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Australian Government (australian + government)
Selected AbstractsReforming Youth Allowance: The "Independent-at-Home" CategoryECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 4 2009Bruce Chapman I22; I28; I38 The Review of Australian Higher Education (2008) recommended the elimination of the Youth Allowance (YA) category known as "Independent-at-Home" (IAH), a policy position which has been endorsed by the Australian Government. The concern is students gaining access to YA through this eligibility criterion are not disadvantaged and that consequently this aspect of the system is inequitably targeted. To cast light on this possibility, the research reported here examines the household income circumstances of individuals in the IAH category in a comparison with otherwise similar students. The research methods employed are indirectly due to the lack of available data, but we are able to adjust information from the HILDA survey to address the issue. The evidence is that, in the 2001 to 2006 period, a large proportion of those in the IAH category were not disadvantaged, which is support for the position of the Review and the government's response to it. [source] The social world of Australian practice nurses and the influence of medical dominance: An analysis of the literatureINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 6 2009FRCNA, Grad Cert Ed (Tert Teach), Jane Mills RN In Australia, the number of practice nurses is growing at a rapid rate. On the nursing landscape, this group of nurses stand out because of their relationship with the Australian Government who both fund them, and concern themselves with their continuing professional development. This paper provides a construction of the social world of Australian practice nurses, identifying stakeholders in the business of practice nursing. Literature produced by the various social world segments is analysed for the influence of medical dominance on the role, image, power and politics of practice nurses. [source] Should Australia introduce a vaccine injury compensation scheme?JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 5-6 2004D Isaacs Abstract: At least a dozen countries or states in the world have introduced vaccine injury compensation schemes. This paper argues that the Australian Government should introduce such a scheme, which may reduce litigation, and may improve consumer and provider confidence. The most important justification, however, is an ethical argument from justice and equity: introduction of a vaccine injury compensation scheme acknowledges the unique situation that routine childhood immunization is a public health measure, given and accepted in good faith, that may occasionally damage the recipient. [source] Marketing, truth and political expediencyJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2005Colin Jevons Countries have been built on the hopes, dreams and courage of refugees. In recent years, the global refugee problem has become more intense, and reactions from governments around the world have been generally negative. This paper explores and describes the way in which a hitherto unpopular Australian Government managed and communicated an apparent ,refugee crisis' to win an election campaign, using information known at the time to be untruthful. It compares the messages used to win the election with the truth that subsequently emerged, and relates this to political marketing, especially the theories of Machiavelli. It concludes by describing the situation post-election and discusses some potential implications for public affairs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] What Determines Australia's Response to Emergencies and Natural Disasters?THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2007Simon Feeny This article examines the determinants of Australia's response to emergencies and natural disasters. It examines the response from the Australian public by examining contributions made to the appeals of the country's largest Non-Governmental Organisation: World Vision of Australia. It also examines the response of the Australian Government. The data include 43 emergencies and natural disasters since 1998. Results suggest that the responses from both the public and government are positively associated with the number of people affected, media coverage, and the level of political and civil freedom in the country where the event occurred. The type and location of the emergency or disaster are important for the public's response. Differences between public and government donations exist: support from the Australian Government is positively associated with smaller countries and there is some evidence that the public donates more to events occurring in larger and poorer countries. [source] The Australian Dominative Medical System: A Reflection of Social Relations in the Larger SocietyTHE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Hans Baer This paper posits a working or tentative model of medical pluralism, a pattern in which multiple medical sub-systems co-exist, or what I term the Australian dominative medical system. I argue that whereas the Australian medical system with its various medical sub-systems was pluralistic, that is more or less on an equal footing, in the nineteenth century, by the early twentieth century it became a plural or dominative one in the sense that biomedicine came to clearly dominate other medical sub-systems. This paper also explores the growing interest of biomedicine and the Australian Government in complementary medicine to which Australians have increasingly turned over the course of the past three decades or so. [source] Local provenance in rehabilitation of degraded landscapes: a case study from the Hawkesbury,Nepean catchment, AustraliaAREA, Issue 3 2005Shelley Burgin Throughout Australia thousands of volunteers are engaged in Landcare projects that should help rehabilitate degraded landscapes. Many of these projects involve