Babies, budgets and birthrates - leading expert at UNSW

One of the country's leading researchers in families and work, early childhood education and community service provision has joined UNSW.

Professor Deborah Brennan has taken up a position with UNSW's Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC).

Professor Brennan this year published a ten-year review of Work and Family Policy in Australia, entitled 'Babies, Budgets and Birthrates'. With her areas of research and policy expertise at the centre of the new federal government's social policy agenda, Professor Brennan is poised to contribute to deliberations that will shape Australia's future.

Other areas which Professor Brennan is able to comment on include taxation and social security and demography and public policy.

As the immediate past president of the Australian Political Science Association, Professor Brennan's area of expertise also extends to gender and politics. This year she edited a book on women in NSW politics.

At the SPRC, Professor Brennan will work closely with Professorial Fellow Bettina Cass on Australian Research Council-funded projects addressing 'Young carers' and 'Grandparents who are Primary Carers of their Granchildren'.

"The SPRC is the premier centre of its type in the country," said Professor Brennan. "It is a powerhouse for research in so many of the areas that I'm interested in and I have many collaborators here. I'm excited to be here."

Professor Brennan is organising a conference on early childhood education and child care, which will be hosted by the SPRC in February 2008. The event is funded by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. It has attracted significant international interest and will be attended by leading researchers from Canada, the UK and Sweden.

Media contact: Professor Brennan 0413 488 487, Susi Hamilton, UNSW media 9385 1583 or 0422 934 024