Showing papers in "Australian Journal of Political Science in 2004"
TL;DR: In this paper, the idea of youth participation has once again become a popular part of contemporary political talk both in Australia and in many Western societies, so much so that it has become a policy cliche to say ‘increased youth participation will empower young people, help build community and remedy a range of social problems.
Abstract: The article begins by observing that, over the last decade, the idea of youth participation has once more become a popular part of contemporary political talk both in Australia and in many Western societies. Indeed most Western governments now advocate enhanced youth participation as part of a discourse about modern citizenship, so much so that it has become a policy cliche to say ‘increased youth participation’ will ‘empower’ young people, help build community and remedy a range of social problems. It is also noted that, if the idea of participation itself is an old idea central to the liberal democratic tradition, the current ‘rediscovery’ of youth participation is arguably part of that political orthodoxy. Drawing on selected State, national and Commonwealth government youth documents, the question is asked whether the official enthusiasm for youth participation has much to do with democratic practice. It is argued that the recent government enthusiasm for youth participation is problematic for three r...
155 citations
TL;DR: The authors adapted the theoretical construct of policy entrepreneurship in political science to an analysis of one important initiative in policy-making in Australia between 1992 and 1994, the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools Strategy (NALSAS).
Abstract: This article adapts the theoretical construct of ‘policy entrepreneurship’ in political science to an analysis of one important initiative in policy‐making in Australia between 1992 and 1994, the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools Strategy (NALSAS). Originally an initiative of the Queensland Government, NALSAS sought to advance the teaching of Asian languages and studies of Asia in Australian schools. The then Director General of the Queensland Office of the Cabinet, Mr Kevin Rudd, was its key protagonist. The article identifies and analyses Rudd's adroit policy entrepreneurship that was needed to overcome significant resistance and deliver the subsequent policy outcomes. It does this by carrying out a two‐level analysis that considers individual and contextual factors and concludes that, even though Rudd displayed many of the individual characteristics of a policy entrepreneur, his actions were heavily mediated by contextual factors. The article also demonstrates how a concept dev...
72 citations
TL;DR: The authors argued that to the extent that we can speak of a 'Settlement' in Australia, it was one reached on a wider range of key conflicts or cleavages than those to which Kelly refers.
Abstract: Arguments for reshaping political agendas invariably begin from an appraisal of past errors and achievements. Paul Kelly's notion of the 'Australian Settlement' attempts such a task. Kelly identifies a particular ideological and institutional tradition in Australian politics that dominated much of the twentieth century and that is now deemed to have broken down. This article accepts that the notion of a Settlement provides certain insights into the evolution of Australian political thought. Nonetheless, the paper takes issue with the specific content of Kelly's version of the 'Australian Settlement' and indicates how it may be reformulated. It argues that, to the extent that we can speak of a 'Settlement' in Australia, it was one reached on a wider range of key conflicts or cleavages than those to which Kelly refers.
64 citations
TL;DR: This article explored the impact of neoliberalism on the gender analysis mainstreaming initiative launched in 1996 by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in the government of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Abstract: In this article, I explore the impact of neoliberalism on the gender analysis mainstreaming initiative launched in 1996 by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in the government of Aotearoa/New Zealand. I argue that elements of neoliberal discourse worked against the feminist potential of The Full Picture, the instructional document that was developed by the Ministry to assist policy analysts across government in learning how to use gender analysis in all phases of their work. I also review various strategies for fostering the systematic implementation of gender analysis mainstreaming that have been pursued and argue that none of these has yet proven effective, including proposals to encourage the practice of gender analysis by incorporating measures of its use into the performance management framework established through neoliberal reforms to the public service.
61 citations
TL;DR: Trust is universally regarded as a "good thing" at both the interpersonal level and as a means of bringing stability to social institutions and markets as discussed by the authors. But trust is often treated in a homogeneous and unhelpful way, and academic reflection is spread across many disciplines that frequently fail to interconnect.
Abstract: Trust is universally regarded as a ‘good thing’ at both the interpersonal level and as a means of bringing stability to social institutions and markets. However, the concept is often treated in a homogeneous and unhelpful way, and academic reflection is spread across many disciplines that frequently fail to interconnect. This article pulls together the key perspectives and ideas from these different academic traditions. It outlines the main components of trust, and goes on to identify three different types of trust, each of which is associated with a different type of trusting. It concludes that it is now time to move beyond conceptual clarification to more empirical application.