tree planting, but their seed is not necessarily of local provenance. Based on a survey of 85 Landcare groups working in the Hawkesbury,Nepean catchment, data were collected about Landcare groups' knowledge of their seed source, understanding of local provenance and the ecosystem in which they were planting trees and the source of funding for their projects. The findings from the study indicate that about one in five (21%) of the groups surveyed that introduced plant material were not aware of local provenance issues. Indirect indications were that a large number of Landcare groups state-wide may be doing more harm than good to the landscape while trying to rehabilitate it. The data also showed that one in seven (13%) of the groups funded by the Australian Government through the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) had limited awareness of local provenance issues. With millions of dollars being spent on ,works on the ground', it would be prudent to allocate some funds to document and monitor current Landcare activities, so that the environmental outcomes can be quantified and more effective Landcare policies can be developed in the future. [source] Resources, population and migration in the Pacific: Connecting islands and rimASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 3 2009Brian Opeskin Abstract This article examines international migration in the Pacific and argues that there should be still greater opportunities for the people of Pacific countries to migrate between their home states and the developed states of the Pacific Rim. The case for borders that are more permeable to human migration is based in part on the common Pacific predicament of poor resource endowments, rapidly growing populations, depletion and degradation of existing resources, and threats posed by anthropogenic climate change. Coupled with this is a history of colonisation that has left some Pacific peoples with liberal access to economic opportunities in developed states by virtue of their citizenship or preferential visa status, while others have no such opportunities. Both New Zealand and the United States have been reasonably generous in facilitating migration from Polynesia and Micronesia. It is Australia that stands out as the Pacific neighbour with the greatest capacity to develop new migration streams. The seasonal worker scheme announced by the Australian Government in August 2008 takes a cautious but valuable step along this path, yet there is scope for further expanding Pacific access by broadening the geographical, temporal and material scope of existing migration arrangements. [source] Can human rights discourse improve the health of Indigenous Australians?AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 5 2006Natalie Gray Objective:Recognition of the poor health outcomes of Indigenous Australians has led to an interest in using human rights discourse as a framework for arguing that the Australian Government has an international obligation to improve Indigenous health. Method:This paper explores two potential directions for human rights discourse in this context. The first is the development and elaboration of an asserted ,human right to health'. The second focuses on developing an understanding of the interactions between health and human rights, particularly the underlying social determinants of health, and thereby creating an advocacy framework that could be used to promote the inclusion of human rights considerations into the policy-making agenda. Results:This paper argues that despite the symbolic force of human rights discourse, its capacity to improve the health of Indigenous Australians through international law is limited. This is so irrespective of whether recourse is made to a legal or moral imperative. Conclusion and Implications:The ,human right to health' is limited primarily by several barriers to its implementation, some of which are perpetuated by the current Australian Government itself. Although the potential advocacy capacity of human rights discourse is similarly limited by the hostility of the Government towards the notion of incorporating human rights considerations into its public policy decision making, it does provide a sustainable intellectual framework in which to consider the social and structural determinants of health and maintain these issues on the political agenda. [source] THE IMPACT OF CLEAN FUEL SPECIFICATIONS ON ADELAIDE RETAIL PETROL PRICES,AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 1 2009ALISTAIR DAVEY In March 2001, the South Australian Government introduced a clean fuel policy which it claimed was designed to protect air quality. This paper quantifies the policy's impact on relative Adelaide retail prices for unleaded petrol through Box-Jenkins autoregressive integrated moving average methodology coupled with Box and Tiao intervention analysis. The analysis uses weekly price data spanning from January 2000 until the beginning of June 2002. It finds the clean fuel policy had a statistically significant impact on relative retail petrol prices, resulting in an increase of almost 1.9 cents per litre and, therefore, costing Adelaide motorists around an extra $15.8 million per annum. Based on claims that the quality of fuel produced by the local Adelaide refiner did not change in response to the implementation of the clean fuel policy, the paper concludes that the increase in relative retail petrol prices was most likely associated with the exercise of market power rather than an increase in refinery production costs. [source] An Almost Universal Scheme of National Service in Australia in the 1950s,AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND HISTORY, Issue 3 2006Pam Maclean While the Australian Government partly justified the introduction of a universal National Service Training Scheme for eighteen-year old males in 1951 by highlighting the threat of imminent war and the consequent need for military preparedness, advocates also believed that national service encouraged