Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Australian Commonwealth'
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1
Castleman, Beverley Dawn, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "Changes in the Australian Commonwealth departmental machinery of government: 1928-1982." Deakin University, 1992. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20050815.095625.
Full textAbstract:
The Commonwealth departmental machinery of government is changed by using Orders in Council to create, abolish or change the name of departments. Since 1906 governments have utilised a particular form of Order in Council, the Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO), as the means to reallocate functions between departments for administration. After 1928 successive governments from Scullin to Fraser gradually streamlined and increasingly used the formal processes for the executive to change departmental arrangements and the practical role of Parliament, in the process of change, virtually disappeared.
From 1929 to 1982, 105 separate departments were brought into being, as new departments or through merger, and 91 were abolished, following the merger of their functions in one way or another with other departments. These figures exclude 6 situations where the change was simply that of name alone. Several hundred less substantial transfers of responsibilities were also made between departments.
This dissertation describes, documents and analyses all these changes. The above changes can be distilled down to 79 events termed primary decisions. Measures of the magnitude of change arising from the decisions are developed with 157.25 units of change identified as occurring during the period, most being in the Whitlam and Fraser periods.
The reasons for the changes were assessed and classified as occurring for reasons of policy, administrative logic or cabinet comfort. 47.2% of the units of change were attributed to policy, 34.9% to administrative logic, 17% to cabinet comfort. Further conclusions are drawn from more detailed analysis of the change and the reasons for the changes.
2
Luker, Trish. "The rhetoric of reconciliation : evidence and judicial subjectivity in Cubillo v Commonwealth /." Access full text, 2006. http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/thesis/public/adt-LTU20080305.105209/index.html.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- La Trobe University, 2006.Research. "A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, La Trobe Law, Faculty of Law and Management, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria". Includes bibliographical references (leaves 318-338). Also available via the World Wide Web.
3
Prasser, Gavin Scott, and n/a. "A Study of Commonwealth Public Inquiries." Griffith University. School of Politics and Public Policy, 2004. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20060811.160901.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the extent and use of public inquiries appointed by the Commonwealth government since federation. Given the increased incidence in public inquiries since the 1970s, particular attention is given to assessing inquiries during this period. The thesis develops a clear definition of public inquiries to better identify the number established and to distinguish them from other advisory institutions and to allow more accurate comparison of their use by different governments over extended timeframes. The thesis addresses a number of key issues concerning public inquiries such as the reasons for their appointment, their roles and functions in the political system, their powers of investigation, processes of operation, their different organisational forms and their impact on policy development. In addition, the thesis seeks to explain both the long term use of public inquiries in Australia, and in particular their increased incidence since the 1970s. Supported by new data, and a more rigorous definition of public inquiries, the thesis identifies trends in the number and type of public inquiries appointed, their use by different governments, the range of issues investigated, the processes employed and the changing composition of their memberships. The thesis proposes that an important means of explaining the continuing appointment of inquiries is their intrinsic 'publicness' - their public appointment, external membership, temporary nature, open processes, and public reporting arrangements. This 'publicness' has given public inquiries a particular standing and legitimacy in the political system that for a variety of reasons, other institutions are increasingly unable to provide. Other issues concerning public inquiry appointment such as the effect of government partisanship, the impact of the electoral cycle, and the political motivations of governments are also assessed. A number of theories such as public choice are examined in relation to explaining inquiry appointment and found to have limited application in providing an overall explanation of inquiry use and their functions. These different issues are analysed by examination of many individual inquiries and supplemented by in depth assessment of three clusters of case studies. The case studies cover seven inquiries of different types and powers appointed over a twenty year period by both Labor and Coalition governments into a range of different fields including public sector reform, allegations of corruption and maladministration and financial deregulation. Each set of case studies examines why the inquiries were appointed, their classification and type, the processes employed, the form and content of their reports, and their policy impact. The thesis concludes that in examining why public inquiries are appointed and their roles in the political system, they need to be assessed not just by the effectiveness of their processes or the quality of their advice. These are important, but alone are not sufficient in explaining the persistent use of inquiries by all governments and their proliferation since the 1970s. The thesis contends that it is the 'publicness' of inquiries which distinguishes them from other advisory bodies and gives inquiries particular standing in the Australian political system to be perceived to be able to legitimately investigate and advise on a wide of issues. Despite the growth of other advisory bodies in recent times, public inquiries have continued to be appointed in increasing numbers since the early 1970s regardless of the government in power and therefore need to be seen less as an aberration of the Australian political system and more as an important, if often understudied, component. Future research areas recommended include the need for greater comparative analysis of their use with other Westminster democracies such as the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.
