Where to from here? The Liberal Party today. by Amanda Vanstone

tag=1 data=Where to from here? The Liberal Party today. by Amanda Vanstone tag=2 data=Vanstone, Amanda tag=3 data=The Sydney Papers, tag=4 data=6 tag=5 data=1 tag=6 data=Summer 1994 tag=7 data=49-56. tag=8 data=POLITICAL PARTIES-LIB tag=10 data=The answer to the question where to from here, for a major political party, must be, to government. The more difficult question is how do we get there? tag=11 data=1994/6/3 tag=12 data=94/0189 tag=13 data=CABThe answer to the question where to from here, for a major political party, must be, to government. The more difficult question is how do we get there

China in the Pacific

China has an increasing influence in the Pacific region. Australia has very strong aid, trade and defence links with the Pacific Islands so should we be worried about China’s presence? There is very little evidence to suggest that they are doing anything more than supporting their existing commercial interests and it seems unlikely that they will challenge Australia\u27s dominant standing in the region, so should we be supportive or should we be renewing our security arrangements?Guests Jenny Hayward-JonesDirector, Myer Foundation Melanesia Program Lowy Institute for International Policy Further Information Big Enough For All Of Us: Geo-Strategic Competition in the Pacific Island

Aboriginal culture: at the heart of abuse

A young indigenous thinker from Alice Springs says too often women are part of the huge problem that is Aboriginal violence, because in many cases men are seen as incapable of doing wrong. Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says instead of looking to constitutional recognition or treaties or governments to solve the problems - ownership, responsibility and constructive criticism must take place within the Indigenous community.  She says unfortunately Indigenous culture is one that \u27accepts violence.\u2

Saving Medicare

How much does Medicare really cost? In the last ten years federal, state and territory health spending has increased by 80%. In 2000 – 2001 it was 53 billion dollars ten years later it’s 90 billion.So how can we curb those costs and still retain a national health system? A new report argues that we must boost the efficiency of public health services, better target health spending and expand the role of private health insurance.Guests Dr Jeremy Sammut Research FellowSocial Foundations ProgramCentre for Independent Studies Further Information Saving Medicare But NOT As We Know I

Hidden innovation

Counterpoint has been asking its listeners to send in some suggestions on what they think would make Australia an even better place than it is now. One of the popular responses has been innovation. One of the leading fields of innovation has been the creative sector—advertising, architecture, film, TV, newspapers, software and digital content et cetera. Yet the innovation has largely been hidden from the public eye. That is, until now.GuestsDistinguished Professor Stuart CunninghamDistinguished Professor and Director of the A.R.C. Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation Queensland University of Technolog

Writing wrongs: plagiarism and self publishing

Many people dream of writing a best-selling book, but not many of them actually have a runaway success in them. In the past, budding author’s spent months, sometimes years, slaving over a typewriter or PC trying to produce something worthy of a Ludlum, King or J.K. Rowling. Most only got rejection slips from publishers – time and time again. But today, things are different – author’s don’t need publishers – and thousands of titles appear each year on websites like Amazon. But, the problems self-publishing authors face, is a lack of protection offered by traditional publishers – particularly where plagiarism is concerned

Strategy and its discontents

A new report argues that ‘countries that invest in strategic thinking and planning have more capacity to deliver better quality.’ Now that report is actually on foreign policy and as we’ve seen recently Australia has a role to play in world affairs and it’s important that when we step up we do it well. Strategy also has a part to play in the complex big policy challenges that are faced at a national level. But what is it exactly and do we do it well? Guests Peter Jennings Executive Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute

A liberal senator recommends pre-employment drug testing. Sen. Paul McLean and Sen. Amanda Vanstone

Transcript: Senator Vanstone believes random drug tests should be compulsory for Federal Cabinet Ministers, if only to set an example for other employers and help stamp out the drug menace in the workplace. Provided by MICAH, Canberra

War and tweets

What effect is the seemingly unstoppable advance of social media, and in particular Twitter, having on world events? How it is shaping war and peace and how we think and what we do? The Taliban use twitter so does the al-Shabaab militia in Somalia. The maritime dispute between China and Japan is endlessly discussed in 140 characters and protesters in Egypt and Tunisia relied on it to pass information to their fellow citizens during their recent uprisings. So is twitter changing the world or changing war or both?Guests Rory MedcalfDirector of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute Non resident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington D