Crawford School of Public Policy

To kick off our new series of episodes on education, Deborah Brennan and Leonora Risse join us to discuss how to create a world-class childcare and early education system.

How could the Australian government provide universal childcare, making it available and affordable for all? What can the country do for the early education and care workforce to ensure they receive fair pay and recognition that goes beyond platitudes? And how can policymakers engage with children to put their needs at the centre of policy reform? On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, Professor Deborah Brennan from the University of New South Wales’ Social Policy Research Centre and economist Dr Leonora Risse from RMIT University join Professor Sharon Bessell and Dr Arnagretta Hunter to discuss Australia’s early education and care sector. Listen here.

Deborah Brennan is a Professor at the Social Policy Research Centre at University of New South Wales and one of Australia’s leading researchers in comparative welfare, family policy, and gender and politics.

Leonora Risse is an economist who specialises in gender equality. She is a Research Fellow with the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia, and is a co-founder of the Women in Economics Network (WEN) in Australia, currently serving as the WEN National Chair.

Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.

Sharon Bessell is Professor of Public Policy and Director of both the Children’s Policy Centre and the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.

Show notes | The following were mentioned during this episode:

Your future, our focus: Crawford School of Public Policy graduate pathway

Lifting our Game by Susan Pascoe and Deborah Brennan (2017)

Why early childhood education is important to you by Tricia Eadie, Melbourne Graduate School of Education (2021)

What we value with Marilyn Waring, Policy Forum Pod (2021)

‘How the jobs summit shifted gender equality from the sidelines to the mainstream’ by Leonora Risse, The Conversation (2022)

Assessing childcare affordability in Australia by Peter Hurley and Kate Noble (2021)

Belonging, Being & Becoming – The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (2009)

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