47 citations
TL;DR: English School approaches to international politics, which focus on the idea of an international society of states bound together by shared rules and norms, have not paid significant explicit attention to the study of security in international relations as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: English School approaches to international politics, which focus on the idea of an international society of states bound together by shared rules and norms, have not paid significant explicit attention to the study of security in international relations. This is curious given the centrality of security to the study of world politics and the recent resurgence of English School scholarship in general. This article attempts to redress this gap by locating and explicating an English School discourse of security. We argue here that there is indeed an English School discourse of security, although an important internal distinction exists here between pluralist and solidarist accounts, which focus on questions of order and justice in international society respectively. In making this argument, we also seek to explore the extent to which emerging solidarist accounts of security serve to redress the insecurity of security in international relations: the tendency of traditional security praxes to privilege the stat...
40 citations
TL;DR: The electoral databases of the Coalition (Feedback) and the Australian Labor Party (Electrac) store information on the constituents of each House of Representatives seat, such as the policy preferences and party identification of individual voters, are used by candidates for House seats to tailor correspondence to swing voters and to identify potential party supporters.
Abstract: Modern political campaigning is becoming increasingly professionalised to the extent that in Australia today the major parties use electoral databases to assist with their campaigns. The electoral databases of the Coalition (Feedback) and the Australian Labor Party (Electrac) store information on the constituents of each House of Representatives seat. The information gathered in the databases, such as the policy preferences and party identification of individual voters, are used by candidates for House seats to tailor correspondence to swinging voters, and to identify potential party supporters. Party organisations aggregate the information in the databases and use it to conduct polls and focus groups of swinging voters, and to tailor policy development and campaign strategies. Electoral databases have the potential to improve the level of communication between elected representatives and their constituents. There are, however, a number of ethical problems associated with their use. While the usefulness o...
40 citations
TL;DR: The White Australia policy was both an immigration policy and a nationalist doctrine which reflected Australia's desire to maintain itself as a white, British nation and its abolition in 1973 created the conditions for the multicultural society Australia has become as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The White Australia policy was both an immigration policy and a nationalist doctrine which reflected Australia's desire to maintain itself as a white, British nation. Its abolition in 1973 created the conditions for the multicultural society Australia has become. Nevertheless, sporadic immigration controversies during the past two decades suggest the residual influence of this doctrine. Some commentators even claim that contemporary conflicts are the legacy of a reform process implemented by political leaders without the knowledge and consent of the Australian people. This article examines the factors and processes which compelled the dismantling of White Australia. It shows that assertions of an elite conspiracy to abolish it are exaggerated, failing to take into account the incrementalist nature of the public policy process in Australia and general public acceptance of policy reform.
38 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an integrative approach for the classification of party families is proposed, which brings together two different theoretical schools (the ideological and the sociological approaches) for classifying party families, and also combines various methodologies (qualitative content analysis, ecological analysis and survey-based quantitative analysis) as essential tools for defining party families.
Abstract: For many years the ‘party family’ concept has been utilised by scholars for the purpose of classifying political parties across both countries and time. Like many other concepts in political science, the ‘party family’ idea is widely used, yet has suffered from a certain level of ambiguity. In this study, we try to clarify and re‐emphasise the importance of the ‘party family’ concept. We do so by offering an integrative approach for the classification of ‘party families’. This approach brings together two different theoretical schools (the ideological and the sociological approaches) for classifying ‘party families’, and also combines various methodologies (qualitative content analysis, ecological analysis and survey‐based quantitative analysis) as essential tools for defining ‘party families’. The deeply polarised party system in Israel, and especially the expanding extreme right‐wing ‘party family’ in the country, serve as our case study. The decision to focus only on one political system is meant to il...
36 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the emergence of restorative justice meetings and asks whether they provide an example of deliberative democracy in action, and finds that they exhibit inclusiveness, and create more scope for democratic control, but are less strong on the equality criterion.