4
Economou, Nicholas. "Greening the Commonwealth : the Australian Labor Party government's management of national environmental politics, 1983-1996 /." Connect to thesis, 1998. http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00000333.
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5
Laver, John Poynton, and n/a. "The Public Accounts Committee: pursuing probity and effeciency in the Australian Public Service: the origins, work, nature and purpose of the Commonwealth's Public Accounts Committee." University of Canberra. Management, 1997. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20050621.150413.
Full textAbstract:
The Commonwealth parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was established
in 1913 and to the end of 1995 had produced 397 reports on government expenditure
and administration, with almost all its recommendations implemented by government.
However despite the Committee's prominence among the instruments parliament
has used to oversight the executive, not only does it lack clear legislative authority
for major areas of its activities but its specific purpose is not defined in its legislation.
Among other things the latter omission renders proper evaluation of the PAC's
effectiveness impossible, as objectives are a necessary prerequisite to assessment.
This thesis establishes the de facto purpose of the Committee by tracing the
development of standing public accounts committees generally, and by analysing
the PAC's work as shown by its output of tabled reports.
In that development, six evolutionary phases are identified:
the PAC's roots in the move to a parliamentary control of the administration of
government expenditure in Britain from the 1780s;
its genesis in the 1850s with the concept of the standing public accounts
committee, to be concerned with regularity and probity in government
expenditure;
its origins in the establishment of the British standing public accounts committee ,
in 1861, stressing high standards of government accounting, audit and reporting;
its establishment in the Commonwealth, concentrating on information on
departmental activities, efficient implementation of government programs and
provision of policy advice;
its re-establishment in 1951, stressing parliamentary control of government
financial administration; and
its operations from 1980, pressing for economic fundamentalist change in the
public sector.
Their output shows that in these phases the committees concerned displayed
characteristic standing public accounts committee activism and independence in
utilising the wording of their enabling documentation to adapt themselves to changes
in their environment by pursuing a corresponding different mix of one or more of
the following concurrent immediate aims:
ensuring adequate systems of government accounting, audit and reporting;
ensuring probity and regularity in departmental expenditure;
obtaining and disseminating information on departmental activities;
ensuring high standards of departmental administration and management;
providing policy advice to executive government; and
ensuring economic, efficient and effective government spending.
Together these attributes and practices have made the PAC a parliamentary instrument
of unequalled flexibility with a single continuing underlying aim - a purpose not
concerning the public accounts per se, but directed at achieving high standards of
management and administration in government by calling the Commonwealth's public
service to account for its expenditure and activities.
6
Barnes, Helen, and n/a. "The work attitudes and job perceptions of Commonwealth Government Libraians : with descriptive data on Commonwealth Government librarianship as an occupation." University of Canberra. School of Information, Language and Culture Studies, 1987. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060607.154822.
Full textAbstract:
This study has three major purposes: to describe systematically the practice of
librarianship in Australian Commonwealth Government departments and agencies
from the perspective of librarians employed in that environment; to relate the
characteristics of government librarianship to librarians' perceptions of and
attitudes to their work; and to assess the extent to which the work of Commonwealth
Government librarians needs to be redesigned to improve the level of job satisfaction
they experience. A subsidiary purpose is to test the job characteristics theory of
work motivation on a population of librarians.
