Centre for Independent Studies

The Michaela Way | Katharine Birbalsingh

Katharine is a leading figure in education practice and policy and founder as well as principal of London's Michaela Community School.
It’s no secret that Australian schools’ performance has been in decline for many years. That’s not for a lack of funding, nor a lack of commitment from countless dedicated educators. But more can be done to advance the learning of all students, no matter their background.
It’s a culture of high expectations, consistently well-managed classes, high behavioural standards, and commitment to explicit teaching that are the not-so-secret sauce behind educational success.
There is no better example of this in the world than the London-based, Michaela Community School.
Despite serving mostly disadvantaged students, they’ve delivered exceptional outcomes. More than half of their school leavers have achieved the equivalent of an A grade — more than 2.5 times better than the national average — helping to earn Michaela international praise.

On Liberty EP100 | Salvatore Babones | Liberty Learnt Over 100 Episodes

To celebrate 100 Episodes of On Liberty we flip the script and CIS executive director Tom Switzer interviews regular On Liberty host Salvatore Babones.
Over 100 episodes, Salvatore has interviewed a wide range of guests on an incredible range of topics. We hear from Salvatore on what he has learnt about Classical Liberalism and political orthodoxy in Australia and around the world from his many interviews. As well as how On Liberty has shaped Salvatore's views, his new position as Director of China and Free Societies at CIS and what's next for the international affairs portfolio at CIS.

On Liberty EP99 | Jack McGuire | Teachers And Nurses Deserve Choice, Not Monopoly Unions

We welcome Red Union Managing Director, Jack McGuire. Jack argues there are not enough options available to workers to seek representation – ultimately restricting freedom of association. Instead, workers have little choice but to engage with legacy monopoly unions – regardless of whether or not they share the union’s political motivations or policy advocacy.
The only way to ensure constructive representation of members, according to Jack, is to have professional associations governed by practicing teachers and nurses, not professional union officials.
Under the current anti-competitive settings, teachers and nurses are little more than cash cows for political purposes. But the interests of members must come before politics.
Without more dynamic representation, workers will continue to face inflexible and impractical working conditions. The status quo entrenches big unions and big business and marginalizes small business and workers that require flexibility.
Are monopoly unions failing to advance the interests and status of key members, like teachers and nurses? Why do traditional unions oppose competition? Why is membership demand so high for alternatives to traditional unions?

On Liberty EP98 | Peter Gregory | The Territory Gap

We welcomed Peter Gregory, author of the CIS paper The Territory Gap: Comparing Australia's remote Indigenous communities.
The absolute and relative deprivation experienced by Indigenous people in remote and very remote Australia is well known. However, Indigenous people in remote areas are often lumped together as a single national category. There is little understanding of how the different states and territories perform in terms of the economic wellbeing of Indigenous people in remote and very remote areas.
The major finding of this research is that the Northern Territory has the worst economic outcomes for Indigenous people in remote or very remote locations of any state or territory in Australia by some margin, while South Australia has the best.
Why are remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory struggling? What is being done to help remote communities to ensure they thrive? Why are seeing the gaps in economic wellbeing across remote communities?

S3E3 | Emilie Dye ”I’m the the expert in me” —the value of individual freedom

In this discussion we hear a youthful take on Liberalism, Emilie is Australian Lead at Young Voices, an Advisor at GT Communications and former policy director at the Australian Taxpayers Alliance. Emily understands Liberalism as based on the understanding that only an individual can know what is best for their life. However, she is also aware that many of her generation are disillusioned with how they see the world and wrongly see the solution as more government.

S3E1 | Ruth Richardson ’What’s needed to revive liberalism; ideas and a spine’

A fierce reformer for liberalism, Ruth Richardson is asked whether the ship of reforming liberalism has sailed in the light of the many setbacks it has experienced in the last decades. They discuss how the restoration liberalism to its dynamic rightful place will depend on three things, the ideas of freedom, the institutions that buttress that freedom, and the individuals who champion that freedom—all of which have been missing of late.

S3E2 | Tom Switzer ’The power of choice that makes society better—even if it not appreciated’

Rob sits down the Centre for Independent Studies executive director Tom Switzer. Tom discusses with Rob what so called ‘Classical Liberalism’ is and why he is convinced it is best for society. This leads to the question if it works better, why don’t more people believe in it?

S3E8 | Roslyn Fuller ’That’s not democracy, this is democracy!’

On this episode Rob chats to author Roslyn Fuller. Liberals believe in the value of democracy, but Roslyn tells Rob there is truly little of it in the world today. This is because there is little direct power given to people in our system of government. Drawing on the example of ancient Athens, Roslyn outlines her preferred model of direct democracy. Her critique of the current representative democracy is that it is open to corruption and devoid of what the people actually want. Roslyn argues for a more direct engagement of people in decision making.

S3E4 | Steven Schwartz ’Liberalism: the winner in the battle of ideas but the loser on the ground’

On this episode Rob chats with former university vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz. Steven understands liberalism as an attitude that gives everyone an opportunity to flourish — an attitude of ‘live and let live’ so long as you do not interfere with others living their lives. He believes liberalism has won the big battle of ideas, but that it keeps on being undermined in the narrow world of practical politics.

S3E5 | Mike Bird ’A theologian who thinks secularism is a very good thing’

Rob talks to Mike Bird, the Academic Dean at Ridley Theological College Melbourne, on the importance of secularism in contemporary Australian life and about his recent book Religious Freedom in a Secular Age (Harper Collins, May 2022). Mike contends that with a secular government religious bodies do not control the state and the state does not control religious bodies—to the benefit of both. They also discuss the threats to a secular government, which come surprisingly not from religious bodies but from those opposed to religion. The possibility of a peace between LGBTQI+ rights and religious freedom is canvassed.