Upholding whose right? Discretionary police powers to punish, collective 'pre-victimisation and the dilution of individual rights

This article uses the example of Victoria’s alcohol-related banning notice provisions to explore the changing conception of balance within criminal justice processes. Despite the formalisation of individual rights within measures such as Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, the discretionary power of the police to issue on-the-spot punishments in response to actual or potential criminal behaviour has increased steadily. A key driver, evident across the parliamentary debates of the banning legislation, is a presumed need to protect the broader community of potential victims. As a result, the individual rights of those accused (but not necessarily convicted) of undesirable behaviours are increasingly subordinated to the pre-emptive protection of the law-abiding majority. This shift embodies a largely unsubstantiated notion of collective pre-victimisation. Significantly, despite the expectations of Victoria’s Charter, measures such as banning notices have been enacted with insufficient evidence of the underlying collective risk, of their likely effectiveness and without meaningful ongoing scrutiny. The motto of Victoria Police – Uphold the Right –appears to belie a growing uncertainty over whose rights should be upheld and how.

Feminists re-reading Bourdieu: old debates and new questions about gender habitus and gender change

There is a revival of interest in Bourdieu's work and this article examines dominant trends within feminist re-engagements. It considers the insights into gender identity afforded by ‘habitus’ and ‘social field’, distinguishing between analyses of 'gender habitus', and the potential of habitus and social field for feminist analysis of change. Feminist responses to Bourdieu continue to be divided on the extent to which social field structure determines habitus, and there is a tendency to represent the relationship as too seamless and coherent. Drawing on debates within recent feminist sociology, notably the work of Lois McNay and Lisa Adkins, this article argues instead for greater acknowledgement of the instability of gender norms and the contradictory effects of crossing different social fields. A feminist rethinking of the relationship between gender change, habitus and social field is suggested, which arises from a more contextual analysis of the varying degrees of correspondence between habitus and field. This addresses the co-existence of change and continuity in gender relations and identities, and aims to move such debates beyond questions of either freedom or reproduction.

Taking parliamentary sovereignty seriously within a Bill of Rights framework

The Victorian Government has made a commitment to consult with the community on how best to protect and promote human rights in Victoria. To this end, it has established a Human Rights Consultation Committee to undertake this consultation and to report on the desirability or otherwise of enacting a Bill of Rights. The government has, however, indicated its preference for a statutory Bill of Rights and one that preserves the 'sovereignty of Parliament'. This article takes those two government preferences as its baseline and then explores what might follow if the preservation of parliamentary sovereignty is taken seriously within a Victorian rights framework.

Teaching social work online: dilemmas and debates

The stampede towards delivering tertiary education online has been well documented in the academic literature and newspaper media. A great deal of this writing has been characterised by an acute division between those who support and those who deplore this paradigm shift in the way education is offered to students. Not withstanding a few notable exceptions, social work as a discipline has yet to fully engage in this debate, watching, as emerging technologies radically change the way education and social services are delivered. This article provides an overview of the literature related to online learning in social work. In particular the global context influencing the delivery of education is investigated; the major themes emerging from the literature are highlighted; the opportunities and obstacles for teaching and learning social work online are examined, and finally questions relating to the cultural implications for delivering social work education online are identified using a constructivist framework.

What are we scared of? The absence of sociology in current debates about drug treatments and policies

The official public policy related to recreational drug use and abuse in Australia is harm minimization or harm reduction. Definitions of harm minimization vary but a general statement is that harm minimization is a policy or programme intended to decrease adverse health, social and economic consequences of drug use, even though the user may continue to use psychoactive drugs. This type of definition is most often compared to a zero-tolerance policy that aims to eliminate all recreational drug abuse by legal and other means. Sociologists have historically scoffed at this latter policy. Unfortunately, what this has meant is that harm minimization in all its forms has not been the object of analytical work on the part of sociologists.

Whither sporting heritage : reflections on debates in Victoria about Waverley Park and the Melbourne Cricket Ground

The successful nomination of Waverley Park to the Victorian Historic Register
proved as controversial as the stadium was during its thirty-year existence. The
nomination was accepted primarily on the grounds of the social historical value of the site, rather than its architectural or engineering qualities, but in fact a range of different social histories were in conflict during the registration process. Four of the social histories involved are outlined and their influence on the outcome assessed. Some of the implications for the evaluation of sporting heritage sites emerge therefrom (Hay, R., Lazenby, C., Lewis, N., Haig-Muir, M., Mewett, P., 2001).

The Australian Association of Social Workers and social policy debates: a strategy for the future?

It has been argued that the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) not only has a mandate, but also an important role to play in influencing social debates for the benefit of the users of social services and, further, that as a professional association, it is ideally positioned to do so. However, the AASW has been criticised for failing to meet this mandate and have any lasting impact on the formulation of social policy. In the present article, the author considers the process by which the AASW engages in social policy debates and speculates on the historical, cultural, and structural factors that may impede its ability to do so. From this analysis, strategies are suggested for the AASW to increase its impact on the formulation of social policy.

Prevention of suicide : police powers, parliamentary intent and judicial interpretation

While in most countries suicide is no longer a crime, it is also acknowledged that the state has an interest in the preservation of human life, prevention of suicide, and protection of vulnerable persons from harming themselves. In a civil, secular and democratic society, however, the public law principle of state protective powers has to be balanced against the private law principle of personal autonomy (personal self-determination). Under the doctrine of autonomy, competent adults of sound mind can make legally binding voluntary choices, including the so-called ‘death-choice’ (refusal of life-sustaining or life-prolonging treatment as well as suicide). To add to the complexity, whereas the powers of the state in relation to suicide and its prevention have been codified, the concepts of personal autonomy and personal liberty are grounded in common law. Stuart v Kirkland–Veenstra [2008] VSCA 32, which is at present being considered by the High Court of Australia, exemplifies tensions that arise in the suicide-prevention area of jurisprudence. This article explores powers and duties of police officers in relation to suicide prevention and the notion of mental illness by reference to the Kirkland–Veenstra case, the relevant statutory framework and the common law.