http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/jo-anne-schofield/ Jo-anne Schofield took up the role of Executive Director of the newly formed think-tank Catalyst Australia in November 2007. Prior to that Jo-anne undertook policy and research in workforce planning, superannuation, legal and executive services as part if the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Public Sector Workforce Office. Jo-anne was also formerly an Assistant National Secretary with the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union for five years, and in all worked in a variety of research, legal and policy roles at the LHMU for 14 years. She has a BA (Hons) first class from NSW University where she undertook a double major in Industrial Relations and History and Philosophy of Science and tutored in Industrial Relations from 1988-1990. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Robbos-no-yobbo-hes-all-guts-and-brains/ Call me brave, or even stupid, but after David Penberthy’s piece last week, I’ve decided to launch a defence of NSW Labor leader John Robertson on The Punch. I expect pundits are already commenting below, calling me a union hack – or worse – as often occurs when I contribute to this site. One of the reasons I feel compelled to launch this defence is because I find it curious that we endlessly search for people with convictions in politics, but end up bagging a bloke who was willing to stand up for his convictions. Unpopular as it appears to the Labor elite, his convictions were shared by the majority of people in the community and by the workers that he was paid to represent. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Robbos-no-yobbo-hes-all-guts-and-brains/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Robbos-no-yobbo-hes-all-guts-and-brains/#item5562 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:45:58 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/desperation-is-driving-the-asylum-seeker-debate/ The wretchedness of grief on display at the burial of two asylum seekers who perished at Christmas island, and the swift point scoring by Opposition spokesman on immigration Scott Morrison rebuking the government for flying grieving relatives to the event, illustrate the extent to which Australia’s refugee policy is driven by desperation.  On the one hand, there’s the desperation of people fleeing for a better life, with all the tragedy that it entails. Then there’s the frantic effort of local people to save lives as the calamity unfolded on the shores of Christmas Island last year. Few could have been unmoved by the accounts of Christmas Islanders who helplessly watched the disaster evolve and who spoke emotionally of its lasting impact. Desperation also drives the politics of refugee policy, something made patently obvious again this week.  After pausing for a nano-second during the Christmas Island calamity, the toxic political narrative seems set to lunge along its usual course. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/desperation-is-driving-the-asylum-seeker-debate/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/desperation-is-driving-the-asylum-seeker-debate/#item5167 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:45:27 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-party-machine-we-can-believe-in/ Less than a month into the new parliament, there is no shortage of advice for our Prime Minister, with News Ltd warning about the danger of ‘over-reaching to the left’, while former British PM Tony Blair – perhaps nostalgic for his own failed New Labor experiment in the UK – is urging her to stay the ‘centre course’.  But the ‘sky is falling’ hysteria about our new patch-work parliament has been a little overplayed:  it mirrors perfectly the divisions across our rainbow nation – between regional and urban Australia, between migrant and non-migrant communities, between open minded and closed minded individuals … and the list goes on.  We live with these divisions every day – and manage to negotiate our lives around them.  It’s curious that we don’t reckon our politicians should be expected to do the same.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-party-machine-we-can-believe-in/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-party-machine-we-can-believe-in/#item4137 Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:30:33 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-money-opens-big-doors-to-our-politicians/ Many Australian’s are becoming increasingly concerned by unchecked corporate power, a view cemented by the recent mining sector campaign which within just a few months resulted in a sitting Prime Minister being rolled and billions cut from their tax bills. Nearly fifty years ago, Labor was attacked for being run by “faceless men” when the leadership team of Calwell and Whitlam were photographed peaking through a doorway, waiting for a room of unelected party officials to dictated their policy. These days it seems a whole new group has claimed the role, wielding a disproportionate influence on the levers of power in Canberra, with both sides of politics appearing beholden to the will of the corporate sector. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-money-opens-big-doors-to-our-politicians/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-money-opens-big-doors-to-our-politicians/#item3726 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:38:58 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-mining-tax-ads-counter-the-miners-fear-campaign/ With the miners launching the mother-of-all fear campaigns and the opposition leader fanning the hysteria, it’s hardly surprising that the average person understands as much about the resources super profits tax as they do about quantum physics. Most of us are reliant on private business and media interests to present the information about this substantial reform: business and media organizations that are not elected, are not publicly accountable, and aren’t under any obligation to make sure information is balanced and accurate. I for one am quite happy for the government to spend $3.27 of my taxes—that’s the total cost per taxpayer—to provide a public information campaign that will provide facts, without spin, about its proposed tax. Indeed, at less than the cost of a hamburger, it’s money well spent if it helps provide a clearer understanding of such an important long term reform. