Legacies of White Australia : race, culture and nation

The White Australia policy continues to haunt Australia. Here, leading Australian scholars provide an informed debate on the essential issues of race, identity and nation that will determine our attitudes to immigration, multiculturalism and Australian-Asian engagement in the twenty-first century.

Korea's developmental alliance : state, capital and the politics of rapid development

South Korea is often cited as a case of miraculous transformation from poverty to prosperity. Korea’s achievement of moving from one of the world’s poorest countries as recently as the early 1960s to the ranks of the ten biggest economies only four decades later has rightly attracted interest from policymakers and scholars alike.

This book identifies the factors that shaped relations between the state and big business in Korea, the ‘developmental alliance’. These factors offer a cogent framework in which to identify and predict changes in power relations between government and business. Rather than merely offering a means of explaining the rapid-growth phase of Korean development, the politics of the developmental alliance also help us understand how and why the Korean miracle turned to crisis in 1997 and why the subsequent recovery has been so uneven. In this way, the book highlights the political power of business, which is often underplayed in discussions of the development of Korea. It also sheds light on the constraints on policymakers during modernisation, and how power is shared among a small number of powerful parties.

Illustrating the tumultuous politics of the ‘developmental alliance’ between business and government during the rise and decline of South Korea’s economic miracle, this book is an essential read for anyone interested in Korean politcs, economics and development,

Australia's international students : policies and experiences

Examines the experiences of international students, the impact of government and institutional policies and practices on international students, and the implications of such policies and experiences for Australia's engagement with Asia. The thesis concentrates on the period from 1980 to the present.

Aboriginal women and reconciliation in Australia : communication strategies and symbolism

This thesis explores the voices of Aboriginal women in the Reconciliation movement from 1991to 2001. It charts their success and failure, the power of the media and Reconciliation symbolism. Some of these women leaders retain a passionate commitment to Reconciliation while others have totally withdrawn from the process.

The Canadian response to Aboriginal residential schools : lessons for Australia and the United States?

The common policy of the Australian, Canadian and United States governments of removing aboriginal children from their families and placing them in institutions is now well documented. This article considers the responses to the stolen generations in Australia, Canada and United States. A major focus of the article is the historic compensation package agreed to by the Canadian government. Whilst the Canadian federal government has not been without criticism on this issue, it must be applauded for its efforts to meet a peaceful solution to a tragic past. The political responses in Australia and United States and Canada are simply incomparable. The failure to address the plight of the stolen generations of Australia and the United States evidences a major failing in Indian/Aboriginal policy in these two nations that needs to be addressed. Australia and the United States have much to learn from the reconciliatory policies of the Canadian government.

Entrapping Christian and Muslim Arabs in racial cartoons in Australia : the other anti-semitism

Racial Cartoons are a powerful force disguised as entertainment operating to shape public opinion. During the 1980s, 1990s and after 9/11 in 2001, cartoons in the Australian press were particularly directed against Muslim and Christian Arabs without remorse or fear of redress or accountability. The offensive of such cartoons has essentially been directed on three fronts—oil, politics and religion. The drawback resulting from socio-cultural, historical and other differences are no doubt visible; but equally obvious is that anti-Semitism, which was directed against the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s, is today mostly directed against the public relations deprived, opinion silenced and undemocratically governed, ethnically diverse Arabs. It is argued in this paper that several forces were behind such distorted visual strategies adopted by the Australian press. Pre-judgement stemming from an inbuilt bias of the cartoonist, or highlighting characteristics which conform to the national interest are likely factors. The debate in Australia as to whether public images and attitudes of a minority “cause” or “determine” policy or whether policy itself changes attitudes is still resting with the jury.

History researcher development and research capacity in Australia and New Zealand

 This article presents data and discussion on history researcher development and research capacities in Australia and New Zealand, as evidenced in analysis of history PhD theses’ topics. The article is based on two independent studies of history PhD thesis topics, using a standard discipline coding system. It shows some marked differences in the Australian and New Zealand volumes and distributions of history PhDs, especially for PhDs conducted on non-local/national topics. These differences reflect national researcher development, research capacities and interests, in particular local, national and international histories, and have implications for the globalisation of scholarship. Thesis topics are used as a proxy for the graduate’s research capacity within that topic. However, as PhD examiners have attested to the significance and originality of the thesis, this is taken as robust. The longitudinal nature of the research suggests that subsequent years’ data and analysis would provide rich information on changes to history research capacity. Other comparative (i.e. international) studies would provide interesting analyses of history research capacity. There are practical implications for history departments in universities, history associations, and government (PhD policy, and history researcher development and research capacity in areas such as foreign affairs). There are social implications for local and community history in the knowledge produced in the theses, and in the development of local research capacity. The work in this article is the first to collate and analyse such thesis data either in Australia or New Zealand. The comparative analyses of the two datasets are also original.

The mutual obligation policy in Australia : the rhetoric and reasoning of recent social security policy

Since 1997, the Australian Federal Liberal Government has introduced policies which have sought to reduce rates of unemployment, particularly long-term unemployment. The policy, known as Mutual Obligation, increased the expectations on unemployed people in return for their social security payment. At the same time, previous labour market programmes and government assistance schemes were scrapped or privatised. This article explores the justification of the term 'Mutual Obligation' by examining both the language and the underlying principles of the policy. By defining the problem of unemployment in terms of flaws in the previous social security system, the stage is set for the government to introduce policies which remedy those flaws by emphasising self- reliance in favour of government assistance. Further, by invoking notions of fairness and mutuality, the article argues that the term 'Mutual Obligation' masks both the extent and the strength of the obligations imposed on unemployed people.