Abstract: This paper examines the emergence of restorative justice meetings—in which victims come face to face with offenders—and asks whether they provide an example of deliberative democracy in action. The article analyses some restorative justice initiatives from the United States and Australasia and finds that they exhibit inclusiveness, and create more scope for democratic control, but are less strong on the equality criterion. Accountability has also been identified as a weakness of restorative meetings but, drawing on deliberative democratic theory, the authors suggest a possible solution. In their ability to transform preferences of both victims and offenders, restorative meetings offer both a vivid example to deliberative democrats and a powerful challenge to justice systems that rely heavily on incarceration.
32 citations
TL;DR: This paper revisited the party convergence thesis, and reviewed studies of election speeches since the war, and studies of government expenditure patterns and tax schedules from Whitlam to Hawke, which cast doubt on, or heavily qualify, the idea that the parties have converged or lost their traditional distinctiveness.
Abstract: That the major parties in Australia have converged is an idea of long standing. But proponents of the idea differ about when it happened, why it happened and what its consequences might be. In revisiting the party convergence thesis, this article does three things. First, it documents the recurrent nature of this thesis and its varying terms, arguing that claims of convergence: focus on some criteria while ignoring others; confuse movements in policy space with changes in party distance; and involve an implicit essentialism, so that any two parties that share an ideology are assumed to share policy positions that can be derived from that ideology. Second, it reviews studies of election speeches since the war, and studies of government expenditure patterns and tax schedules from Whitlam to Hawke, which cast doubt on, or heavily qualify, the idea that the parties have converged or lost their traditional distinctiveness. Third, it shows that on these matters the views of voters are closer to those of the pol...
TL;DR: A personal account of the 25-year history of the Women's Caucus of the Australasian Political Studies Association and its successes and failures can be found in this article, where women have organised within political science associations both to raise the status of women in the profession and to try to transform the discipline.
Abstract: The discipline of political science has remained male dominated in most parts of the world. Women have organised within political science associations both to raise the status of women in the profession and to try to transform the discipline. This article is a personal account of the 25‐year history of the Women's Caucus of the Australasian Political Studies Association and its successes and failures. While the status of women in the profession has improved and the journal has become more gender inclusive, the impact of feminist scholarship on political science curriculum remains patchy. Space has been made for gender scholarship and a chapter added to textbooks and disciplinary histories, but the approach is additive rather than transformative. One contributing factor may be increased fragmentation of the discipline.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors established three empirical facts which challenge much of the existing literature: CT competition was the crucial driving force behind corporate tax cuts, policy makers had to abandon tax-related investment incentives in order to pay for lower corporate tax rates, and CT cuts have put pressure on the personal income tax base, as low corporate rates provide tax avoidance opportunities for high-income earners.
Abstract: Over the past two decades there has been a worldwide fall in statutory corporate tax (CT) rates. Focusing on Australia, this article establishes three empirical facts which challenge much of the existing literature. First, CT competition was the crucial driving force behind CT cuts. Second, policy makers had to abandon tax-related investment incentives in order to pay for lower CT rates. This broadening of the CT base is costly, because it potentially disadvantages domestic firms and may, over the longer term, erode the CT base. Third, CT cuts have put pressure on the personal income tax base, as low corporate rates provide tax avoidance opportunities for high-income earners.
TL;DR: This article found that membership in sports and other social groups is associated with higher levels of political engagement and discussed how these findings advance our understanding of the role that specific group memberships may have in democratic societies.
Abstract: Many prominent social theorists contend that memberships in voluntary associations make major contributions to making citizens more engaged with democracy Although substantial attention has been directed at the potential role of sports groups, previous studies using survey data have not found membership in sports groups to be associated with political activity New Zealand presents an important context for testing this theory, given its high levels of public participation in sports groups We find that membership in sports and other social groups is associated with higher levels of political engagement We discuss how these findings advance our understanding of the role that specific group memberships may have in democratic societies
TL;DR: In recent years, a number of countries have adopted versions of the "Australian" electoral system of preferential voting for both national and sub-national elections as discussed by the authors, which has become paramount.
Abstract: In recent years, a number of countries have adopted versions of the ‘Australian’ electoral system of preferential voting for both national and sub-national elections. This article examines the diffusion of preferential voting systems around the world. It distinguishes between various types of preferential voting manifested in both majoritarian (eg alternative vote) and proportional (eg single transferable vote) contexts. It then examines the empirical record of the adoption of preferential voting in Europe, North America and the Pacific, identifying three ways in which the ‘Australian’ system has been transferred to other countries, via colonial transplanting, international imitation, and normative appeal. While the first two approaches have been traditionally influential, in recent years the normative appeal of preferential voting systems has become paramount. This is in part because of the globalisation of electoral assistance, which has provided an important opportunity for the diffusion of what have been, until recently, distinctively ‘Australian’ electoral procedures.
