Australian Institute for Public Policy

A new public policy think tank is being set up by the Australian Federal and Victorian State Governments in partnership with the University of Melbourne. The institute is to be modelled on the Brookings Institute in the United States. Dealing with domestic and international issues, topics are to include energy policy, climate change and Australia’s role in the region.

Andrew Leigh suggests that, in an increasingly crowded think tank space, the institute would be best placed to “…carve out a domestic policy niche, looking at urban policy, crime policy, health policy, schools policy, innovation policy, IT policy, etc.” While not decrying from the view that domestic policy debate on these issues are worthwhile, I note that the Brookings Institute research covers internet policy. As a ‘global network of networks’, and given the rapid rise in social and economic importance of the internet internationally as well as in Australia, I would suggest the AIPP may well have a role there too. The issues transcend domestic, regional and international public policy debate.

A recent policy brief from the Brookings Institure is of interest – Using the Media to Promote Adolescent Well-Being (Donahue, Haskings, and Nightingale). The authors advocate using the media to “…provide positive messages that counteract the negative and potentially damaging messages to which they are so frequently exposed”.