians view a Donald J Trump US presidency

Donald J Trump

Polling research released by the Lowy Institute this month showing a bare majority of 51% of Australians support remaining close to the United States if Donald Trump is elected president should not be a surprise. In most respects Australian support for the United States has usually been affected by perceptions of the person holding the role of US President. In 2007 when George W Bush was US President, an extraordinary 69% of Australian adults indicated that he caused them to feel unfavourably towards the United States. Previous polls by the Lowy Institute have shown that, in general terms, Australians express strong support for the Australia - US Alliance in the range of 78% (2011) and 80% (2015) due to a regard for shared values and ideals. This support can and is substantially eroded by the actions of a US president in office. It is more unusual to have this effect occurring during the US primaries before an election has even been held.. The political rise of Donald Trump and the unease with which his public persona is viewed is reflected worldwide.

As of the end of April, Trump remains the front-runner for the Republican nomination with 996 delegates to the target number of 1,237 for the nomination.  He needs 241 delegates with only 571 votes still available hence he must win at least 42% of the remaining delegate vote. It is certainly a viable target to win.

Australian household and consumer spending trends 1900-2015

Figure 1: Australian Institute of Company Directors 2016

With constant public discourse on possible changes to taxation, the increasing cost of living and stagnant wage and salary conditions, research released by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) provides a useful balanced  insight into actual longitudinal spending patterns over the past 115 years. Using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), various comparative conclusions demonstrate that although incomes have been static over the past few years, in relative terms, Australians are living more comfortably than previous decades.

On the income side, allowing for a disputed measure of "imputed dwelling ownership" value of $14,500 (non cash ownership value which the ABS claims home owners receive) net average income for a household is $135,000 per annum (or 71,726 British Pounds Sterling at current exchange rates). Taxes at the turn of last century were 2 per cent of incomes compared to 14 per cent today plus the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and other embedded indirect taxes. Other observations of note are:

• the proportion of income expended on durable goods (cars, furniture, appliances) and non-durable (food, alcohol, clothing, fuel, pharmaceuticals, books etc) has fallen from 62 per cent to 21 per cent. Households now spend more on entertainment than food and twice as much on hospitality than clothes.
• the outsourcing of household functions and chores (such as meal preparation, travel, holidays, financial advice, health services, house cleaning, gardening) has grown to a staggering $42,700 per household or $818 per week. These were previously do-it-yourself functions or 'chores' in the earlier industrial era.
• Online shopping despite media comment does not yet account for 10 per cent of retail spending in Australia however it is projected to reach almost a third by mid century.

With all this extra outsourced support, one would imagine there would be many more hours in the day for leisure yet the phrase 'time poor' has become a familiar refrain in the digital age. 

Easter - the tradition of Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Bun - ready for eating

Easter - this religious Christian event in the calendar has become synonymous with Hot Cross buns, Easter Eggs and the Easter Bunny (although in Australia this has been partially displaced by the Easter Bilby). So what is the significance of Hot Cross buns ? Traditionally these are consumed on the Good Friday of the Easter period to mark the end of Lent and may be consumed from the period of Shrove Tuesday through to midday, Good Friday. The buns are sweet buns but can be made without dairy products for those persons who have a more strict traditional interpretation. The cross on the bun is intended to depict the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the spice in a bun is intended as a representation of the embalming of Jesus at entombment. But Easter itself originated from ancient polytheistic religions or pagan and the name comes from the goddess Eostre. The use of crosses on various small cakes has a multiplicity of sources from Anglo Saxon to Roman and has since been appropriated by the Christian religion. Like Christmas, Easter is a blend of various religious practices over different periods of time representing a fusion of old and younger beliefs.

Earth Hour - March 19, 2016: 8.30pm - 9.30pm

Earth Hour 2016