TL;DR: The authors found that the institutions at the top levels of Australian business and society have become more specialised, diffuse and far-flung than was the case in earlier times, suggesting some kind of radical reconfiguration of connections, trust and solidarity between elite groups.
Abstract: In the 1970s and 1980s there was a surge of research concerning power and wealth in Australian society. One line of inquiry was framed in terms of ‘elites’, the other in terms of the ‘ruling class’. This article builds upon both lines of inquiry, exploring the new wave of entrepreneurs and their articulation with the structure of power and wealth. It does so through qualitative interviews with 43 individuals drawn from the Business Review Weekly ‘Rich 200’ list. The article finds that the institutions at the top levels of Australian business and society have become more specialised, diffuse and far-flung than was the case in earlier times. At the very least, it suggests some kind of radical reconfiguration of connections, trust and solidarity between elite groups. It remains a challenge to develop more finely tuned ways of understanding this process in terms of class analysis.
TL;DR: The cambridge handbook of social sciences in australia is a good way to achieve details about operating certain products as mentioned in this paper. But it is not a good source of information about how to operate certain equipments.
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TL;DR: This paper examined the origins and diversity of federal ideas in Australia and revealed a dynamic, decentralist style of federalism quite different from Australia's orthodox ‘classic’ or compact federal theory.
Abstract: Federalism is usually described in political science as a single body of ideas—in Australia's case arriving in the 1840s–50s and moving to constitutional reality in the 1890s. This article re‐examines the origins and diversity of federal ideas in Australia. It suggests that federal thought began influencing Australia's constitutional development significantly earlier than previously described. This first Australian federalism had a previously unappreciated level of support in British colonial policy and drew on Benjamin Franklin's American model of territorial change as a ‘commonwealth for increase’. The revised picture entrenches the notion of federalism's logic but also reveals a dynamic, decentralist style of federalism quite different from Australia's orthodox ‘classic’ or compact federal theory. In fact, Australian political thought contains two often‐conflicting ideas of federalism. The presence of these approaches helps explain longstanding dissent over the regional foundations of Australian consti...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on Mark Latham's views on equality and his relationship with traditional Labor ideology as well as with Third Way politics, and their relationship with the role of elites and the implications that this has for his understandings of the city, capitalism and diverse forms of inequality.
Abstract: This article focuses on Mark Latham's views on equality. Latham's emphasis on education and on overcoming suburban, spatial inequality draws on the Whitlamite tradition. However, his work also draws on neoliberal influences and on arguments regarding the impact of the information economy. Both these influences have contributed to a move away from more traditional Labor and social‐democratic views on class, racial and gender inequality. This article considers Latham's relationship with traditional Labor ideology as well as with Third Way politics. Latham's arguments regarding the role of elites and the implications that this has for his understandings of the city, capitalism and diverse forms of inequality are also addressed. Latham's earlier views still influence his speeches and electoral strategy as Labor Leader.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the material and discursive changes in terms of equity for women which have occurred since the election of the Howard government in 1996 and discuss the emergence of a state agenda for rural and farm women in Australia and explain some of the definitive elements of this agenda.
Abstract: While rural and farm women have a long history of interaction with the Australian state, it is only recently that Commonwealth government departments have established specifically dedicated policy machinery to address their needs. What is notable is that this has occurred at a time when other gender equity infrastructure is being disbanded. This article examines this anomaly. To begin, it documents the material and discursive changes in terms of equity for women which have occurred since the election of the Howard government in 1996. Following this, it details the emergence of a state agenda for rural and farm women in Australia and explains some of the definitive elements of this agenda. In the final section, the article gives attention to explaining why equity for farm and rural women has been emphasised by government in a period marked by the erosion of state-sponsored equity initiatives.
TL;DR: The third in a series of reviews of the High Court from a political science perspective published in the Australian Journal of Public Affairs as mentioned in this paper, argues that conflict between the executive and judicial branches is only likely to increase where contradictions of purpose arise between international legal norms and obligations, the rule of law and domestic policy objectives.
