Monash Experts: Federal budget
Monday 13 May, 2024
Monash University experts are available to discuss issues relating to the federal budget, to be handed down by Treasurer the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP on Tuesday 14 May.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Kylie Turner, Sustainable Economies Lead, Climateworks Centre
Contact: (Bri Hudson) +61 492 265 437 or media@climateworkscentre.org
Kylie will be in the Budget lock-up and has decades of experience working across government, business and the not-for-profit sector.
- Economic implications of the Budget and how this aligns with Australia’s climate targets
The following can be attributed to Kylie Turner:
“As global climate activity gains momentum, this Budget is an opportunity for the federal government to build on work already underway. A prosperous Australia run on renewable energy, with thriving clean industries and exports requires consistent, considered effort from the government. Courageous leadership in this Budget could help us on the way to becoming a renewable energy superpower and avoid the worst impacts of climate change."
Luke Brown, Head of Policy and Engagement, Climateworks Centre
Contact: (Bri Hudson) +61 492 265 437 or media@climateworkscentre.org
- Key climate and clean energy elements of the Budget
- How Australia’s leadership on climate can contribute to our regional security
- Leadership on climate in the context of a possible Australian COP31
"This is a critical decade for climate action, and our research tells us the time to invest in decarbonising the Australian economy is now. This budget sets the right foundation for us to do that work, but of course this will be a long term process. Our actions matter in the region too. Our neighbours in the Pacific and in Southeast Asia are increasingly looking to us to cooperate and demonstrate leadership in helping to tackle the climate challenges we face as the most disaster prone region in the world."
Dr Gill Armstrong, Buildings Project Impact Manager, Climateworks Centre
Contact: (Bri Hudson) +61 492 265 437 or media@climateworkscentre.org
- Cost of living crisis in the context of climate change
- Budget priorities for better buildings
- How incentives can contribute to national energy security, improved health and lower bills
The following can be attributed to Dr Armstrong:
“We are feeling cost of living pressures, as well as the urgent need for climate action, and the Budget is an opportunity to address both, starting with the buildings that we live and work in. There are many things individuals or businesses can do that are relatively low cost to improve our homes and offices, but as you move into more advanced areas like upgraded heating, phasing out gas or implementing national energy efficiency disclosures – those are areas ripe for government support. The Budget is an opportunity for the federal government to secure cleaner, healthier and cheaper-to-run buildings for all Australians."
DEFENCE AND MANUFACTURING
Professor Yiannis Ventikos, Dean, Faculty of Engineering
Contact: + 61 408 508 454 or Yiannis.Ventikos@monash.edu
- Building the skilled workforce to support Australia’s defence capacities, and the sovereign capabilities to deliver
- What is needed from the budget to support innovation and research
- Manufacturing in the future
ENERGY, MINING AND RESOURCES
Associate Professor Roger Dargaville, Director Monash Energy Institute, Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
Read more of Associate Professor Dargaville’s commentary at Monash Lens
- Energy systems
- Grid resilience
- Stabilising energy grids after disasters
- Energy storage
- Transition to renewable energy
Shreejan Pandey, Director (Strategic Initiatives), Monash Energy Institute
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
- Energy transition
- Investment energy infrastructure
- Investment in energy research, development, training and entrepreneurship
- Energy reliability, access and resilience
Associate Professor Guillaume Roger, Faculty of Business and Economics
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
- Electricity market design
- Capacity Investment Scheme
Associate Professor Markus Wagner, Associate Director (Smart Energy Systems), Monash Energy Institute
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
- Energy optimisation
- IT and energy
Dr Stuart Walsh, Deputy Director of Research, Civil Engineering
Contact details: +61 435 827 873 or stuart.walsh@monash.edu
Read more of Dr Walsh's commentary at Monash Lens
- Green commodities (green iron and steel, green ammonia and hydrogen)
- Critical mineral exploration and development
- Opportunities for Australia in the energy transition
Professor Sankar Bhattacharya, Head, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Contact details: +61 408 508 454 or Sankar.Bhattacharya@monash.edu
- Clean energy projects
- The transition to green energy may be a priority in this year’s federal budget, with a focus on critical minerals, battery manufacturing, renewable hydrogen and ammonia, and green metals.