Information was gathered by a survey questionnaire on a range of variables relating
to librarians and their perceptions of different aspects of their jobs. The primary
instrument for gathering data on perceptions was the complete form of the Job
Diagnostic Survey.
The population under investigation comprised those Commonwealth Government
department and agency librarians employed on a full-time, permanent basis under
the Public Service Act 1922. and located in Canberra. Because the population was
small but diverse, it was decided to survey the total population rather than a random
or stratified sample. One hundred and eight usable responses were received which
represented a response rate of 83 percent.
The results of the survey were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences. Frequency distributions and Pearson's Product-Moment Correlations were
calculated to determine the percentage of respondents who selected each option and the
strength of relationships between pairs of variables.
The study found that Commonwealth Government department and agency librarians in
Australia are highly satisfied with their work generally, and with the environment
in which it is performed. None of the null hypotheses relating to Commonwealth
Government librarians and job satisfaction were rejected. All but one of the null
hypotheses retating to the application of the job characteristics model to
Commonwealth Government librarians are rejected.
The study concludes by identifying issues and areas for further research in public
sector librarianship.
7
Luker, Trish, and LukerT@law anu edu au. "THE RHETORIC OF RECONCILIATION: EVIDENCE AND JUDICIAL SUBJECTIVITY IN CUBILLO v COMMONWEALTH." La Trobe University. School of Law, 2006. http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au./thesis/public/adt-LTU20080305.105209.
Full textAbstract:
In August 2000, Justice O�Loughlin of the Federal Court of Australia handed down the decision in Cubillo v Commonwealth in which Lorna Cubillo and Peter Gunner took action against the Commonwealth Government, arguing that it was vicariously liable for their removal from their families and communities as children and subsequent detentions in the Northern Territory during the 1940s and 1950s. The case is the landmark decision in relation to legal action taken by members of the Stolen Generations.
Using the decision in Cubillo as a key site of contestation, my thesis provides a critique of legal positivism as the dominant jurisprudential discourse operating within the Anglo-Australian legal system. I argue that the function of legal positivism as the principal paradigm and source of authority for the decision serves to ensure that the debate concerning reconciliation in Australia operates rhetorically to maintain whiteness at the centre of political and discursive power. Specifically concerned with the performative function of legal discourse, the thesis is an interrogation of the interface of law and language, of rhetoric, and the semiotics of legal discourse.
The dominant theory of evidence law is a rationalist and empiricist epistemology in which oral testimony and documentary evidence are regarded as mediating the relationship between proof and truth. I argue that by attributing primacy to principles of rationality, objectivity and narrative coherence, and by privileging that which is visually represented, the decision serves an ideological purpose which diminishes the significance of race in the construction of knowledge.
Legal positivism identifies the knowing subject and the object of knowledge as discrete entities. However, I argue that in Cubillo, Justice O�Loughlin inscribes himself into the text of the judgment and in doing so, reveals the way in which textual and corporeal specificities undermine the pretence of objective judgment and therefore the source of judicial authority.
8
Wills, Jules A., and n/a. "Strategic planning in Commonwealth departments: beyond magaerialism: from bounded rationality to bounded uncertainty." University of Canberra. Administrative Studies, 1991. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060426.154713.
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9
Quann-Youlden, Cathy, and n/a. "Commonwealth Higher Education Policies: Their Impacts on Autonomy and Research in Australian Universities." University of Canberra. Business & Government, 2008. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20081202.151704.
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In recent years, the Australian Government's (Commonwealth) relationship to universities has become one of greater involvement as political circles recognise the escalation in the significance of higher education as a key determinant in Australia's economic, social, cultural, and intellectual development. The increasing role of the Commonwealth in Australian universities is largely a consequence of this recognition, but it is also due in part to changes in the way governments approach the public sector and publicly funded institutions.
