Submission to KPMG review of the Federal Government Initiative to “analyse dementia program and services funded by the Department of Social Services"

The comments I make are based on my nearly twenty years involvement in the dementia cause at both a national and international level. In preparation, I read two papers namely the Ministerial Dementia Forum – Option Paper produced by KPMG Management Consultants (2014) and Analysis of Dementia Programmes and Services Funded by the Department of Social Services: Conversation Starter prepared by KPMG as a preparation document for those attending a workshop in Brisbane on April 22nd 2015. Dementia is a complex “syndrome” and as is often said, “when you meet one person with dementia, you have met one” meaning that no two persons with dementia are the same. Even in dementia care, Australia is a “lucky country” and there is much to be said for the quality and diversity of dementia care available for people living with dementia. Despite this, I agree with the many views expressed in the material I read that there is scope for improvement, especially in the way that services are coordinated. In saying that, I do not purport to have all the solutions nor claim to have the knowledge required to comment on all the programs covered by this review. If I appear to be a “biased” advocate for Alzheimer’s Australia across the States and Territories, it is because I have seen constant evidence of ordinary people doing extraordinary things with inadequate resources. Dementia care is not cheap and if those funding dementia services are primarily only interested in economic outcomes and benefits, the real purpose of this consultation will be defeated. In addition, nowhere in the material I have read is there any recognition that in many instances program funding is a complex mix of government (at all levels) and private funding. This makes reviewing those programs more complex and less able to be coordinated at a Departmental level. It goes without saying therefore that the Federal Government is not” the only player in this game”. Of all those participating in this review, Alzheimer’s Australia is best placed to comment on programs as it is more connected to people living with dementia and has probably the best record of consulting with them. It would appear however that their role has been reduced to that of a “bit player”. Without wanting to be critical, the Forum Report which deals with the comments made at a gathering of 70 individuals and organisations, only three (3) or 4.28% were actual carers of people living with dementia. Even if it is argued that a number of organisations present represented consumers, the percentage goes up only marginally to 8.57% which is hardly an endorsement of the forum being “consumer driven”. The predominance of those present were service providers, each with their own agenda and each seeking advantage for their “business”. The final point I want to make before commenting on more specific, program related issues, is that many programs being reviewed have a much longer history than is reflected in the material I have read. Their growth and development was pioneered by Alzheimer’s Australia organisations across the country often with no government funding. Attempts to bring about better coordination of programs were often at the behest of Alzheimer’s Australia but in the main were ignored. The opportunity to now put this right is long overdue.

Incentivizing innovation: A review of the Brazilian federal innovation support programs

Innovation is the transformation of knowledge of any kind into new products or services in the market. Its importance as a production factor is widely acknowledged. In the age of the knowledge-based economy innovation became critical for any company or even country to compete globally. Many countries are encouraging innovation through various mechanisms, and one of the most widely used is the provision of special incentives for innovation. This paper investigates incentive systems for the growth of technology companies as a strategy to promote knowledge-based economic development. As for the case investigations the study focuses on an emerging economy, Brazil. The research is based upon the available literature, best practices, government policy and review of incentive systems. The findings provide insights from the case study in a country context and some lessons learned for other countries using incentive systems to boost the innovation capabilities of their technology companies.

Social media in selected Australian federal and state election campaigns, 2010-15

Campaigning in Australian election campaigns at local, state, and federal levels is fundamentally affected by the fact that voting is compulsory in Australia, with citizens who are found to have failed to cast their vote subject to fines. This means that - contrary to the situation in most other nations – elections are decided not by which candidate or party has managed to encourage the largest number of nominal supporters to make the effort to cast their vote, but by some 10-20% of genuine ‘swinging voters’ who change their party preferences from one election to the next. Political campaigning is thus aimed less at existing party supporters (so-called ‘rusted on’ voters whose continued support for the party is essentially taken for granted) than at this genuinely undecided middle of the electorate. Over the past decades, this has resulted in a comparatively timid, vague campaigning style from both major party blocs (the progressive Australian Labor Party [ALP] and the conservative Coalition of the Liberal and National Parties [L/NP]). Election commitments that run the risk of being seen as too partisan and ideological are avoided as they could scare away swinging voters, and recent elections have been fought as much (or more) on the basis of party leaders’ perceived personas as they have on stated policies, even though Australia uses a parliamentary system in which the Prime Minister and state Premiers are elected by their party room rather than directly by voters. At the same time, this perceived lack of distinctiveness in policies between the major parties has also enabled the emergence of new, smaller parties which (under Australia’s Westminster-derived political system) have no hope of gaining a parliamentary majority but could, in a close election, come to hold the balance of power and thus exert disproportionate influence on a government which relies on their support.

