Australia21 has had a long interest in how human progress is conceptualised and measured, particularly through the work of director Richard Eckersley. Richard has been researching and writing about progress and wellbeing for almost 30 years, and is a member of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ expert reference group for its project on measures of Australia’s progress.

 

Click on the title to read Richard’s opinion piece in The Canberra Times citing past comments by the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, on the importance of the ‘moral deficit’ and a nation’s ‘sense of purpose and meaning’ which highlights questions about the sustainability and quality of life in Australia today: Deficit deeper than economy.

 

The article cites new research on the ‘material footprint’ that shows Australia has the world’s highest footprint at 35 tonnes of primary resources per person per year. Click on the title for more information about the study: Australia’s consumption of natural resources a report card.