Case note - Roosters, ducks and labour hire arrangements : Damevski v Guidice (2003) 202 ALR 494 (FCA Full Court)

One of the features of the current Australian labour market is the growth in the number of businesses "contracting out" work that was previously performed by their employees. The "contracting out" is often done through labour hire arrangements: the business engages a labour hire agency to provide it with suitable labour on an "as needs" basis. A common scenario is that the labour hire agency contracts both with the workers who provide the services to the agency's client, and with the client to whom those services are provided. Often the agency pays the workers and bills its client for the labour costs, plus a service fee. Research indicates that during the first half of the 1990s, "the number of agency workers more or less doubled."1 Analysis of the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on the number of workers employed through labour hire arrangements has suggested: "290,100 employees were 'on-hired' through agencies in June 2002 and 162,000 workers were paid by labour hire firms in November 2001 (almost doubling from 84,300 some three years earlier)." The value of the employment services industry in 2001-02 was $10.2 billion. 2

Full house theory: A new theory for assessing demand for arts centers

In this article I will establish an underpinning theory to apply in measuring demand for a new arts center (theater, museum, gallery, multipurpose space, tourism destination, or cultural precinct). The new theory is called "Full House Theory"-so called because it aims to provide an equation among the factors that result in maximum occupancy and use of an arts center or cultural facility. Existing theories used in the retail sector offer a distance-and-time analysis of expected customer demand but do not include differentiated product-demand analysis. Cultural planning literature examines community need in relation to cultural development but fails to provide a formula to predict sustainable demand. In addition, I will analyze the theories and methodologies in current use as well as their weaknesses in assessing cultural facility demand.

