Victorian local government reforms 1992-1999, revisited: implication for trade unions

Between 1992 and 1999 the Victorian State Government, Led by Jeff Kennett, set about implementing the most extensive public sector reform program ever witnessed in Australia, part of which involved significant changes in the organisation and operation of Local government. Although Local government had traditionally been 'the blind spot' in governmental arrangements, within three years of assuming office Local government had undergone major structural and operational change. This paper revisits this period by examining four elements of the reform agenda including the factors driving the reform, the Kennett government's approach to Local government reform, the expected outcomes sought by this government, and the policies implemented in Local government to achieve the expected outcomes. The paper identifies a number of implications for trade unions arising from this reform agenda and concludes that further investigation is warranted in this area.

Using sister city relationships to access the Chinese market

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a new approach for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Australia to engage in sustainable trade with China through the use of Sister City relationships. The reason for writing this paper is to address this research gap with the aim of influencing government policy at the national and the local level.

Design/methodology/approach – The main methods used is a historical literature review, a critical review of the effectiveness of the Sister City relationships and an examination of a special Sister City relationship between Latrobe City in Australia and the Chinese city of Taizhou.

Findings – Throughout the course of the paper it was established that Sister City relationships had been insufficiently utilized as commercial facilitators and especially SMEs in regional Australia. This was especially evident in terms of trade relations with China.

Research limitations/implications – This conceptual paper will require further research at different levels. Future research should establish what Australian sister cities with China are actually doing and how a more focused relationship utilizing SMEs in their territory might be utilized. This is clearly a limitation with this conceptual paper, which it is hoped will be overcome with new research planned by the authors.

Practical implications – The practical implications emerging from this paper is that Sister City relationships can be refocused from their current role to becoming structurally integrated into trade facilitators for SMEs in pursuing trade with China. Most Sister City relationships do not have a trade focus in the first instance. As a result of this paper we are hoping that local government policy makers and state government trade facilitators will see Sister City relationships in a new light.

Originality/value – This paper brings to attention cases of Sister City relationships which have gravitated towards a trade focus (an exception like Latrobe City) in which results are already evident. A paper of this kind is directed at governments at all levels as well as SMEs who wish to work better with government.

Western Australia intercultural arts research project : an investigation into culturally and linguistically diverse art and artists in Western Australia

Background: The introduction of the Australia Council's 'Arts in a Multicultural Australia Policy' (AIMAP) (2000) represented a shift in how the arts in multicultural communities were viewed. It has long been recognised that the arts play a significant role in promoting social cohesion, social policy goals, economic growth, and shaping a nation’s sense of identity. However, prior to the introduction of this policy, multicultural arts was typically seen as involving cultural retentive activities which had their roots in expressions of migrant cultural traditions. The introduction of the policy heralded the beginning of an era in which culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) Australians were seen as integral to the fabric of the Australian arts sector. Evaluation of the policy in 2005 however, revealed that culturally and linguistically diverse Australians were under-represented in most artistic categories. Western Australia is the most culturally diverse state in Australia. It is therefore of great interest to the State Government to have a comprehensive picture of the situation in that state. Hence, the Office of Multicultural Interests (OMI) commissioned Deakin University to undertake an investigation into the participation rates of CaLD artists in the arts sector in Western Australia.

Scope: The project examined the participation in the arts of CaLD artists in Western Australia. The arts sector comprises many more individuals and organisations than artists. For example, there are arts agency administrators, venue operators, policy officers, curators, and countless others who work together to make up the arts sector. This project focused on the artists, the individuals such as those who make music, visual art, dance and theatre performances. In the past it has been shown that CaLD populations are not well represented in the broader arts sector. This research aimed to discover the current position for CaLD artists in terms of participation in the broader arts sector and what factors influence their situation.