Policy evaluations for U.S. federal timber sale accounting system development.

XVIII IUFRO World Congress, Ljubljana 1986.

La reinserción social de los ex-presidiarios en la Argentina de las primeras décadas del siglo XX : algunos comentarios biográficos sobre Jorge H. Frías, fundador del Patronato de Liberados y Excarcelados de la Capital Federal

Resumen: Este trabajo pretende avanzar sobre una problemática escasamente abordada por la historiografía jurídica y social argentina: la reinserción social de los egresados de las prisiones. Así, partiendo de la utilidad que tienen para la historiografía los estudios biográficos y de instituciones penitenciarias y post-penitenciarias, analizaremos algunos aspectos de la labor profesional de Jorge H. Frías, distinguido jurista, presidente de la Cámara de Apelaciones en lo Criminal y Correccional y fundador en 1918 de la primera institución de reinserción social de la Argentina: el Patronato de Liberados y Excarcelados de la Capital Federal. Esperamos que este breve trabajo contribuya a alentar la realización de otros estudios sobre diferentes aspectos del universo penitenciario argentino (directores de presidios, viajeros penitenciarios, congresos penitenciarios nacionales e internacionales, revistas de los funcionarios de prisiones, etc.) que aún hoy en día permanecen desconocidos.

Un problema semántico : la danza “El Federal”

Resumen: Se trata de hallar solución al problema surgido por dos danzas criollas diferentes que ostentan, para los estudiosos, la misma designación, con la particularidad de que los cultores de las danzas nativas denominan, a una de ellas, con nombre inapropiado. Se hace el relato del problema surgido, presentando el estudio de las especies en cuestión y, demostrada su diferencia, se propone una designación para cada una de ellas, sin traicionar los nombres con que fueron conocidas en su tiempo.

Programas de investimento do governo federal : guia informal

Apresenta a distribuição dos programas de investimento do Governo Federal, organizada por ministério e por secretaria, de acordo com informações colhidas em sites institucionais e normas técnicas fornecidas pelos mesmos. Oferece informações sobre os procedimentos adequados para a obtenção desses recursos e indica os caminhos para parlamentares, prefeitos e outros agentes políticos encaminharem seus pleitos. Traz informações detalhadas dos programas do Governo Federal, tanto para facilitar o acesso aos seus recursos, como também para gerar melhores condições de fiscalização.

Educação : legislação federal

Apresenta uma coletânea da legislação brasileira sobre educação; inclui dispositivos constitucionais, LDB, Fundeb, Plano Plurianual e outras normas federais.

Constituição 20 anos : Estado, democracia e participação popular : caderno de textos

Reúne textos que apresentam a visão de pessoas que participaram, como representantes de seus segmentos, nas discussões constituintes, na Comissão de Legislação Participativa.

A construção do artigo 5º da Constituição de 1988

Estuda a construção do artigo 5º da Constituição e mostra a transformação do seu texto durante o processo legislativo constituinte.

Observância do art. 169, § 1º, da Constituição: exigência de prévia autorização e dotação orçamentária para proposição que aumente gastos com pessoal

Consultoria de Orçamento e Fiscalização Financeira

Disposições sobre a legislação tributária pelas Leis de Diretrizes Orçamentárias, nos termos do art. 165, § 2º, da Constituição

Consultoria de Orçamento e Fiscalização Financeira.