the development of a sense of civil responsibility. Its confidence in the potential of national service to promote citizenship explains why the government was so strongly committed to the scheme's universality. Nonetheless, although the government went to great lengths to enforce compliance, Aborigines and those from other "non-white" backgrounds were actively discouraged from participation and women were only reluctantly admitted to the professional army. As would be expected in this period, they were never considered for national service. An examination of the rationale for national service and the associated discourse for inclusion and exclusion not only indicates the social assumptions shaping policy-making by government and bureaucratic elites in 1950s Australia, but also reveals their wider social aspirations. [source] Policy Formulation in Australian Government: Vertical and Horizontal AxesAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2000Craig Matheson Studies of the policy process in Australia have focused on particular institutions or decisions rather than on its overarching properties. One such property is the vertical and horizontal ,axes' of policy-making. The former comprises hierarchical relationships whereas the latter comprise relationships of bargaining, negotiation and persuasion. Vertical axes enable governments to take and enforce technically rational decisions in pursuit of consistent goals whereas horizontal axes permit governments to make broadly-based decisions that have group assent and electoral support. Vertical axes have strengthened in recent years and have brought increased technical rationality and consistency. This has come at a cost of limiting of the scope of political debate and a loss of electoral support for government though. [source] Australian asylum policies: have they violated the right to health of asylum seekers?AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2009Vanessa Johnston Abstract Objectives: Notwithstanding recent migration policy amendments, there is concern that Australian asylum policies have disproportionately burdened the health and wellbeing of onshore asylum seekers. There may be a case to be made that Australian governments have been in violation of the right to health of this population. The objective of this paper is to critically examine these issues and assess the implications for public health practice. Methods:The author undertook a review of the recent empirical literature on the health effects of post-migration stressors arising from Australian policies of immigration detention, temporary protection and the restriction of Medicare to some asylum seekers. This evidence was examined within the context of Australia's international law obligations. Results: Findings reveal that Australian asylum policies of detention, temporary protection and the exclusion of some asylum seekers from Medicare rights have been associated with adverse mental health outcomes for this population. This is attributable to the impact of these policies on accessing health care and the underlying determinants of health for aslyum seekers. Conclusion: It is arguable that Australian Governments have been discriminating against asylum seekers by withholding access on the grounds of their migration status, to health care and to the core determinants of health in this context. In so doing, Australia may have been in violation of its obligation to respect the right to health of this population. Implications: While the ,right to health' framework has much to offer public health, it is an undervalued and poorly understood discipline. The author argues for more education, research and advocacy around the intersection between heath and human rights. [source] The National Renewable Energy Target: An Example of Post-Machiavellian Policy-Making?AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2010Stephen Jones Since the election of the Rudd Government in 2007 intergovernmental relations have been a major feature of the political agenda. A ,new federalism' approach introduced a re-invigorated Council of Australian Governments (COAG) focused on developing national policies that reflect coordinated and cooperative policy-making processes. The establishment of COAG working groups provided the means for developing policies that reflect new levels of agreement between jurisdictions and a common approach to reform. The development of the 20% Renewable Energy Target has been one of the first initiatives of this new approach to policy-making. This research analyses the process behind the development of the target and places it within the context of the post-Machiavellian approach, and looks at the implications for future intergovernmental relations. [source] Preliminary Submission to the House of Representatives Economic, Finance and Public Administration Committee Inquiry into Cost Shifting by State Governments to Local GovernmentsAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 4 2002John Pritchard The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is the peak body for local authorities across Australia. Representing 698 councils, shires and other local governing bodies, ALGA advocates on behalf of local institutions, the local communities they represent and the process through which they interact. Founded in 1947 by the six states, ALGA now represents all states and territories and is a full member of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). This article is an edited version of the ALGA's preliminary submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee inquiry into the Financial Position of, and Cost Shifting onto, Local Government. [source] Rethinking Caretaker Conventions for Australian GovernmentsAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 3 2001Glyn Davis Australia has well-established conventions for caretaker governments. These conventions regulate how a government should operate once an election is called, and have been documented for some decades. Yet the