The current lack of transparency in Australian philanthropy raises ethical questions. Far from being a solely private activity, philanthropy needs greater public accountability.
Articles on Accountability
Displaying 141 - 160 of 164 articles
Successive Australian governments have dehumanised refugees and kept Australians in the dark about what really goes on in the offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island.
The Chinese £1bn investment in Sheffield, a former mining town in northern England, comes with valuable lessons about how Africa can maximise economic value in its dealings with China.
The ‘functional immunity’ granted to UN officials made good sense when the body was founded after World War II. But as its organisational functions have expanded, so has this immunity.
Political funding in Australia is governed by different rules for state (some of which do not require disclosure) and federal governments. And both levels suffer significant weaknesses.
When we look at cases of police corruption and abuses, we must ask: who do the police really serve?
If the governing ANC ignores the calls for Zuma’s resignation,it may undermine South Africa’s leadership on the continent. It creates the idea that he can undermine the constitution with impunity.
Friday’s COAG meeting is a perfect opportunity for politicians to govern in the public interest: and that should start with reforming political donations.
Only with a robust entitlements system will a repeat of Bronwyn Bishop’s “Choppergate” scandal be avoided.
The principle underlying the ministerial standards is that ministers should uphold the public’s trust as they wield a great deal of power deriving from their public office.
Mobile video technology means outrageous behaviour and abuses can rapidly become public knowledge, but achieving just outcomes still depends on a political willingness to act on such knowledge.
The Iraq inquiry, launched in 2009, still hasn’t published its report.
The Australian Border Force is the culmination of the move towards militarised border security. This commenced in earnest with the introduction of Operation Sovereign Borders in September 2013.
The withholding of information about government actions in asylum seeker policy undermines its democratic accountability to the Australian people.
‘Better Communities’ funding is supposedly non-partisan: every electorate gets $300,000 for local projects. But only incumbent MPs have a say in this spending and 60% of them are government members.
The idea of the right to know as the ‘lifeblood of democracy’ is a surprisingly modern development. And in an age when transparency is prized, privacy and secrecy can still be justified in many cases.
The Anthropocene, as an epoch of human-driven planetary change, poses huge environmental and political problems. But it could also force us to develop proper ecological and democratic accountability.
The distinction between the global and the local is collapsing under the pressure of climate change, economic restructuring, global migration and jihadism on the one hand and the populist and information…
The 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer points to an “evaporation of trust” in institutions and leaders worldwide. The annual survey finds a decline in trust overall, with more countries classified as distrusting…
There cannot be a more important office or more challenging role than being a member of parliament. This is especially so for government MPs and ministers, including the newly elected Victorian ministry…
Top contributors
-
Chief Research Specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State
-
Adjunct Professor, National Centre for Australian Studies, Monash University
-
Senior Lecturer in Law, Charles Sturt University
-
Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape
-
Professor of the Practice of International Development, Johns Hopkins University
-
Professor Emeritus of Public Law, University of Cape Town
-
Democracy Deputy Program Director, Grattan Institute
-
Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University
-
Research Director: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) research division, and Coordinator of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), Human Sciences Research Council
-
Assistant researcher, University of Sydney
-
Chief executive officer, Grattan Institute
-
Emeritus Associate Professor in Public Law, UCT. Visiting Adjunct Professor, WITS School of Governance; Director, Africa Programme, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge
-
Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University
-
Assistant Professor of Government, Smith College
-
Associate Professor, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia