ABC’s #ForeignCorrespondent re immigration in Denmark is on now. Denmark has long been one of the happiest, most equal and safest nations in the world but, like any country, there are some Danes who seek to exploit racism and xenophobia for political gain #auspol@ForeignOfficial
@ForeignOfficial Historically, the Nordic nations have strong records of anti-racist statements and actions, including their leading participation in the anti-Apartheid movement and repeated generous contributions to international aid @TheAusInstitute#ForeignCorrespondent
High taxing Nordic nations are the happiest in the world, but how do those taxes affect other parts of their economy? Well, our latest report has compared 188 countries and the results show that high taxes usually correlates with higher incomes and healthier, happier people! 1/10
3/10 As @GrogsGamut points out in his analysis today, the new report shows that "there is little link between a small government with low taxes and either GDP per capita (as a measure of average income) or human wellbeing." theguardian.com/business/grogo…
10 years ago Australia finally introduced statutory, nationwide paid maternity leave. This was a positive step but it was only for maternity leave & only provided 18 weeks pay at minimum wage. Small improvements have been made since, but there is still more to do @TheAusInstitute
We could learn a lot from the Nordic countries when it comes to designing a system that properly supports families and, importantly, helps to share the parenting responsibilities between mothers and fathers.
In Iceland, each parent is granted 13 weeks of non-transferable leave, plus a further 13 weeks that parents can divide as they choose. Our research found that, not only do fathers use their quota, but parents divide work and care more equally as a result! nordicpolicycentre.org.au/fathers_quota
Iceland has, once again, been named the world's most peaceful country. That's 13 years in a row! How do they do it? By focusing on:
✅improved societal safety and security
✅avoiding domestic and international conflict
✅reducing militarisation icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/2020…
The @GlobPeaceIndex has ranked countries by a series of global peace indicators every year since 2008. In 2020, Australia is ranked as the 13th most peaceful country in the world and all of the Nordic nations are within the top 20.
It's not all good news though. The 2020 GPI found that, in the last year, the world became less peaceful for the ninth time in the last 12 years following a global increase in internal conflicts, military spending and political instability.
A renewed focus on skills is welcome news. Australia does not properly recognise or resource vocational pathways. Finland provides a leading example of how to do it well
A THREAD 1/ >
2/ Australia needs to achieve a better balance between vocational and academic learning, like Finland - where people can and do switch between the two - within a policy which recognises each as 'equal but different' #auspol#covid19au > nordicpolicycentre.org.au/degrees_north
3/ Further, “[Finland] follows the principle of ‘equal but different’ by producing both a skilled vocational labour force and a high-quality academic labour force.
As we rebuild economically from #Covid_19, it's important to balance the needs of people and planet. In Amsterdam they are doing this by embracing the so-called 'doughnut model', aiming to offer everyone fair social terms within safe ecological limits. weforum.org/agenda/2020/05…
The doughnut model says no one should be falling short on the essentials of life but, at the same time, humanity must live within the ecological boundaries that aim to preserve the Earth’s resources.
“I think it can help us overcome the effects of the crisis” says Amsterdam’s deputy mayor Marieke van Doorninck. “The doughnut does not bring us the answers but a way of looking at it, so that we don’t keep on going on in the same structures as we used to” theguardian.com/world/2020/apr…