Abstract: 2003 marked the Centenary year of the High Court, an anniversary which provides an opportunity to revisit debates about its role in the Australian system of government. The first section of this article canvasses debates around this question, culminating in a consideration of the High Court's ‘new politics’. This sets the framework for an examination of events in 2003 from the perspective of the interaction between the judicial and other branches of government, in particular the executive. The article analyses the implications of executive interventions in relation to the judiciary, as well as important cases brought before the High Court. It argues that conflict between the executive and judicial branches is only likely to increase where contradictions of purpose arise between international legal norms and obligations, the rule of law and domestic policy objectives. This article is the third in a series of reviews of the High Court from a political‐science perspective published in the Australian Journal ...
TL;DR: This article considered the fall of New Zealand's first coalition government under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system, through the prism of a unified model of Cabinet durability.
Abstract: This article considers the fall of New Zealand's first coalition government under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system, through the prism of a ‘unified’ model of Cabinet durability. This model incorporates both the ‘structural attributes’ of the government at the time of its formation, as well as the stochastic ‘critical events’ that occur over its lifetime. However, the conventional attributes of the National–New Zealand First coalition were considered favourable, and the critical event that precipitated its demise did not by itself appear to be a sufficient condition for termination. It is argued that the hitherto unspecified structural attribute of intra‐party stability was a significant factor for this particular coalition, and that this case also demonstrates the cumulative impact of non‐terminal events in undermining the incentives for continued cooperation between coalition partners.
TL;DR: The authors examined the Australian trade union movement's campaign to convince the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to support the inclusion of core labour standards in international trade agreements, but despite historical affiliations, the Australian union movement has been unsuccessful in its attempts to influence the ALP.
Abstract: This paper examines the Australian trade union movement's campaign to convince the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to support the inclusion of core labour standards in international trade agreements. Despite historical affiliations, the Australian union movement has been unsuccessful in its attempts to influence the ALP. In contrast, the US union movement has convinced both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party to accept that core labour standards should be a part of the trade negotiating agenda. The reasons for the US unions' success on this issue are examined within the context of the changing relationship between the respective union movements and their traditional parliamentary allies. The need for Australian unions to examine and reassess their strategies by drawing lessons from the US experience, including the possibility of a changed relationship with the ALP, is discussed.
TL;DR: This paper argued that the relationship between the Australian Council of Social Service and the federal ALP is far more complex than an alliance would suggest, and has always involved a mixture of both cooperation and conflict.
Abstract: The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and the federal ALP have often been depicted as political allies due to the relative symmetry of their ideological positions. However, this article argues that their relationship is far more complex than an alliance would suggest, and has always involved a mixture of both cooperation and conflict. On the one hand, the ALP seems to expect political loyalty from ACOSS, but has never been willing to cede ACOSS the same influence granted to core interest-group allies such as the ACTU. Equally, ACOSS appears to have greater expectations of, and makes greater demands on, the ALP than Liberal–National Coalition governments, but is not willing to trade away its party-political independence in return.
TL;DR: This article argued that the Australian Labor Party's (ALP) 2004 landslide in Queensland has indeed seen a realignment in Queensland's voting patterns and argued that Queensland has begun a second period of Labor hegemony.
Abstract: It was posited in this journal in 2001 that Labor Premier Peter Beattie’s landslide at that year’s poll was a ‘critical’ election at which there occurred ‘more than minor modifications in the patterns of party support’ (Williams 2001, 371; see also Jaensch 1995, 101). It was also speculated that ‘[i]f, after three years, the ALP has retained its new found support base ... it can be assumed that Labor has indeed reforged Queensland’s electoral landscape’ (Williams 2001, 371). This commentary confirms this earlier speculation and argues that the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) 2004 landslide—almost identical to that in 2001—has indeed seen a realignment in Queensland’s voting patterns. In suffering the loss of just three seats in a negative primary swing of 1.9% (ECQ 2004), the ALP, in taking 63 of the Legislative Assembly’s 89 districts, appears to have retained the faith of the majority of those disgruntled voters who deserted the Coalition in 2001. On this evidence, together with Beattie’s ongoing domination of the policy agenda and the non-Labor parties’ lacklustre opposition and continuing disarray, this commentary argues that Queensland has begun a second period of Labor hegemony. Yet the February 2004 election remains notable for other reasons. First, not since the days of Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s domination of Queensland politics has there been such a degree of inevitability as to the result. Second, this election was perhaps the least engaging of any in Queenslanders’ living memory: the campaign remained largely uneventful; no single issue dominated; and no single event threatened to change the result. Third, this campaign saw a sharp increase in pressure group activity that, in turn, shaped some of the major parties’ policy announcements. Last, there was some speculation at the commencement of the campaign that this poll would be, in practice, two elections and two ensuing sets of results: one in the south-east, the other in the ‘rest’ of Queensland. This perception is consistent with the often cited ‘two Queenslands’ thesis that argues that the State is an economic, political and cultural dichotomy (Holmes 1994).
