What is your wish for Australia in 2014?

Thank you for your support in 2013 and all of us at Australia21 wish you well for the coming year. For your holiday reading, or for sending on to a friend, here is a selection of our work from last year specially chosen for all those whose new year wish for our country is that it reaches its potential as a sustainable, fair and humane place.

Here are our recommendations for you -

From our Australians in the landscape program:

Repairing and preparing Australia’s landscapes for global change: Why we must do much more by Richard Eckersley is the report of an expert roundtable which considered the question: What are the benefits of large-scale reforestation and revegetation, and how can they best be achieved?. It recommends that Australia needs to look at its landscapes in new ways if it is to meet the 21st Century challenges of climate change and food, water and energy security. To read a free download click on the title above or view in html by clicking here.

From our Australians in society program:

How should Australia regulate voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide? by Bob Douglas, Lindy Wilmott and Ben White is the report of a roundtable on the topic of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. The roundtable involved a diverse group of doctors, lawyers, former politicians, ethicists, big picture thinkers and activists, including people supporting and opposed to law reform. A background paper “How should Australia regulate voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide? by Professors Lindy Wilmott and Ben White who are senior legal academics from the Queensland University of Technology.was also published as background for the roundtable.To read free downloads click on the titles above.

Unfair economic arrangements make us sick How should Australia respond to the expanding financial inequities among its citizens? by Sharon Friel and Richard Denniss has been developed as a background paper for an expert roundtable to be held in Canberra on 31 January, which will look at options for a fairer Australia. This paper begins by describing the harms created by financial inequality, including the impact of social and health inequities on productivity and economic stability. It then looks at how these inequities are created before discussing a range of actions that can be taken to address them. To read a free download click on the title above.

From our Australia in the world program:

Refugees and Asylum seekers: Finding a better way edited by Bob Douglas and Jo Wodak is a collection of essays by Australian leaders in the law, military, human rights, religion and politics as well as refugees themselves, all seeking new ways of framing the public conversation about refugees and asylum seekers. The goal in publishing the essays is to generate a broader community conversation about humane and reasonable possibilities in order to encourage decision makers to examine the feasibility of a fresh new bipartisan approach on refugees and asylum seekers.The views in the collection do not necessarily represent the views of Australia21. To read a free download click on the title above. To purchase a hard copy for $25 please click here.