Ecology of arboreal marsupials in a network of remnant linear habitats

Linear strips of vegetation set within a less-hospitable matrix are common features of landscapes throughout the world. Depending on location, form and function, these linear landscape elements include hedgerows, fencerows, shelterbelts, roadside or streamside strips and wildlife corridors. In many anthropogenically-modified landscapes, linear strips are important components for conservation because they provide a large proportion of the remaining wooded or shrubby habitat for fauna. They may also function to provide connectivity across the landscape. In some districts, the linear strips form an interconnected network of habitat. The spatial configuration of remnant habitat (size, shape and arrangement) may influence habitat suitability, and hence survival, of many species of plant and animal in modified landscapes. Near Euroa in south-eastern Australia, the clearing and fragmentation of temperate woodlands for agriculture has been extensive and, at present, less than 5% tree cover remains, most of which (83%) occurs as linear strips along roads and streams. The remainder of the woodland occurs as relatively small patches and single isolated trees scattered across the landscape. As an assemblage, arboreal marsupials are woodland dependent and vary in their sensitivity to habitat loss and fragmentation. This thesis focusses on determining the conservation status of arboreal marsupials in the linear network and understanding how they utilise the landscape mosaic. Specifically, the topics examined in this thesis are: (1) the composition of the arboreal marsupial assemblage in linear and non-linear woodland remnants; (2) the status and habitat preferences of species of arboreal marsupial within linear remnants; and (3) the ecology of a population of the Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis in the linear network, focusing on population dynamics, spatial organisation, and use of den trees. The arboreal marsupial fauna in the linear network was diverse, and comprised seven out of eight species known to occur in the district. The species detected within the strips were P. norfolcensis, the Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps, Common Brushtail Possum Trichosums vulpecula, Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus, Brush-tailed Phascogale Phascogale tapoatafa, Koala Phascolarctos cinereus and Yellow-footed Antechinus Antechinus flavipes. The species not detected was the Feathertail Glider Acrabates pygmaeus. Survey sites in linear remnants (strips of woodland along roads and streams) supported a similar richness and density of arboreal mammals to sites in non-linear remnants (large patches or continuous tracts of woodland nearby). Furthermore, the combined abundance of all species of arboreal marsupials was significantly greater in sites in the linear remnants than in the non-linear remnants. This initial phase of the study provided no evidence that linear woodland remnants support a degraded or impoverished arboreal marsupial fauna in comparison with the nonlinear remnants surveyed. Intensive trapping of arboreal marsupials within a 15 km linear network between February 1997 and June 1998 showed that all species of arboreal marsupial (except A. pygmaeus) were present within the linear strips. Further analyses related trap-based abundance estimates to measures of habitat quality and landscape structure. Width of the linear habitat was significantly positively correlated with the combined abundance of all arboreal marsupials, as well as with the abundance of P. norfolcensis and T. vulpecula. The abundance of T. vulpecula was also significantly positively correlated with variation in overstorey species composition, Acacia density and the number of hollow-bearing trees. The abundance of P. norfolcensis was positively correlated with Acacia density and canopy width, and negatively correlated with distance to the nearest intersection with another linear remnant. No significant variables were identified to explain the abundance of P. tapoatafa, and there were insufficient captures of the remaining species to investigate habitat preferences. Petaurus norfolcensis were resident within the linear network and their density (0.95 -1.54 ha-1) was equal to the maximum densities recorded for this species in continuous forest elsewhere in south-eastern Australia. Rates of reproduction were also similar to those in continuous forest, with births occurring between May and December, a mean natality rate of 1.9, and a mean litter size of 1.7. Sex ratios never differed significantly from parity. Overall, the population dynamics of P. norfolcensis were comparable with published results for the species in contiguous forest, clearly suggesting that the linear remnants currently support a self-sustaining, viable population. Fifty-one P. norfolcensis were fitted with radio transmitters and tracked intermittently between December 1997 and November 1998. Home ranges were small (1.3 - 2.8 ha), narrow (20 - 40 m) and elongated (322 - 839 m). Home ranges were mostly confined to the linear remnants, although 80% of gliders also utilised small clumps of adjacent woodland within farm paddocks for foraging or denning. Home range size was significantly larger at intersections between two or more linear remnants than within straight sections of linear remnants. Intersections appeared to be important sites for social interaction because the overlap of home ranges of members of adjacent social groups was significantly greater at intersections than straight sections. Intersections provided the only opportunity for members of three or more social groups to interact, while still maintaining their territories. The 51 gliders were radiotracked to 143 different hollow-bearing trees on 2081 occasions. On average, gliders used 5.3 den trees during the study (range 1-15), and changed den trees every 4.9 days. The number of den trees used by each glider is likely to be conservative because the cumulative number of den trees continued to increase over the full duration of the study. When gliders shifted between den trees, the mean distance between consecutive den sites was 247 m. Den trees were located throughout a glider's home range, thereby reducing the need to return to a central den site and potentially minimising energy expenditure. Dens were usually located in large trees (mean diameter 88.5 cm) and were selected significantly more often than expected based on their occurrence within the landscape. The overall conclusion of this thesis is that the linear network I studied provides high quality habitat for resident populations of arboreal marsupials. Important factors influencing the suitability of the linear remnants appear to be the high level of network connectivity, the location on soils of high nutrient status, the high density of large trees and an acacia understorey. In highly fragmented landscapes, linear habitats as part of the remaining woodland mosaic have the potential to be an integral component in the conservation of woodland-dependent fauna. The habitat value of linear strips of vegetation should not be underestimated.

Food security: one of a number of ‘securities’ we need for a full life: an Australian perspective

Although agriculture in Australia is very productive, the current food supply systems in Australia fail to deliver healthy diets to all Australians and fail to protect the natural resources on which they depend. The operation of the food systems creates ‘collateral damage’ to the natural environment including biodiversity loss. In coming decades, Australia’s food supply systems will be increasingly challenged by resource price inflation and climate change. Australia exports more than half of its current agricultural production. Government and business are aiming to substantially increase production to bolster exports. This will increase pressure on agricultural resources and exacerbate ‘collateral’ damage to the environment. The Australian public have a deep and ongoing interest in a very wide range of issues associated with the food systems including the environment, health and sustainability. Food is something we require in order to live and a good diet is something we have to have to be healthy. For health over a life-time we need food security. However, we also require a range of other material goods and social arrangements in order to develop and flourish as human beings. And we need these other things to be secure over a life-time. Food is therefore one security among a range of other securities we need in order to flourish. The paper outlines a number of approaches, as examples, that help to identify what these other goods and arrangements might be. The approaches mentioned in this paper include human rights, national securities, human needs, authentic happiness, capabilities, sustainability and environmental ethics. The different approaches provide a way of evaluating the current situation and indicating a direction for change within the food systems that will address the problems. However, changing large systems such as those involved in food supply is difficult because inertias and vested interests make the current food supply systems resilient to change. The paper suggests that one of the first and ongoing tasks is to develop an understanding of the situation from a comprehensive social–ecological systems perspective. The paper also suggests that a practical leverage point for system change is restructuring the flow of information on the health, natural resources and biodiversity loss issues related to the food supply systems.