current conventions date from an era when elections usually produced clear and immediate results. Can our caretaker conventions cope with the emerging reality of indecisive elections and long delays before a new government is confirmed? This paper canvasses the state of Australia's caretaker conventions and offers suggestions for an expanded, contemporary code. [source] Workers compensation and occupational health and safety in the Australian agricultural industryAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2009Robert Guthrie Abstract Objectives:,The objective of this paper is to review the available workers compensation and occupational health and safety data and the legal framework in relation to the agricultural industry to explore whether any factors highlight the need to pay special attention to the particular circumstances of those engaged in the industry. Design:,This paper explores some of the special features of the agricultural industry, looking first at agricultural worker fatalities and injuries as a matter of ongoing concern for all participants in this industry, government, as well as occupational health and workers compensation authorities. The paper analyses how occupational health and workers compensation laws may have special application to this industry. Finally, the paper considers some workers compensation provisions that have particular application to the agricultural industry. Conclusions:,Our survey of the available data and literature leads to the conclusion that the dangerous nature of agricultural work and the special legal and economic framework in which that work is undertaken identify the agricultural industry as presenting Australian Governments and specialist authorities with particular challenges in relation to improving workplace safety and reducing workplace injury. [source] Comment on G Davis, B Scales, A Ling & R Wilkins ,Rethinking Caretaker Conventions for Australian Governments', AJPA September 2001AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 3 2001Brian Howe No abstract is available for this article. [source] Wilderness and future conservation priorities in AustraliaDIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 6 2009James E.M. Watson Abstract Aim, Most approaches to conservation prioritization are focused on biodiversity features that are already threatened. While this is necessary in the face of accelerating anthropogenic threats, there have been calls to conserve large intact landscapes, often termed ,wilderness', to ensure the long-term persistence of biodiversity. In this study, we examine the consequences of directing conservation expenditure using a threat-based framework for wilderness conservation. Location, The Australian continent. Methods, We measured the degree of congruence between the extent of wilderness and the Australian protected area network in 2000 and 2006, which was established using a threat-based systematic planning framework. We also assessed priority areas for future reserve acquisitions identified by the Australian government under the current framework. Results, In 2000, 14% of Australia's wilderness was under formal protection, while the protected area network covered only 8.5% of the continent, suggesting a historical bias towards wilderness protection. However, the expansion of the reserve system from 2000 to 2006 was biased towards non-wilderness areas. Moreover, 90% of the wilderness that was protected over this period comprised areas not primarily designated for biodiversity conservation. We found a significant (P < 0.05) negative relationship between bioregions considered to be a priority for future reserve prioritization and the amount of wilderness they contain. Main conclusions, While there is an urgent need to overcome past biases in reserve network design so as to better protect poorly represented species and habitats, prioritization approaches should not become so reactive as to ignore the role that large, intact landscapes play in conserving biodiversity, especially in a time of human-induced climate change. This can be achieved by using current or future threats rather than past threats to prioritize areas, and by incorporating key ecological processes and costs of acquisition and management within the planning framework. [source] The Financial Accountability of Australia's Medicare System: A Generational Accounting AnalysisFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001Paul J. M. Klumpes The financial sustainability of publicly funded health care systems is sensitive to the demographics of ageing populations, which have a significant bearing on their financial management, accountability and reporting of their financial performance. This paper examines historical and current trends in demographic structure of Australia's population that are likely to impact on the financial management and accountability practices affecting Australia'suniversal public health care system (,Medicare'). The pay-as-you-go financed funding status of Medicare as represented under both currently required, cash-based accounting principles and proposed accrual-based accounting principles are criticised for not recognising the obligations of the Australian government under Medicare. An alternative system of generational accounting is proposed that projects the financial management costs of Medicare. Data are taken from both historical trends in expenditure and ageing as well as projected demographics. The analysis implies that there is significant intergenerational-inequity in the funding of Medicare, which is not recognised under accrual-based accounting principles that are now being used to evaluate the financial accountability and performance of government entities. [source] Mental health nurses: De facto policeINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 4 2007Jacklin E. Fisher ABSTRACT:, This paper examines the consequences for nursing staff and patients when police bring to hospital a person they assess to have a mental illness who