Science education in primary schools in a state of change

Through a longitudinal study of one teacher's science teaching practice set in the context of her base school, this thesis records the effects of the structural and policy changes that have occurred in Victorian education over the past 6-7 years - the 'Kennett era'. Initially, the purpose of the study was to investigate the teacher's practice with the view to improving it. For this, an action research approach was adopted. Across the year 1998, the teacher undertook an innovative science program with two grades, documenting the approach and outcomes. Several other teachers were involved in the project and their personal observations and comments were to form part of the data. This research project was set in the context of a single primary school and case study methodology was used to document the broader situational and daily influences which affected the teacher's practice. It was apparent soon after starting the action research that there were factors which did not allow for the development of the project along the intended lines. By the end of the project, the teacher felt that the action research had been distorted - specifically there had been no opportunity for critical reflection. The collaborative nature of the project did not seem to work. The teacher started to wonder just what had gone wrong. It was only after a break from the school environment that the teacher-researcher had the opportunity to really reflect on what had been happening in her teaching practice. This reflection took into account the huge amount of data generated from the context of the school but essentially reflected on the massive number of changes that were occurring in all schools. Several issues began to emerge which directly affected teaching practice and determined whether teachers had the opportunity to be self-reflective. These issues were identified as changes in curriculum and the teaching role, increased workload, changed power relations and changed security/morale on the professional context. This thesis investigates the structural and policy changes occurring in Victorian education by reference to documentation and the lived experiences of teachers. It studies how the emerging issues affect the practices of teachers, particularly the teacher-researcher. The case study has now evolved to take in the broader context of the policy and structural changes whilst the action research has expanded to look at the ability of a teacher to be self-reflective: a meta-action research perspective. In concluding, the teacher-researcher reflects on the significance of the research in light of the recent change in state government and the increased government importance placed on science education in the primary context.

Profile of a business discipline

A brief review of the history of the School of Business at the Phillip Institute of Technology shows that the School has undergone considerable and positive change over its relatively short life, largely in response to professional, academic, socio-economic and political pressures. One such pressure emanates from the current educational rationale of the State Government which includes the rationalisation through amalgamation of higher educational institutions. As a result of this rationale, in late 1991 the Phillip Institute of Technology and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology announced that they would amalgamate in July 1992.

The Phillip Institute of Technology is no stranger to amalgamation. In fact it originated by way of amalgamation when the Preston Institute of Technology amalgamated in 1982 with the State College of Victoria at Coburg. Throughout the period 1988-1991 Phillip Institute of Technology was involved in protracted amalgamation discussions with La Trobe University. These discussions failed, but were followed very quickly by the amalgamation proposal with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

This paper provides a review of the development of the School of Business at the Phillip Institute of Technology prior to the proposed amalgamation with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Towards more integrated natural resource management in Victoria : possible elements of an integrated state-wide policy framework

There is a growing recognition of the complexity of environmental issues and acceptance of the value of more integrated approaches to address them. Evidence of progress with the development of more integrated approaches is however less clear cut. Within this context, this paper explores how a more integrated approach 10 natural resource management at a state government level could be progressed. Using recent experience in Victoria as a focus, this paper provides an overview of environment and natural resources issues confronting the State. highlights why integration is an important element of any response. and outlines the current policy and organisational context. Possible elements of a state-wide policy framework for more integrated natural resource management across a state government organisation are also outlined and discussed.

Benchmarking the implementation of continuing professional development in the Victorian construction industry

In the state of Victoria, the state government has taken a leadership position on the potential benefit of introducing voluntary continuing professional development (CPD) for registered building practitioners (RBPs) in the construction industry. Benefits are believed to accrue to the Victorian community through a more highly skilled and managed SME construction sector, improved quality buildings with fewer defects and greater efficiencies gained by a reduction in industry internal and external operating costs. This research has identified appropriate industry and community benchmarks to enable a quantification of the costs and benefits that result from this policy. These benchmarks will enable the policymaking body of Victoria, the Building Commission (BC) to evaluate the effects of the implementation of its policy and contribute to informing the debate about the merits and possible drawbacks of such a policy in the construction industry in Victoria.

The proposed Victorian CPD policy will affect a whole industry sector. This pioneering policy approach is already being viewed as a touchstone for other jurisdictions in Australia and abroad. Consequently, this research project is considered by our industry partner to be pivotal in the leadership position that they are taking in Victoria. This investigation is being conducted by the research team under the auspices, guidance and with the cooperation of the Building Commission (BC) and the Building Practitioners Board (BPB) of Victoria. This policy research evaluation is necessary to assess the proposed implementation of CPD in the Victorian construction industry. The identification and creation of agreed and significant industry benchmarks are crucial to evaluating this policy initiative. These benchmarks will serve as independent yardsticks for assessing the impact of the new policy and are described and discussed in this paper.