Both the literature and extensive Commonwealth reports provide an array of details in relation to: what the Commonwealth wants from its universities; why it wants it; what it is doing to ensure that it gets what it wants; and the results of its actions-at least from the perspective of the Commonwealth. But what is missing is how universities themselves perceive the impact of the Commonwealth's increasing involvement in universities. Although academics and managers in Australian universities have much to say about how current and proposed Commonwealth policies affect their working environment they are not given much of a venue to opine. As such there is a lack of literature on how universities perceive the impact of this increasing involvement. This dissertation aims to fill the gap by providing a forum that addresses universities' perceptions of how Commonwealth policies affect their universities.
Specifically, this dissertation sets out to discover if and how Commonwealth policies change universities and focuses on how policies influence autonomy and research in Australian universities through the responses of those who work in the offices of the deputy vice chancellors of research in twelve Australian universities.
One of the most significant findings of the thesis is that the Commonwealth's increasing involvement in universities is viewed by respondents as a consequence of the Commonwealth's mistrust of Australian universities. Furthermore, the Commonwealth is seen as lacking expertise in areas relating to universities-their needs, history, purpose, mission, and how they best relate to and contribute to society-and their need for autonomy. This dissertation offers some insights into perspectives whereby policies built on the Commonwealth's mistrust and lack of expertise in university matters negatively influence autonomy and research productivity in Australian universities. The results indicate decreased productivity which leads to further mistrust that appears to decrease productivity even morea
cycle that respondents fear might be a self-propelling downward spiral. Eight hypotheses and one overarching proposition emerge from the findings. In addition, nine areas are identified as adding to the overall understanding of the affect that Commonwealth policies have on university autonomy and research productivity in Australian universities.
10
Quann-Youlden, Cathy. "Commonwealth higher education policies : their impacts on autonomy and research in Australian universities /." Canberra, 2006. http://erl.canberra.edu.au/public/adt-AUC20081202.151704/index.html.
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11
au, Iain Browning@det wa edu, and Iain W. P. Browning. "Western Australian Education Policy and Neo-classic Economic Influences." Murdoch University, 2002. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051129.112230.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is primarily an historical examination of how neo-classic economics influenced WA education policy formation from the mid 1980s until the release of the Curriculum Framework (1998). It first aims to examine and explain the context and origins of neo-classic economic influences globally, and then explores the process and impact of its introduction to WA policy-making in general, and to education policy in particular.
Within the thesis some fundamental propositions put forward by other theorists are built upon. The most significant is the view that between 1983 and 1998, there has been a distinct and well documented shift in the primary ideological forces driving education policy throughout the western world. This is attributable to a strengthened link between education and national economic goals which has resulted in an economic imperative and the use of an economic discourse to describe educational aims. From these understandings this thesis explores whether neo-classic economics has played a significant influence in shaping education policy in WA, as it has done in many parts of the world.
The methodological approach principally involves the textual analysis of major policy documents preceding and including the Curriculum Framework (1998). The focus is on primary and secondary sources, essentially to discover, analyze, and demonstrate how neo-classic economics had influenced education policy in WA by 1998.
Taking a pragmatic approach, this professional doctorate makes a specific contribution to research through synthesizing the impact of neo-classic economics on WA schools policy via a range of principally secondary sources. In particular, it explores how neo-classic economics influenced WA education policy by seeking to answer four fundamental research questions:
1. Was the influence of neo-classic economics evident internationally, and if so did it impact on education policy?
2. How did neo-classic economics influence Australian Commonwealth Government schools policy?
3. Were there clear neo-classic economic influences evident within other Australian states, and, if so, did they influence schools policy?
4. In whose interests were neo-classic economic education policies?
Neo-classic economic approaches were espoused widely as a solution to the apparent failure of in economics from the early 1970s onwards. Beare (1995) argued that in many countries policy perspectives for education and other welfare services changed in a number of 'profound' ways, the most significant was the use of an economic rationale to justify almost every significant policy initiative.
