Publications
Indian Ocean Futures: Prospects for shared regional success
Could Australia and the 22 other sovereign nations that stretch across Eastern and Southern Africa, the southern parts of West Asia, South Asia, South-East Asia and Australasia who share the Indian Ocean be on the cusp of a Golden Age of prosperity?
The UWA Public Policy Institute has established itself as a key player in the public policy space since its establishment in 2018. Now in its fifth year, the Institute is marking an exciting new phase as it expands its impact beyond borders and across the region with its most ambitious report yet.
With expert contributions from 20 international leaders and academics, Indian Ocean Futures casts an eye across the dynamics of the region, exploring the proposition there is real scope to develop the collective prosperity, sustainability and connectivity of the region.
From a reimagining of the Ocean as a trade destination rather than simply a route through which trade passes, through to using quinoa to alleviate food insecurity in South Asia, and unlocking the boundless potential of the African diaspora in Australia, Indian Ocean Futures is a prospectus for a concentration of minds, stimulating fresh debate about the extent, limits and nature of greater regional cohesion.
Indian Ocean Futures Report (PDF 3.7MB)
Annual Report 2021-22
Read a summary of the Institute's activities from July 2021 to December 2022, including events, publications, media mentions, policy briefings, and more.
UWA Public Policy Institute Annual Report 2020-21 (PDF 21.5MB)
The Governance and Operation of Smaller Statutory Agencies
ANZSOG Evidence Review Report
ANZSOG has partnered with the public sector commissions of Queensland and Western Australia to commission a research project investigating small statutory agencies, with the goal of producing best practice guidance for establishing, governing and operating these increasingly important and numerous arms of government.
Research for this paper was undertaken by The University of Western Australia’s Public Policy Institute. It is the first output from the project.
The paper reviews some relevant scholarly and grey literature and finds that while there has been significant consideration of governance issues in general, there have been fewer studies aimed at the interaction of these issues with the size of agencies.
This analysis summarises the literature and its contribution to identifying issues facing small agencies, and also reveals critical gaps which will provide future directions for this research project and the field more broadly.
The Governance and Operation of Smaller Statutory Agencies (PDF 505KB)
2022 Laki Jayasuriya Oration
Why we need to recalibrate our approach to multiculturalism
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The 2022 Laki Jayasuriya Oration was delivered by the Hon. Dr Anne Aly MP, Federal Member for Cowan, Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth.
The oration was created in honour of Emeritus Professor Laksiri (Laki) Jayasuriya (1931-2018) who was an intellectual, policy and campaigning pioneer. Having first arrived at The University of Sydney in the 1950s, he had an extraordinary career in academia, working at the interface of government and community organisations.
2022 Laki Jayasuriya Oration (PDF 3MB)
WA 2050: People, Place, Prosperity
What could Western Australia look like at mid-century and how do we get there? With 2050 a generation away, the report aims to stimulate progress, joining expertise across the sectors to expose future issues, their implications, the trade-offs involved, and the actions that can be taken now to drive positive change.
Practical proposals made by the 50+ leading contributors to this report include:
- Establishing a Storyteller-in-Chief of WA
- Formulating an operational plan to implement the Closing the Gap strategy
- Leading the call for a Federal Indian Ocean Strategy
- Ensuring budget proposals include a gender lens to measure impact on women
- Embracing a ‘regulatory sandbox’ approach to start-ups
- Setting pro-environmental behaviour mandates
- Funding primary and regional care to leverage telehealth and other technology
WA 2050: People, Place, Prosperity (PDF 12.5MB)
WA 2050: People, Place, Prosperity (RTF for screen readers 9MB)
Annual Report 2020-21
Read a summary of the Institute's activities from July 2020 to June 2021, including events, publications, media mentions, policy briefings, and more.
Public Policy Engagement Guide: A Tool for UWA researchers
The only publicly-available guide of its kind in Australia, this publication upskills UWA researchers on how to engage potential government collaborators and funders, and how to make policy impact. It is a complement to the biannual 'How to work with government' researcher training workshops.
It includes advice on how to:
- be successful in policy engagement and impact creation
- shape and influence public policy
- communicate your research to policymakers
- write for policy professional
- pitch to media
- navigate the Australian policy landscape
Public Policy Engagement Guide (PDF 1.6MB)
Going Further, Faster: A Policy Agenda for WA 2021
This report, published at the start of a new parliament, contains timely, evidence-based ideas and practical proposals to meet many of the most pressing current and emerging challenges for WA.