Households' perceptions on sustainable home behaviour and improvements in Australia

The consumption of energy in the residential building is a major contributor to Australia's stationary energy greenhouse gas emissions. With the aim of investigating the householders' motivations and perspectives on sustainable home improvements, this study, by using an online survey instrument, collected more than 500 sets of questionnaire data from households in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Through statistical analysis of the data collected, this research has found that construction cost and government incentive were considered as major influence factors on achieving energy efficient residential building development, and the lower bills from reduced energy and water consumption were considered as the most important benefits from the households' perspectives. The research also found that although many households exhibited a high level of awareness or had implemented some sustainability improvements, the total number of potential improvements scored poorly. A suggestion, based on these research findings, is that the government should promote the reasons and benefits for sustainability home improvements that are identified in this research paper, and try to reduce material costs and improve government incentives.

Alzheimer's disease, media representations and the politics of euthanasia: constructing risk and selling death in an ageing society

Drawing on extensive data including news media reports and commentaries, documentaries, courts and court reports, films, websites, professional literature and government and non-government agencies, this book explores the 'Alzheimerisation' of the euthanasia debate, examining the shift in recent years in public attitudes towards the desirability and moral permissibility of euthanasia as an end-of-life 'solution' for people living with the disease - not just at its end stage, but also at earlier stages. With attention to mediarepresentations and public understandings of Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Media Representations and the Politics of Euthanasia sheds light on the processes contributing to these changes in public opinion, investigating the drivers of vexed political debate surrounding the issue and examining the manner in which both sides of the euthanasia debate mobilise support, portray their opponents and make use of media technologies to frame the terms of discourse. Paving the way for a greater level of intellectual honesty with regard to an issue carrying significant policy implications, this book will be of interest to scholars of media and communication, social movements and political communication, and the sociology of health and medicine, as well as researchers and professionals in the fields of palliative and end of life care.

Any one of these boat people could be a terrorist for all we know! Media representations and public perceptions of ‘boat people’ arrivals in Australia

In April 2009 a boat (named the ‘SIEV 36’ by the Australian Navy) carrying 49 asylum seekers exploded off the north coast of Australia. Media and public debate about Australia’s responsibility to individuals seeking asylum by boat was instantaneous. This paper investigates the media representation of the ‘SIEV 36’ incident and the public responses to media reports through online news fora. 

Young adults and politics: investigating factors influencing voter decision making

Many parallels have been drawn between politics and marketing; however, the application of consumer behavior decision making to voter decision making is still an important research focus. Results from general elections around the world show that the turnout among young adults tends to be lower than in the general electorate, suggesting low interest and involvement in politics. This qualitative study investigated low-involvement decision making of young adult voters in Australia. Data were compiled from semistructured face-to-face interviews conducted with 29 young adults to explore their views, and NVivo software was used to assist with thematic analysis. Findings suggest that with low-involvement voter decision making, perceived knowledge and passive information seeking are important factors. Exposure to the media also plays an important role, and young voters rely more on traditional media such as newspapers and television than on social media for current political information.

Results from Australia's 2014 report card on physical activity for children and youth

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Neoliberalism, economic restructuring and policy change : precarious housing and precarious employment in Australia

Housing, employment and economic conditions in many nations have changed greatly over the past decades. This paper explores the ways in which changing housing markets, economic conditions and government policies have affected vulnerable individuals and households, using Australia as a case study. The paper finds a substantial number and proportion of low income Australians have been affected by housing and employment that is insecure with profound implications for vulnerability. Importantly, the paper suggests that in Australia the economic gains achieved as a consequence of mining-related growth in the early 2000s were translated as greater employment security for some on low incomes, but not all. Enhanced access to employment in this period was differentiated by gender, with women largely missing out on the growth in jobs. For the population as a whole, employment gains were offset by increased housing insecurity as accommodation costs rose. The paper finds low income lone parents were especially vulnerable because they were unable to benefit from a buoyant labour market over the decade 2000–2010. They were also adversely affected by national policy changes intended to encourage engagement with paid work. The outcomes identified for Australia are likely to have been mirrored in other nations, especially those that have embraced, or been forced to adopt, more restrictive welfare and income support regimes.

Retrials of persons acquitted of indictable offences in England and Australia: exceptions to the rule against double jeopardy

Jury directions in relation to the issue of consent in trials of sexual offence cases are mandated in two jurisdictions in Australia (Victoria and the Northern Territory). The Australian Law Reform Commission, in conjunction with the New South Wales Law Reform Commission, has recommended that provisions similar to those in Victoria should be contained in relevant legislation in all States and Territories. However, a recent series of cases in Victoria has revealed significant problems in relation to the mandatory jury directions. These difficulties have generated increasingly elaborate and complex directions. The complexity of these directions not only presents considerable challenges for judges but also may overwhelm, rather than assist, members of the jury. The Court of Appeal of Victoria has called for "urgent and wholesale reform". In the light of these concerns, it is suggested that the Victorian mandatory directions do not provide a model for other jurisdictions. Rather, the Victorian experience can be seen as a cautionary tale of the problems and pitfalls of such directions. Recently, the Victorian government has passed the Jury Directions Act 2013. This Act sets out "guiding principles" that should determine the content, and use, of jury directions. These guiding principles should form the basis for any jury directions with respect to sexual offences.