Within the Anglo-democracies, specifically the US and UK, the pursuit of neo-classic economic policies involved the adoption of initiatives allowing the 'market' to dictate what should or should not occur within the economy. As a part of the neo-classic economic drive, governments endeavoured to improve efficiency within the public services. Consequently, education policy became driven by an economic imperative often to the detriment of educational aims.
This study demonstrates that neo-classic economic policy came to dominate government decision making in Australia following the election of the Hawke Labor Government in 1983 (Dudley and Vidovich 1995).This was similar to neo-classic economic patterns in the US and UK. By 1985 neo-classic economic trends at the Commonwealth level were clearly evident and become overt and robust with the passage of time. Under Minister Dawkins Commonwealth education policy was fumy linked to national economic goals.
An examination of the Victorian context demonstrates neo-classic economic trends within the other Australian states' education policies. Under the Kennett Liberal Government the shift to neo-classic economic education policy resulted in reductions in educational spending, staffing cuts and school closures. The prime motivation for the reforms was the reduction of costs and the aligning of education through a focus on vocational subjects and employment related skills.
Concomitant with the rise of neo-classic economics was a commensurate growth in the attention of Australian business and industry to education policy. Business and industry groups increasingly promoted the notion of human capital theory by linking education and economic growth. This can be partly attributed to employers' growing interest in having schools produce individuals suitably prepared for positions in the workplace, a phenomenon which has been reflected in WA secondary schools through a shift to a vocationalised curriculum (Browning 1977). In effect business was able to defray expending capital on training workers through hiring school leavers tailored for workplace positions. From at least the early 1980s there was accelerating evidence of a more active and open involvement of business in the major education inquiries which also contributed to policy formation dominated by neo-classic economics.
The exploration of the global and national context of neo-classic economics confirms that neo-classis economic influences within WA Qd not occur in isolation. From at least 1987 it is evident that neo-classic economics influenced WA education policy. The consequence was a curriculum shaped predominantly by economic interests as opposed to educational concerns.
12
Caligari, Sandra, and n/a. "The application of risk management in the Commonwealth Public Service with specific emphasis on the Australian Customs Service." University of Canberra. Administrative Studies, 1994. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060623.145630.
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Osaghae, Esosa O. "Mythic reconstruction : a study of Australian Aboriginal and African literatures /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 2006. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20070928.143608.
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14
Hopper, Alvin W. L., and n/a. "A critical examination of Australian constitutional law relating to territories and to places acquired by the Commonwealth (including a comparison with United States Law)." University of Canberra. Law, 2005. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060427.091040.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines the constitutional position in relation to those geographical areas over
which the Commonwealth has sole power. These are the Territories, and Commonwealth
places (over which, however, the States may retain some vestigial power). The thesis seeks to
give a comprehensive account of the constitutional law concerning these heads of power.
The thesis traces the tortuous history of the case law on the Territories, with its many
instances of inconsistent decisions and dicta. In the words of a High Court Judge, Sir Douglas
Menzies, the cases have "not resulted in a coherent body of doctrine". The problems have
been particularly acute in regard to the exercise of judicial power, and they are compounded
by the silence of the Constitution on some major issues concerning the Territories, such as the
relationship between the 'Territories' power and the Constitution as a whole.
The thesis' main contention is that, contrary to predominant doctrine, the constitutional
position of the Territories and of Commonwealth places is federal, not 'disparate'. In this
connection, several tenets are advanced: first, that the Constitution must be interpreted as a
whole�that is, as a single instrument; secondly, that the Territories are an integral part of
Australia, and their inhabitants, while not enjoying all the constitutional benefits of State
residents, are full members of the Australian community; and thirdly, that there is no
constitutional distinction to be drawn between different classes of Territory�thus, despite
some contrary suggestions, there is no distinction between 'internal' and 'external' Territories
or between Territories acquired from the States and Territories otherwise acquired.