exhibits violent or criminal behaviour. In particular, the impact on the nurse,patient relationship and the occupational health and safety of patients and staff is explored. Tensions between the conflicting roles for nurses of controlling the behaviour of this small minority of patients, while providing care and therapy, are examined within the context of health policy, bed shortages, and staffing problems. Recent Australian government and non-government reports are examined to assess the capacity of current health services in the State of New South Wales, to adequately and safely control behaviour while also provide therapeutic care for patients who are seeking help for their mental illness and emotional distress. [source] The feasibility of developing a standards rating system for all Australian government aged care homesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLDER PEOPLE NURSING, Issue 2 2008FRCNA, Susan Koch BA (Ed Studies) Aims and objectives., The main objective of this project was to investigate the likelihood of creating an easily understood rating system for all aged care homes. A secondary objective was to canvas the feasibility of alternative systems that could better inform aged care consumers. Background., Standards rating systems are used internationally to enable comparisons in healthcare. In Australia, the performance of numerous services and products are measured according to the star system of ratings, yet despite their widespread use, star ratings remain absent from the healthcare industry. Methods., A National Consultative Group (NCG) consisting of key stakeholder representatives was consulted, and a literature review performed on existing standards (or ,star') rating systems. Telephone interviews were conducted with representatives from aged care homes, as well as consumers. Results., A standards rating system for aged care homes was not found to be feasible in the current climate. However, an alternative system that emphasises empowering aged care consumers, such as one that allows consumers to search for an aged care home using their own criteria of preference, was considered more feasible. Conclusion., The need for information to assist consumer choice , limited as it may be , is real. Ways of providing more consumer friendly, useful information need to be further explored and developed. Recommendations are made for future work in this area. [source] Speaking Softly Without Big Sticks: Meta-Regulation and Public Sector AuditLAW & POLICY, Issue 3 2003Colin Scott Australian government has undergone an "audit explosion" in the last twenty years. This article observes, first, that the constitutional function of public sector audit institutions (AIs) gives them a strong cultural commitment to the assessment of the regularity and legality of public expenditure. New functions connected with performance audit and evaluation of nonfinancial performance indicators are liable to be interpreted through the lens of these more traditional concerns. The second observation is that, if we think in terms of "regimes" of financial control, we find that AIs form only part of the overall regulatory regime. This calls into question the coherence and potential for effectiveness of regimes of financial control. However, AIs could also be conceived as "meta-regulators" with the capacity to steer the self-regulatory capacities of public sector organizations in respect of financial controls. Auditors may be effective as meta-regulators through speaking softly, even though they demonstrably lack big sticks. [source] Ontologies of the image and economies of exchangeAMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 1 2004Fred Myers ABSTRACT In the early 1970s, the Aboriginal artist and activist Wandjuk Marika asked the Australian government to investigate the unauthorized use of Yolngu clan designs on a variety of commodity forms, inaugurating a process of recognizing Indigenous ownership of "copyright" in such designs. This treatment of design,and of culture,as a form of property involves understandings and practices of materiality and subjectivity that differ from those informing indigenous, Aboriginal relationships to cultural production and circulation. In this article I explore the significance for material culture theory of recent work on and events in the development of notions of cultural property. One of my main concerns is the relevance of local understandings of objectification, or objectness, and human action,as embedded in object-ideologies. I discuss the limited capacity of legal discourses of cultural property to capture and reflect the concerns of Indigenous Australians about their own relation to culture, to creativity, and to expression. [source] Copyright, Parallel Imports and National Welfare: The Australian Market for Sound RecordingsTHE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2000Theo Papadopoulos For more than a decade now there has been considerable, often heated, debate over the issue of the parallel importation of sound recordings into Australia. Citing anti-competitive monopolistic distribution, an increasingly integrated global market and the challenges of new technologies, the Australian government recently passed the Copyright Amendment Act (No.2) 1998, which permits the parallel importation of ,non-infringing' copies of a sound recording. This paper investigates the economic rationale underpinning this regulatory change and, using a partial equilibrium model, attempts to measure the likely welfare effects on consumers, copyright owners and the nation. In addition the paper examines the likely welfare impact of piracy within the new regulatory framework. This paper demonstrates that in a global music market characterised by exclusive territorial licences and price discrimination, the removal of parallel import restrictions by a small net-importer of intellectual property may be welfare enhancing for the nation. This welfare gain is at the expense of largely foreign copyright owners. [source] ,LAYIN' LOW