- Well researched and steeped in practical know-how, the report presents policy proposals that will advance environmental protection
- safeguard and promote Aboriginal cultural heritage
- improve mental health outcomes (especially among children and young adults)
- diversify our strong yet concentrated economy, and
- refresh our democratic institutions, practices and cultures.
Going Further, Faster (PDF 7.7MB)
The Preparedness Report: Climate Change and the Challenges Facing Universities and Professions
This publication brings together 10 contributions from leading researchers and practitioners that look at the implications of climate change for academic disciplines and professional bodies: their responses to, as well as their responsibility to adapt in the face of its challenges.
A first of its kind, The Preparedness Report is about starting a debate in Australia and internationally on these and many more pressing questions. We very much hope that you find its contents interesting and the practical suggestions out forward useful and timely.
Preparedness Report (PDF 5.8MB)
Re-imagining Australia: Migration, Culture, Diversity
This publication gathers together 11 essays from leading academics and practitioners that look at particular aspects of ethnic pluralism in Australia. For instance, the inclusion of diverse voices in national democratic politics is an important issue in understanding whether, or how far, ethnicity acts as a source of political division in Australia.
The publication follows on from former WA Premier Geoff Gallop’s Inaugural Laki Jayasuriya Oration (March 2020).
Re-imagining Australia: Migration, culture, diversity (PDF 0.8MB)
2020 Inaugural Laki Jayasuriya Oration
Democracy, Human Rights and Multiculturalism: Can there be consensus?
The inaugural Laki Jayasuriya Oration was delivered by The Honourable Geoff Gallop, AC FIPAA, former Premier of Western Australia and Emeritus Professor of the University of Sydney.
The oration was created in honour of Emeritus Professor Laksiri (Laki) Jayasuriya (1931-2018) who was an intellectual, policy and campaigning pioneer. Having first arrived at The University of Sydney in the 1950s, he had an extraordinary career in academia, working at the interface of government and community organisations.
2020 Laki Jayasuriya Oration (PDF 5MB)
Let Every Stage Advance: Policy Ideas for Australia’s Fiftieth Parliament
Let Every Stage Advance: Policy Ideas for Australia’s Fiftieth Parliament contains 11 short essays from newly elected federal MPs and Senators, on the topic of a policy idea whose time is yet to come. The project has sought to engage with politicians, at the start of their parliamentary careers, on long-term public policy challenges that face our nation over the next 15 years.
Let Every Stage Advance (PDF 1MB)
Big Issues for Western Australia
Big Issues for Western Australia gets opinion formers to look at concerns that are vital for the future success of the state’s economy, communities, public services and social cohesion. Contributors are focused on old and new problems, fresh ideas and approaches, and crucially, the use of evidence and expertise to set policy choices, drawing on examples of what works elsewhere that can have traction in WA.
Big Issues for Western Australia (PDF 1.07MB)
2019 Reid Oration
This year’s lecture was delivered by The Honourable Geoff Gallop, AC FIPAA, former Premier of Western Australia and Emeritus Professor of the University of Sydney. In his scintillating speech, Professor Gallop examined the case for political reform and the culture of political activism in Australia based on the radical agenda around constitutional change, and drew on the examples of the referendum on the Australian Republic, the campaigns for legally protected rights and liberties and, finally, indigenous recognition.
2019 Reid Oration (PDF 3.4MB)
From Workplace Stress to Workplace Wellness: An Assessment of the Health and Well-being of Local Government Chief Executive Officers in Western Australia
Local government Chief Executive Officers across the State of Western Australia are facing unprecedented levels of work-related stress. This report documents, for the first time ever, their previously hidden afflictions. Using a multi-method approach to data collection, researchers employed inductive focus groups, abductive in-depth qualitative interviews and deductive quantitative survey research to shine an important light not only on the extent of their distress, but also on the relevant antecedents and effects.
This report was prepared for Local Government Professionals Australia WA.
From workplace stress to workplace wellness (PDF 5.5MB)
Our Priorities: Sharing Prosperity
UWA Capability Statement
In February 2019, the WA Government published ‘Our Priorities: Sharing Prosperity’. This contained the essential story of how government would seek to build better outcomes for the people of our state.
To achieve that goal requires knowledge, expertise and know-how. It requires better and timely use of the capabilities of The University of Western Australia. Making a genuine difference to the six pillars of ‘Our Priorities’ is of great importance to UWA, and we have created our response to the government's initial statement.
Our Priorities - UWA Capability Statement (PDF 0.6MB)