The thesis explores the particular difficulties, notably in the judicial sphere, that arise from
the relevant case law, and it critically examines the cases against the text of the Constitution,
as well as against the yardstick of those tenets. With regard to the Territories, the thesis
analyses the constitutional topics of executive power and self-government. It considers
particular issues concerning each of the three self-governing Territories, including the special
status of the Australian Capital Territory as the federal "seat of government".
In addition, the thesis looks at the constitutional position in the United States concerning
Territories, federal enclaves and the American seat of government (the District of Columbia).
The thesis draws a comparison between the American position and the corresponding position
in Australia, and it critically considers the judicial interpretation, in both countries, of the
constitutional grant to the federal legislature of exclusive, or sole, power over such
geographical areas. This process assists an evaluation of the Australian position.
The thesis concludes that, in some respects, the Australian case law has gone seriously astray,
especially in treating the 'Territories' power as more or less separate from the rest of the
Constitution. This judicial approach has led to a convoluted and confusing situation. Despite a
degree of amelioration as a result of some more recent cases, the corrective process is by no
means complete. The courts are hampered in their development of a "coherent body of
doctrine" by the random way in which cases come before them, and it is unlikely that the
position can be fully retrieved solely by judicial decisions. The thesis therefore proposes
various reforms, and it sets out, in an appendix, proposed amendments of the Constitution.
In addition to expounding and criticising the case law on the constitutional topics under
discussion, the thesis reviews and, where appropriate, cites from the relevant legal literature.
The thesis considers the Australian case law as decided down to the end of 2004.
15
Weereratne, Anura R., and n/a. "The Australian Freedom of Information Legislation and its applicability to Sri Lanka: an empirical study." University of Canberra. Law, 2001. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061108.115444.
Full textAbstract:
The Dissertation sets out the results of an evaluation of certain aspects of the
Commonwealth of Australia's Freedom of Information Legislation and proposals to
introduce a Freedom of Information Law in Sri Lanka. The major purpose of the study
was:
(i) to evaluate whether the Commonwealth FOI Act has
achieved the objects of Parliament - whether members of
the public could have a free access to government
information subject to important exemptions.
(ii) whether a FOI regime should be introduced to Sri Lanka
In conducting my research, I devoted three chapters to FOI in Australia including the
development of the legislation. I analysed key components of the legislation and
researched to what extent the FOI Act has achieved its objects. I devoted two chapters
towards the concept of transparency of government in Sri Lanka, the attitude of the
Courts towards the concept of the right to information and whether Sri Lanka needs a
Freedom of Information Act. In the last two chapters, I have devoted a chapter each to
the concept of translocation of laws and about an ideal FOI Act for Sri Lanka, which is an
adaptation of the Australian Act.
The individual components of the methodology incorporated:
(i) a literature survey of the Commonwealth FOI Act, Freedom of Information
in the United Nations and in the USA; and Sweden, Canada and New Zealand;
(ii) a literature survey concerning the transparency of government in Sri Lanka
(ii) interviews with a cross section Commonwealth FOI administrators and key
politicians, lawyers and a cross section of members of the press and public in
Sri Lanka; and
(iv) research of the Australian FOI legislation
The empirical data present an analysis of key features of the Commonwealth FOI Act
with particular attention to exemption clauses.
I have recommended some amendments to the FOI Act in view of the Commonwealth
Government's policy of outsourcing some of its activities and the creation of a position of
FOI Commissioner.
Finally my research indicates that Sri Lanka needs Freedom of Information legislation to
meet the challenges facing a developing country that is endeavoring to reach 'newly
developed status' early in the new millennium. Furthermore, international lenders and
donors are now requiring that developing countries like Sri Lanka seeking aid, should
show more transparency in its activities. I have drafted a Freedom of Jiformation Bill for
Sri Lanka. I have based the draft on the Australian law adapted to suit the local
conditions in Sri Lanka, which is in Appendix "G".