Geo-identity, urban school choice and education campaigns for public schools

Educational campaigning has received little attention in the literature. This study investigates long-term and organised urban campaigns that are collectively lobbying the Victorian State Government in Australia, for a new public high school to be constructed in their suburb. A public high school is also known as a state school, government school, or an ordinary comprehensive school. It receives the majority of its funding from the State and Federal Australian Government, and is generally regarded as ‘free’ education, in comparison to a private school. Whilst the campaigners frame their requests as for a ‘public school’, their primary appeal is for a local school in their community. This study questions how collective campaigning for a locale-specific public school is influenced by geography, class and identity. In order to explore these campaigns, I draw on formative studies of middle-class school choice from an Australian and United Kingdom perspective (Campbell, Proctor, & Sherington, 2009; Reay, Crozier, & James, 2011). To think about the role of geography and space in these processes of choice, I look to apply Harvey’s (1973) theory of absolute, relational and relative space. I use Bourdieu (1999b) as a sociological lens that is attentive to “site effects” and it is through this lens that I think about class as a “collection of properties” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 106), actualised via mechanisms of identity and representation (Hall, 1996; Rose, 1996a, 1996b). This study redresses three distinct gaps in the literature: first, I focus attention on a contemporary middle-class choice strategy—that is, collective campaigning for a public school. Research within this field is significantly under-developed, despite this choice strategy being on the rise. Second, previous research argues that certain middle-class choosers regard the local public school as “inferior” in some way (Reay, et al., 2011, p. 111), merely acting as a “safety net” (Campbell, et al., 2009, p. 5) and connected to the working-class chooser (Reay & Ball, 1997). The campaigners are characteristic of the middle-class school chooser, but they are purposefully and strategically seeking out the local public school. Therefore, this study looks to build on work by Reay, et al. (2011) in thinking about “against-the-grain school choice”, specifically within the Australian context. Third, this study uses visual and graphic methods in order to examine the influence of geography in the education market (Taylor, 2001). I see the visualisation of space and schooling that I offer in this dissertation as a key theoretical contribution of this study. I draw on a number of data sets, both qualitative and quantitative, to explore the research questions. I interviewed campaigners and attended campaign meetings as participant observer; I collected statistical data from fifteen different suburbs and schools, and conducted comparative analyses of each. These analyses are displayed by using visual graphs. This study uses maps created by a professional graphic designer and photographs by a professional photographer; I draw on publications by the campaigners themselves, such as surveys, reports and social media; but also, interviews with campaigners that are published in local or state newspapers. The multiple data sets enable an immersive and rich graphic ethnography. This study contributes by building on understandings of how particular sociological cohorts of choosers are engaging with, and choosing, the urban public school in Australia. It is relevant for policy making, in that it comes at a time of increasing privatisation and a move toward independent public schools. This study identifies cohorts of choosers that are employing individual and collective political strategies to obtain a specific school, and it identifies this cohort via explicit class-based characteristics and their school choice behaviours. I look to use fresh theoretical and methodological approaches that emphasise space and geography, theorising geo-identity and the pseudo-private school

Report of the mid-term review of Victoria's maternity services program

Substantial State Government funding has bun committed in Victoria for the enhancement of maternity services. The funding is intended to improve the quality of care for women and meet consumer expectations for choice and continuity of care in maternity services. This paper reports on a mid-term review (the 'review') of the Victorian Maternity services Program. which was conducted by the authors on behalf of the Victorian Department of Human Services. Documentary analysis was conducted for the review, and workshops and key informant interviews were held throughout Victoria with midwives, medical staff and Department of Human Services staff. The review found that there had been many gains as a result of the Maternity services Program and identified directions for further development. Issues of change and facilitators of change processes in maternity services are highlighted in this article.

Adopting a computational approach to identifying and modelling future development initiatives within the urban context

In 2002 the State Government of Victoria, in partnership with the City of Greater Geelong and Deakin University, initiated and urban design framework to explore development opportunities of a series of redundant industrial sites adjacent to Geelong's central activities area (CAA). One of the objectives of the framework was to explore a range of initiatives based on the expansion of Deakin University Waterfront campus from 700 students to an expected cohort of 5000 students. Working with a set of predefined constructs for different types of city-based user groups, such as net floor space requirements and time/travel distances between facilities, the following paper presents a simple computational approach to assist in identifying, mapping, and spatially exploring different development scenarios.