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-mining-tax-ads-counter-the-miners-fear-campaign/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-mining-tax-ads-counter-the-miners-fear-campaign/#item3255 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:45:36 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/population-the-new-phrase-for-everything-going-wrong/ In just a few short weeks population policy has turned into a panacea for just about every problem of the modern economy - from immigration to water management and more. Luckily for us, we can now lay these problems at the feet of the world’s first Population Minister, Tony Burke. Never mind that many of these problems that have been around for decades, they are now gathering under the banner of ‘population policy’, effectively making Tony Burke the new Minister for Everyone and Everything. For starters the Minister will need to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability, and tackle the impact of population growth on urban planning, transport, housing, water (and it seems just about every other type of infrastructure). feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/population-the-new-phrase-for-everything-going-wrong/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/population-the-new-phrase-for-everything-going-wrong/#item2959 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:55:55 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/super-scams-flush-billions-from-retirement-savings/ Forty billion dollars gone; four million Australians out of pocket; fees charged for services that are never delivered. It’s the biggest scam you’ve never heard of, and there’s a very real chance you’re a victim. Indeed, according to the results of a groundbreaking research project last month, a series of questionable practices in Australia’s superannuation industry are gouging close to $80,000 from the retirement savings of many average income earners. Most worryingly, the same report warned that without immediate, decisive action to fix these serious problems $120 billion more could be siphoned off in the next decade alone. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/super-scams-flush-billions-from-retirement-savings/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/super-scams-flush-billions-from-retirement-savings/#item2933 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:35:05 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/debunking-the-myths-of-corporate-tax/ “In this world,” Benjamin Franklin famously declared, “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” A few hundred years on, corporate Australia seems hell-bent on making a liar out of him. Death is still holding out -so no need to fear a business-suited army of the undead just yet—but the taxman has well and truly been given the slip, with billions of dollars from the public purse funneled through loopholes, lurks and perks. Treasury figures have revealed that over the last decade more than half of all companies paid less than five per cent of their total income in tax: a far cry from the hefty amount individual taxpayers are slugged. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/debunking-the-myths-of-corporate-tax/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/debunking-the-myths-of-corporate-tax/#item2592 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:46:53 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-school-is-a-stunt-if-its-not-backed-by-funding/ Deciding to take a peek at the My School website was a little like tuning in to Big Brother – I knew what I was about to see might alarm me, but I couldn’t help being drawn in for a little look. And given the huge number of hits on the site over the last few weeks, there is no doubt that education – and the quality of education – is a huge issue, although I did wonder if they were all guilt ridden mothers like me who spend too much time on the net.  Just like Big Brother, My School has proven a high rater on the shock factor. I saw schools extolled by Ministers as models of inspiration and hard work look like they’re failing. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-school-is-a-stunt-if-its-not-backed-by-funding/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-school-is-a-stunt-if-its-not-backed-by-funding/#item2365 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:50:01 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/are-older-australians-more-sceptical-of-climate-change/ The last month’s political twists and turns, culminating with the Liberal Party’s extraordinary lurch to the right and populist fear-mongering on the ETS “tax on everything”, make it look increasingly like Australia may never reach a political consensus on climate change. Adding fuel to the fire, after much of hype and high hopes Copenhagen fizzled, failing to deliver the binding international agreement which would have delivered a resounding mandate for Kevin Rudd’s proposed course of action. Back at home, Tony Abbott’s fiery rhetoric has been starkly reminiscent of another political turning point in 2001, which involved a hapless group of refugees in a sinking boat. Just as the 2001 Tampa election hysteria was fuelled by political opportunism and the politics of fear, so too the response to climate change appears to be heading down the same path. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jo-anne Schofield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/are-older-australians-more-sceptical-of-climate-change/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/are-older-australians-more-sceptical-of-climate-change/#item2057 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:30:45 +0000 Jo-anne Schofield | Author bios | The Punch