AND SAYIN' NUFFIN': AUSTRALIA'S POLICY TOWARDS BRITAIN'S SECOND BID TO JOIN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (1966,67)AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 2 2006Andrea Benvenuti Australia; European Union; international trade; trade policy; United Kingdom This article examines the problems and challenges which confronted the Australian government in its response to Britain's second attempt to join the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1967. While an adequate body of literature exists on Australia's policy towards Britain's first application to the EEC (1961,63), the Australian government's response to the 1967 bid has been completely ignored by historians. This article, therefore, aims to make a historical contribution to the understanding of Australia's policy towards Britain's ,turn to Europe'. [source] Konfrontasi and Australia's Aid to Indonesia during the 1960sAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND HISTORY, Issue 1 2009Pierre Van Der Eng This article examines Australia's aid program in Indonesia in the 1960s. With the transfer by the Dutch of West New Guinea to Indonesia in May 1963, the Australian government looked to expand aid to its northern neighbour beyond the Colombo Plan in an effort to cement friendly relations. The events associated with konfrontasi threatened this policy objective. Yet despite Indonesia's belligerent stance, Australia was able to continue its aid program (by supporting the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network) and to keep the lines of communication with Jakarta open. When konfrontasi ended in August 1966 after regime change in Indonesia, Australia was able to rapidly expand its aid program. This article argues that konfrontasi changed the ways in which Australia's aid program in Indonesia was construed, which in turn contributed to a re-consideration of the role of aid in Australia's foreign policy more broadly. [source] The "ANRC has Withdrawn its Offer": Paul Kirchhoff, Academic Freedom and the Australian Academic Establishment,AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND HISTORY, Issue 3 2006Geoffrey Gray The main focus of examinations of intellectual suppression and censorship of scholars and academics in Australia has been on the post-1945 period, particularly the Cold War. The interwar years have, in comparison, received little attention, resulting in a lack of historical understanding of the development of censorious structures and traditions in Australia. In this paper I discuss the exclusion of Paul Kirchhoff, a German anthropologist, a member of the German Communist Party and a Jew, from undertaking anthropological research in Australia, including its external territories, between 1931 and 1932. Kirchhoff applied for a research grant from the Australian National Research Council (ANRC) which, although awarded, was withdrawn once the Executive Committee was informed by the Australian government that the British MI5 considered him a security risk. His membership of the Communist Party was the reason put forward. This case also underlines the transnational aspect of security services and the international reach of academic anthropology. Kirchhoff was a victim of the ANRC's sympathetic collaboration with the Commonwealth Attorney-General's office to stifle academic and civil freedom. [source] Attitudes towards German Immigration in South Australia in the post-Second World War Period, 1947-60AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND HISTORY, Issue 4 2005Jan Schmortte Considering the reaction against Germans in Australia during and after the First World War, it is surprising that German immigration to Australia was permitted again soon after the Second World War and even subsidised by the Australian government. Just seven years after the second war fought with Germany within a generation, Australia signed a five-year agreement to permit Germans to immigrate. This article examines the extent of the Australian public's acceptance of this policy during the period from 1947 to 1960. It concentrates on the state of South Australia where some of the earliest settlers in the colony had been of German origin, where their behaviour and achievements had been praised in historical writings about the colony, and where German immigrants may, therefore, have been viewed more positively. Yet there was some suspicion towards and discrimination against Germans in South Australia after 1945. Negative stereotypes of Germans were apparent in comments made by politicians and in press reports. However, these fears were minor and faded even further when more Germans arrived in Australia. [source] An Evaluation Crucible: Evaluating Policy Advice in Australian Central AgenciesAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 1 2000Michael Di Francesco Policy advice is a core function of government that until quite recently remained outside the formal processes of performance evaluation. Evaluation, by its very nature, is designed to question both the effectiveness and relevance of government activities; applying it to policy advice opens up a traditionally confidential and politically sensitive arena. This paper reports on an evaluation experiment in Australian government , policy management reviews (PMRs) , that sought to evaluate the quality of central agency policy advice. It traces the development of the PMR model around interdepartmental committee processes, the bureaucratic politics that diluted the focus on policy outcomes, and examines how central agencies steered evaluation away from questions of public accountability towards arrangements for achieving more effective control of the processes underpinning production of advice. By targeting the process rather than outcomes of policy advising, PMRs sought unsuccessfully to adhere to the divide between management and policy and, in doing so, marked out the limits to performance evaluation. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||