The theory and practice of coastal area planning: linking strategic planning to local communities

Integrated coastal management (ICM) has been slowly accepted over the last decade as a unifying approach for coastal planning and management throughout the world. Coastal planning aimed at achieving the objectives of ICM can be implemented by varying processes and faces many challenges. One major challenge for coastal planning is to adapt the well-developed theoretical principles of ICM to practical and understandable outcomes in local areas. Associated with this challenge is the need to balance coastal planning objectives for conservation and economic development of a nation or state/province with the objectives of the local community. This article describes a three-tiered approach to coastal planning in Victoria, Australia, which will be of value to other countries, particularly those with subnational coastal planning jurisdictions. This approach not only has the aim of balancing subnational (e.g., state government) and local objectives, but also of applying the theoretical concept of ICM in practice on the ground. In addition, the approach sets out to achieve a sense of ownership of the planning process by local communities by maximizing their involvement at all levels of planning and also by making the state strategy as easy to understand and follow as possible.

The politics of exclusion: political censorship and the arts-as-industry paradigm

In Australia from 1992 to 1999 Jeff Kennett led the Liberal state government in Victoria. Under his leadership an important vision statement for the arts was produced, and ambitious redevelopments of Victoria’s major cultural institutions were undertaken. Kennett’s ‘vision’ included reforms to Arts Victoria (the state-based arts funding agency) and a radical revision of how the arts were to be subsidised. This represented a wholesale adoption of a new policy approach which saw the arts and culture as an industry which could benefit, in particular, the development of cultural tourism for the state of Victoria. This paper argues that while the arts could be seen to have benefited from the Kennett government’s largesse, some parts of the arts sector were excluded and subjected to censorship. Based on both primary and secondary sources, we argue that in this period, the work of artists which expressed a politically dissenting view was actively discouraged.

Australia`s box - ironbark forests and woodlands : saving the fragments of a threatened ecosystem

Australia's box-ironbark forests and woodlands once covered about 14 per cent of the State of Victoria on the riverine plains and foothills of the Great Dividing Range. But approximately 83 per cent of the total original habitat has been destroyed and what remains of this significant ecosystem is now highly fragmented and vulnerable to further degradation. Moreover, only 14 per cent of the area remaining is on public land. A 10 year campaign on the part of the environmental movement eventually succeeded in forcing the State government to conduct an independent inquiry into this ecosystem and make recommendations on future management. This paper outlines the innovative public participation process adopted by the Victorian State government and the outcomes of the inquiry. A subsequent compensation package for commercial operations disadvantaged by the proclamation of a series of new national parks is also discussed, as are the shortcomings of a process that can have little or no impact on what happens on private land.

An integrated information strategy for ecommerce for export : enhancing networking in an international business context

Companies using electronic commerce to facilitate their export activities (EC4X) need information and support at all stages of their export development and eCommerce adoption. This need is especially pressing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper reports the findings of a study of EC4X information and support needs among a sample of Australian companies. Evidence from SMEs, business associations and the Victorian state government suggests that governments need to develop a strategy for cost-effective on-line EC4X material that incorporates both generic and specific information. On-line provision of information is an effective way to meet the needs of SMEs and is increasingly the preferred channel for government bodies seeking to promote EC4X capability. However, personal contacts and networks are still an essential part of international business. Thus, an effective government strategy will support the business networking and personal contacts so important to help SMEs develop both eCommerce and export activities.

A new relationship between planning and democracy? Urban activism in Melbourne 1965-1975

This paper is a reflective overview of urban social protest in the years 1965-1975 and its influence on post-war planning, especially on models of public participation in planning, and conceptions of effective local democracy. Drawing extensively on a major study of urban activism in Melbourne, Australia, the paper discusses the political and organisational strategies used by activists in Melbourne’s inner city areas to resist the large-scale planning/urban renewal projects especially of the Victorian state government. The paper focuses on Melbourne’s inner city Residents’ Action Groups and examines their motivations, strategies and rationales, placing them within an international context of urban protest movements demanding local democracy and consultation. The paper concludes that the Melbourne urban protest movements of the late 60s and early 70s deserve recognition for their contribution to inclusive, consultative processes in planning decision-making. This is done within a context of questioning contemporary academic discussion around the interpretative concept of gentrification, widely and indiscriminately applied to this and later periods of urban change.