A groundbreaking report on the harms from current drug laws, by Australia21 with health practitioners & social service agencies including Uniting & Anglicare. Local and international evidence shows that punishing people is not an effective way to reduce drug use; criminal prosecution can actually increase drug use and crime, as well as poverty, social disadvantage, unemployment, homelessness, family violence, child protection interventions, mental illness, stigma, discrimination and suicide.

The Long Walk to Treatment, Take Control campaign and a new Australia21 report highlight the health and social harms of flawed drug policies. The chorus of reasonable people demanding evidence-based law reform is sending a powerful message to Australia’s politicians and policy makers: now is the time to put health and safety first.

Tasmania is making PTSD a presumptive work-related illness for first responders; the NT Police, Fire & Emergency Services Minister and Commissioner have launched our PTSD report; in Canberra the Senate Inquiry is taking note of our recommendations; and we’ve been briefing icare NSW and the state’s first responder agencies. Making progress!

Australia21 has welcomed today’s warning by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the world must take action in the next two years to avert the disastrous consequences of runaway climate change, saying there’s a disastrous failure of Australian political leadership on this issue.

To appease fossil fuel vested interests and their acolytes, every compromise has been used as a starting point to further ratchet down sensible climate policy ambition, the latest example being the National Energy Guarantee (NEG), which totally fails to address the escalating climate risk, while doing little to achieve its other reliability and energy price reduction objectives.

Australia21 is pleased to announce we have been joined by a new Executive Officer, Susan Davidson, who brings outstanding experience and skills to our team. Susan has held leadership positions within several organisations spanning the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors, most recently with Diabetes Australia.

The Goverment’s planned tax cuts will increase inequality, according to a new report released as part of an Australia21/The Australia Institute roundtable with leading thinkers. Are you also concerned about inequality and other public policy problems? Say ‘yes’ to smarter policy solutions by supporting Australia21.

Economic inequality in Australia is going from bad to worse, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Bright minds have been working to find smart solutions at a Roundtable discussion at Parliament House in Canberra hosted by Australia21, The Australia Institute and former Treasurer, Hon Wayne Swan MP.