2020 was an enormous year for Australia, but it's also been a big year for the Grattan Institute. We've seen bushfires, the coronavirus crisis, and the huge fiscal and societal effects of the pandemic.

In a special podcast, Grattan Institute CEO, Danielle Wood, reflects on the year that was, the enormous impacts that Grattan has had on public policy, and the future of our research for 2021.

To donate to Grattan, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/donate

Australia is getting hotter, and Australians’ health is being harmed. Our health sector must do more to adapt to the reality of climate change.

This podcast discusses Grattan's last report for the year, Climate change and health: preparing for the next disaster, with Will Mackey, Senior Associate, and Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications.

Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/climate-change-and-health-preparing-for-the-next-disaster/

In 2020, the out of sight, out of mind attitude to older Australians had deadly consequences. By the end of Australia’s second wave in October 2020, there had been about 2,000 COVID-19 cases and 680 deaths in residential aged care – mostly in Victoria – accounting for about 75 per cent of Australia’s COVID-19 death toll. This rate of deaths in residential care is much higher than many comparable countries.

Back in October of this year, Anika Stobart, Associate, and Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communication, discussed the rights of older Australians on the podcast, and our proposed rights-based framework for reforming the aged care system. This time, they discuss Grattan's newest report: Reforming aged care: a practical plan for a rights-based system.

Last week the Victorian Government announced a $5.4 billion dollar Big Housing Build, billed as a ‘landmark investment in social housing.’ The plan will build more than 12, 000 new homes in Victoria, including more than 9300 new social housing properties, and upgrades to existing public housing facilities.

Likewise Western Australia, Tasmania, and NSW have all announced social housing building projects as part of their economic recovery strategies. But why is building social housing both an economic and societal win?

Listen to Brendan Coates, Household Finances Program Director, in conversation with Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, on why social housing is good stimulus.

Far from fuelling the recovery from the COVID recession, natural gas will inevitably decline as an energy source for industry and homes in Australia.

Listen to Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, and Guy Dundas, Energy Fellow, bust the three biggest myths around a gas-led recovery in their latest report: Flame out: the future of natural gas in Australia. Hosted by Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications.

You can read the report in discussion here: https://grattan.edu.au/report/flame-out-the-future-of-natural-gas

Australian governments are currently fast-tracking transport projects, hoping for an infrastructure-led recovery from the COVID-19 recession. But our infrastructure pipeline is already bulging with several megaprojects underway across the country. And the history of such projects in terms of cost is not great. Governments have often ended up spending millions - and even billions - more on these projects than they first told the public they would.

Listen to Senior Associates Owain Emslie and Greg Moran, in conversation with Paul Austin, about their latest report: The Rise of Megaprojects: Counting the cost.

This week Victoria reached 0 COVID cases and 0 deaths – in what has affectionately been dubbed ‘Donut Day’. It’s been a hard-won road with the dramatic shutdown of the entire state for 112 days. Hospitality, retail and the arts have been hard hit, not to mention the tragic deaths and illnesses due to the virus itself. But in reaching zero, Victoria has achieved a world first. No other place in the world has tamed a second wave this large.

Listen to Kat Clay in conversation with Tom Crowley, Grattan associate, about how Victoria's response compares to other countries around the world.

Read the article in discussion on our website: https://grattan.edu.au/news/at-zero-new-cases-victoria-is-on-top-of-the-world/

With this week’s release of the historic 2020 Federal Budget, economic stimulus seems to be all about high-vis and hard hats. But what about the hardest hit?

In this podcast, three Grattan Institute experts give their extended take on what can only be described as one of the most significant budgets of our generation. Listen to Danielle Wood, Grattan's CEO, Marion Terrill, Transport and Cities Program Director, and Stephen Duckett, Health Program Director, as they evaluate the 2020 Federal Budget.

By September this year, there have been about 2000 COVID cases and 500 deaths in residential aged care, which accounts for 70% of Australia's COVID death toll.

At the same time, we are faced with the horror stories of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, that include a lack of dignity, neglect, abuse, and the inappropriate use of chemical and physical restraints. And yet, there have been a multitude of reports and proposed reforms into aged care through the years that have gone ignored.

Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, discusses the latest Grattan Report, Rethinking aged care: emphasising the rights of older Australians, with Anika Stobart, Associate in Grattan's health program.

In early September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the reform of the energy system to aid Australia’s economic recovery from COVID-19. Much of this announcement focussed on gas as they key to stimulating manufacturing and investment in Australia. But is this really the case, and could Australia be missing an opportunity to move to more renewable energy sources?

Two of Grattan's energy experts, Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, and Guy Dundas, Energy Fellow, shed light on these recent announcements in our latest podcast.

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