TL;DR: Sawer et al. as discussed by the authors argue that Kelly's version of the Australian Settlement is ideological both in the sense of decontestation of core ideas, or failure to problematise key assumptions, and in the shaping of the past to fit current political agendas.
Abstract: Geoffrey Stokes has made an important contribution to the continuing debate over the nature of the Australian political tradition. He both exposes the ideological nature of the concept of the Australian Settlement popularised by Paul Kelly in The End of Certainty (Kelly 1992) and provides an alternative to it. Kelly’s version of the Australian Settlement is ideological both in the sense of decontestation of core ideas, or failure to problematise key assumptions, and in the shaping of the past to fit current political agendas. One example that Stokes identifies is the inclusion of ‘State Paternalism’ as an element of the Australian Settlement. This is part of a teleology that leads via the swamps of welfare dependence, middle-class welfare and a new class with a vested interest in state power, to the eventual triumph of ‘market-orientated [sic] reformers’ (Kelly 1992, 666). Interestingly, although Kelly describes the new class that emerges from the 1960s as in part the product of the women’s movement, it still promotes this doomed State Paternalism. In my contribution to this symposium, I wish both to add some further reflection on Kelly’s work and to introduce some of my own interpretation of the Australian political tradition. In my recent book The Ethical State? (Sawer 2003), I stress the significance of ideas, rather than simply a settlement between competing interests, in the shaping of Australian politics. I also emphasise the importance of timing and path dependence in the institutionalising of these ideas. This leads me to contest the common interpretation of Australia as a ‘Benthamite society’ (see Collins 1985) and instead point to the significance of idealist or social liberalism at the time of Australasian nation building. The Benthamite belief in the efficient aggregation of individual preferences as the best measure of policy was certainly important in electoral innovation in the colonies. Later in the nineteenth century, however, a new form of liberalism, highly critical of utilitarianism, had become the dominant form of liberal thinking. Social liberalism, with its critique of contract and emphasis on equal opportunity and active citizenship, saw itself as very different from the earlier phases of liberalism. It rejected both the classical idea of contract as the paradigm of freedom and the utilitarian emphasis on private happiness rather than self-development through ‘doing things worth doing in common with others’.
TL;DR: The fifth round of ATSIC elections held in 2002 to those held in 1990, 1993, 1996 and 1999 was analysed in this article. But the analysis focused on the women's participation and representation in the elections.
Abstract: This commentary updates earlier work on participation and representation in ATSIC elections. It adds analysis of the fifth round of ATSIC elections held in 2002 to those held in 1990, 1993, 1996 and 1999. It confirms and refines earlier findings relating to a number of different measures of participation and representation. It argues that overall voter turnout is reasonable given the voluntary nature of ATSIC elections. It discerns a distinctive geography of both voter turnout and candidate interest. It argues that women's participation in ATSIC elections as voters, candidates and in being elected as regional councillors is quite high, but that there is some falling away in women's election to the offices of commissioner and regional council chairperson. It notes some weakness in the representation of women as regional councillors in remote areas and an under-representation of councillors under the age of 35. It also discerns a distinctive geography in the election of Torres Strait Islanders to ATSIC regi...
TL;DR: In this paper, Australian settlement or Australian way? Australian Journal of Political Science: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 39-41, 2004, the authors discuss the Australian settlement and the Australian way.
Abstract: (2004). Comment: Australian settlement or Australian way? Australian Journal of Political Science: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 39-41.