Professor Ranjith Pathegama Gamage, Deep Earth Energy Lab, Faculty of Engineering
Contact details: +61 408 508 454 or Ranjith.Pathegama.Gamage@monash.edu
- The future of mining
- How energy management plays a crucial role in mining
ENERGY
Professor Liam Smith, Director BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute
Contact: +61 3 9903 4840 or Liam.Smith@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Smith's commentary at Monash Lens
- Barriers that prevent Australian households from being energy efficient
HEALTH
Professor Helena Teede AM, Professor of Women's Health and Equity, and Director Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University, Lead on NHMRC-funded International Advancing Women in Leadership Initiative and Centre of Research Excellence in Women's Health in Reproductive Life
Contact details: +61 407 005 737 or helena.teede@monash.edu
- Gender equity and advancing women's health through the International Advancing Women in Leadership Initiative
- Neglected women's reproductive health conditions. Lead on International Evidence-based Polycystic Ovary Syndrome guidelines and translation to support best practice care reaching 196 countries
- Healthy pregnancy
The following can be attributed to Professor Teede:
“Many Australian women are affected by neglected women's reproductive health conditions; one in eight are affected by either Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis or premature menopause, for example, with their health needs often dismissed. Women also pay more than men for some medical procedures/scans. Governments need to continue to identify and address the gender bias, gaps and inequities for women and girls to optimise health outcomes. A greater women’s representation in healthcare leadership should also be a priority.”
Associate Professor Gemma Sharp, Head of the Body Image and Eating Disorders Research Program and Senior Clinical Psychologist
Contact details: +61 421 253 188 or gemma.sharp@monash.edu
Read more of Associate Professor Sharp's commentary at Monash Lens
- Mental health
- Women's mental health
- Access to healthcare
Professor Chris Bain, Digital Health, Faculty of Information Technology
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Bain’s commentary at Monash Lens
- Budgetary measures needed to introduce more digital health interventions
- Improving access to medical services through digital health
- Impacts on the health services workforce
Professor Chris Langmead, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Contact details: +61 447 822 659 or media@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Langmead’s commentary at Monash Lens
- Funding to develop medical treatment options for people living with a severe or difficult-to-treat mental health condition, such as PTSD, eating disorders and schizophrenia, is critical.
- Current lack of safe and effective medical treatments for severe or difficult-to-treat mental health conditions.
- Economic and health consequences of not finding new medical solutions to treating severe or difficult-to-treat mental health conditions that will impact on the person, their family and carers, and the community.
Professor Dan Lubman, Director of Turning Point and Director of the Monash Addiction Research Centre
Contact details: +61, (0) 408 284 178 or dan.lubman@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Lubman’s commentary at Monash Lens
- Addiction and treatment
- Mental health
- Alcohol and other drug harms
- Gambling harms
- Cost of addiction
The following can be attributed to Professor Lubman:
“Regular alcohol consumption has been linked with over 200 diseases and conditions, making it a leading cause of injury, chronic disease and mortality in Australia and the world.
Despite policy measures to protect Australians, the harms associated with alcohol consumption are increasing, including being a significant contributing factor in family violence.
“Australia holds the unenviable title of the world's biggest gambling losers, as a result of losing more per capita on gambling than any other country. These losses are only likely to accelerate with online gambling continuing to grow, against a background of limited consumer protection, oversaturation of gambling advertisements, sponsorships and promotions that normalise and encourage gambling behaviour, and an absence of a duty of care from gambling operators.
“Treatment for addiction is more chronically underfunded than any other area of healthcare and this urgently needs to change. Everyone deserves access to healthcare.
“One in four Australians will struggle with alcohol, other drugs or gambling in their lifetime. We cannot afford to keep ignoring this problem.
