We are spending more and more time in meetings. Better meeting behaviours makes that time productive.

Ministerial decisions on grants need to be transparent and accountable. False precision in assessments and grant guidelines which do not fully capture government objectives don’t help.

Our pursuit of good work — the type of work that meets our desires — is strong and causes some tension in our policy structures. The future of work, it seems, is more work.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been the defining event of the early 21st Century. How well Australia as a nation and the world as a community of nations manages both the pandemic and the economic and social rebuild it forces will critically influence the prospects of current and future generations.

In looking to the future, we need to think carefully about the society we want to create. The task ahead is not just a technical one for experts, it is one that involves defining a clear forward-looking bargain between citizen and state, write Sean Innis and Ryan Young

There are valuable lessons about effective governance, expertise and co-operation that should serve us well as we emerge from the pandemic.​ As our parliaments return, every parliamentarian should reflect on the duty they have to the nation as a whole.

The staggering breadth of the social and economic changes created by Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic provides a stark reminder of the trust we place in our elected officials. As a nation, we have placed great faith in government decisions that have reduced our freedoms and taken away our livelihoods.

Addressing the crashing economic cost of COVID-19 has triggered an unprecedented policy response here and elsewhere. For those who have wondered about the economic and social benefit of rapid improvements in communications technology, wonder no more.

The trustworthiness of government has rarely been so important, but can government prove itself worthy of our trust? High levels of control, low personal freedom and little government transparency are government attributes that few Australians would support. Increasing trust is important, but not every path to higher trust is of equal value.

Economic thinking has driven policymaking in the past, but will it in the future? It has clearly played an important role in the prosperity and position Australia enjoys today. For that role to continue into the future, economic thinking needs to respond to the changing nature of our society, the challenges we are now seeing emerge, and deepen the understanding and advice it brings to the policy table.

Time is the most precious resource we have as people. Time cannot be stretched and time lost cannot be re-found. Clear limits exist – there are only 24 hours in a day.

The Chinese Government’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is shaping up to be the defining geo-economic strategy of the early 21st century. It is symbolic of broader shifts in the economic and political forces shaping our world, but also a major influence on these forces.