Grattan Institute

Should Australia dump the decades-old dream of building a bullet train from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra? The east-coast bullet train advocated by the federal ALP could be an expensive folly: Australia’s small population and vast distances present major economic and environmental risks. How realistic is the notion that upgrades to regional rail would ease population pressures on our major capitals and boost struggling regional cities and towns? What’s the best way for governments to help commuters get to work in the booming outer suburbs of the capital cities? The alternative of renovating rail lines to boost train speeds from capital cities to surrounding regions is less expensive and might be worth doing – but these renovations are unlikely to fulfil all the wishful thinking of their proponents. Watch Marion Terrill, Grattan's Transport and Cities Program Director, Gabriel Metcalf, CEO of the Committee for Sydney, and Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, in a lively discussion on all things trains. To read the report in discussion visit: https://grattan.edu.au/report/fast-train-fever/

The second part of our two-part special podcast on Grattan's past and future. This week John Daley, our CEO of eleven years, interviews our new CEO, Danielle Wood, on the future of Grattan, the importance of public trust in institutions, and her optimism in the potential for policy change in Australia.

As we farewell Grattan's CEO of eleven years, John Daley, and welcome our new CEO, Danielle Wood, we present the first part of a special two-part podcast series, looking at where Grattan has come from, and where Grattan will go. This week, Danielle Wood interviews John Daley on his achievements and the origins of the Grattan Institute. Next week, John will interview Danielle on where she sees the future of the Grattan Institute and policy in Australia.

Australia continues to debate whether achieving very low or net zero emissions will cost jobs or open a new era for the country as an energy superpower. In this Grattan Institute/State Library of Queensland Webinar, a panel of experts explored the opportunities and barriers Australia will face in a low-emissions world. Speakers: - Anna Skarbek, CEO of ClimateWorks Australia - Professor Ross Garnaut, Professorial Research Fellow in Economics at The University of Melbourne - Guy Dundas, Energy Fellow, Grattan Institute - Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, Grattan Institute

COVID-19 is the biggest social and economic shock since World War II. Within two months, policies and systems for welfare, employment, childcare, health, and education have been turned on their head after decades of (at most) incremental reform. Recovering from such a shock is a big task that will stretch government resources. Other less urgent (but important) reforms will have to wait until there are time and resources to do them properly. In this special Grattan Institute/State Library Victoria Webinar, a panel of policy experts from the Grattan Institute discussed our latest publication, The Recovery Book, which identifies the extensive policy agenda Australia’s federal, state, and territory governments should deal with over the next six months. To read the report in question, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/report/recovery-book/ Speakers Danielle Wood – CEO of the Grattan Institute Stephen Duckett – Director of Grattan’s Health Program Brendan Coates – Director of Grattan’s Household Finances Program Marion Terrill – Director of Grattan’s Transport & Cities Program Moderator Paul Austin – Editor at Grattan Institute

Teachers and students responded quickly and well to remote learning when the COVID-19 crisis forced the closure of schools. But new research suggests most students learnt less at home than they would have in the classroom – and that disadvantaged students fell further behind. In this special Webinar, experts from the UK, the US, and Australia discussed their latest findings and identified the extent of the ‘equity gap’. And as schools reopen and students return to the classroom, the panel suggested ways to help our most vulnerable students to catch-up, answered questions on school education in the age of COVID-19. Speakers: - Anthony Mackay AM - President & CEO of the Washington DC based National Centre on Education and the Economy - Dr. V. Darleen Opfer - Vice President of RAND Education and Labor and the Distinguished Chair in Education Policy at the RAND Corporation - Robert Coe - Director of Research and Development at Evidence Based Education and Senior Associate at the Education Endowment Foundation - Julie Sonnemann - School Education Fellow at Grattan Institute A special event by Grattan Institute/Education Endowment Foundation/National Centre Education and Economy/RAND Corporation. We would like to thank the Origin Energy Foundation for their generous and timely support of this project.

After COVID-19, Australia’s health system looks nothing like the health system of six months ago. All aspects of the system – primary care, mental health, and alcohol and other drug services – have embraced new ways of working because of spatial distancing. Health professionals took on new roles, services pivoted from waiting for people to make appointments to reaching out to patients, and many face-to-face consultations were replaced with phone or video consultations. Read our latest health report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/coming-out-of-covid/

Australia should launch a $1 billion, six-month tutoring blitz to help 1 million disadvantaged school students recover learning lost during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Governments should send a battalion of 100,000 tutors into schools between now and Christmas to conduct intensive small-group sessions on reading and maths. Many disadvantaged students – those from the poorest 25 per cent of families and rural areas – will have fallen further behind their classmates during the COVID-19 school closures. Listen to Julie Sonnemann, School Education Fellow, in discussion with Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, about how to help disadvantaged students recover lost learning. For more information or to read the report in discussion, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/report/covid-catch-up/

Australia should dump the decades-old dream of building a bullet train from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra, and we should be wary of expensive promises to upgrade regional rail to ease population pressures on our major capitals and boost struggling regional cities and towns. Listen to Greg Moran, Senior Associate, and Tom Crowley, Associate, discuss the latest Grattan Report, Fast train fever: Why renovated rail might work but bullet trains won’t. Hosted by Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications. You can read the report in discussion here: https://grattan.edu.au/report/fast-train-fever/

There's no doubt that COVID-19 has changed our lives forever. After two months of hibernation in Australia, states are slowly beginning to loosen restrictions. We've heard the term the 'new normal' over and over again. But what does the new normal look like? In this Grattan Institute podcast, Dr Hal Swerissen, Visiting Fellow, discusses what life looks like after lockdown with Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications. You can read the articles mentioned in the podcast here: The New Normal: How we'll live with COVID-19: https://grattan.edu.au/news/the-new-normal-how-well-live-with-covid-19/ New data shows Australians embrace physical distancing: https://grattan.edu.au/news/new-data-shows-australians-embrace-physical-distancing/