“We know that for every dollar spent on addiction treatment we save up to $7 and that for every dollar spent on harm reduction we save up to $27.”
Professor Suzanne Nielsen, opioid expert and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre
Contact details: +61 (0)437 629 158 , or suzanne.nielsen@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Nielsen’s commentary at Monash Lens
- Overdose prevention
- Opioids
- Harm reduction measures including drug checking and supervised injecting facilities
- Addiction and treatment, including pharmacotherapy
The following can be attributed to Professor Nielsen:
"We know we need to double the investment in drug and alcohol treatment so that every person who needs it can access it.
“We have evidence-based drug and alcohol treatment and harm reduction interventions that save lives. We need to fund them properly.
"Study after study has shown that investing in drug treatment and harm reduction is cost-effective.These investments now prevent later harms, reduce the impact of drug and alcohol use on individuals, families and communities, and reduce the impact of drug and alcohol use on emergency services and hospital systems."
POLITICS
Dr Remy Davison, Jean Monnet Chair in Politics and Economics, Faculty of Arts
Contact details: +61 430 406 160 or remy.davison@monash.edu
Read more of Dr Davison’s commentary at Monash Lens
- General budget commentary
Dr Zareh Ghazarian, Politics Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences
Contact: +61 402 851 224 or zareh.ghazarian@monash.edu
Read more of Dr Ghazarian’s commentary at Monash Lens
- The political implications of the budget
- General budget commentary
Dr Blair Williams, Lecturer in Australian Politics
Contact: +61 431 067 541 or blair.williams@monash.edu
- The political implications of the budget
- The budget through a gender lens
PREVENTION OF FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Associate Professor Bridget Harris, Director, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre
Contact details: +61 413 413 033 or bridget.harris@monash.edu
- Federal funding for violence against women and children, including domestic, family and sexual violence
- The need for the federal government to demonstrate a significant funding commitment to delivering the ambitious National Plan to end Violence against Women and Children and their commitment to end gender based violence in one generation.
- Substantive federal funding is required to support improved prevention, early intervention, response, recovery and healing
Dr Naomi Pfitzner , Deputy Director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and Lecturer in Criminology in the Faculty of Arts
Contact details: +61 404 725 768 , naomi.pfitzner@monash.edu
- Investment in Primary Prevention Initiatives
- Investment in Respectful Relationships Education
- Sustainable Respectful Relationships Education programs
- Investment in professional development to support teachers and school to promote respectful relationships and prevent violence
CYBERSECURITY
Professor Monica Whitty, Head of Department of Software Systems & Cybersecurity, Faculty of Information Technology
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
- Human factors of cybersecurity
- Online security risks
- Detecting and preventing cyber scams
Professor Carsten Rudolph, Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity, Faculty of Information Technology
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Rudolph's commentary at Monash Lens
- Cybersecurity in the Pacific region
- Security protocols
- Network security
Professor Nigel Phair, Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity, Faculty of Information Technology
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
- Impact of cybercrime
- Governance of technology
- Intersection of technology, crime and society
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Professor Dinh Phung, Head of he Department of Data Science and AI, Faculty of Information Technology
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
- Responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)
- Developing robust and trustworthy AI
- Use of AI for health, cybersecurity and optimising transport systems
Professor Geoff Webb, Department of Data Science and AI, Faculty of Information Technology
Contact details: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Webb’s commentary on Monash Lens
- Fundamentals of AI
- Machine learning
- Data mining
FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Dr Emmanuel Laryea, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law
Contact details: +61 421 894 756 oremmanuel.laryea@monash.edu
- Foreign investment rules
- Foreign Investment Framework
ECONOMICS
Professor Rob Brooks, Deputy Dean Teaching
Contact details: +61 400 837 287 or Robert.Brooks@monash.edu
- Macroeconomics
- General economic policy
Professor Lionel Frost, Department of Economics
Contact details: +61 400 623 808 or lionel.frost@monash.edu
- Cost of living
- Housing affordability
For any other topics on which you may be seeking expert comment, please contact the Monash University Media team on +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