16
Joliffe, E. Keith, and n/a. "PEP (ACT) : factors modifying the delivery and impact of a Commonwealth specific purpose program in the Australian Capital Territory 1984-1986." University of Canberra. Education, 1988. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060802.160503.
Full textAbstract:
The Field Study Report records the establishment of a
theoretical model for examining aspects of complex
innovations, the application of that model to the
Commonwealth Participation and Equity Program in the ACT
government sector using an historical perspective, and the
drawing of conclusions occasioned by that, application.
Based on the literature of the management of change,
educational administration and educational politics as well as the history of the program, it is argued that
specific groups of factors influencing the delivery and
impact of the program may be identified and their effects
described, with a view to guiding future delivery of major
educational reform programs.
The theoretical model for classifying and examining the
relative importance of the factors is a synthesis based on
the work of the researchers Hoy and Miskel (1982), with a
major additional component, prompted by writers in the
field of educational politics. The method of application
also allows the discussion of two further underlying
propositions. These are;
(a) That the modes of delivery employed by the ACT Schools
Authority for PEP evolved during the course of its
implementation;
(b) That the program had a discernible impact, in terms of
its aims, but this impact, was modified qualitatively and
quantitatively by the process of mutual adaptation and by
other factors external and internal to the program.
In a series of linked steps, the thesis examines the
literature, drawing out a grouped collection of factors
potentially influencing the program, describes the
context, modes of delivery, aims and outcomes of PEP,
categorises the identified factors according to their
apparent relative influence, and uses these learnings to
make predictions and conclusions about PEP and future
system-wide reform initiatives.
It is concluded that the underlying propositions of the
thesis are confirmed. It is also argued that the study has
highlighted the predominant influence of political
factors, most groups of management factors and factors
related to school organisation, whereas other factors are
of lesser importance in moulding program delivery
strategies and shaping program outcomes. As well, the
thesis concludes that the particular framework adopted for
the study possesses considerable potential for use in a
variety of future research, and that the introduction of
the factor-based structure as a means of carrying out
historical research helps promote rigour, objectivity and
credibility where there is a reliance on the involvement
of a participant-observer to provide reflective data.
In relation to PEP itself, it is concluded that the
process of mutual adaptation and the influence of the
multiplicity of factors ensured that the higher-order
program outcomes such as institutionalisation of new
curriculum definitions, the development of negotiated
student, management and teaching/learning strategies and
attitudinal changes about, the purposes and ownership of
education, were modified even more significantly than the
outcomes which could be measured in quantitative terms.
A collection of specific suggestions for improved program
delivery in the future is provided.
17
Roche, Vivienne Carol. "Razor gang to Dawkins : a history of Victoria College, an Australian College of Advanced Education." Connect to digital thesis, 2003. http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00000468.
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Abjorensen, Norman, and norman abjorensen@anu edu au. "Leadership in the Liberal Party: Bolte, Askin and the Post-War Ascendancy." The Australian National University. Faculty of Arts, 2005. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20070320.122842.
Full textAbstract:
The formation of the Liberal Party of Australia in the mid-1940s heralded a new effort to stem the tide of government regulation that had grown with Labor Party rule in the latter years of World War II and immediately after. It was not until 1949 that the party gained office at Federal level, beginning what was to be a record unbroken term of 23 years, but its efforts faltered at State level in Victoria, where the party was divided, and in New South Wales, where Labor was seemingly entrenched. The fortunes were reversed with the rise to leadership of men who bore a different stamp to their predecessors, and were in many ways atypical Liberals: Henry Bolte in Victoria and Robin Askin in New South Wales. Bolte, a farmer, and Askin, a bank officer, had served as non-commissioned officers in World War II and rose to lead parties whose members who had served in the war were predominantly of the officer class. In each case, their man management skills put an end to division and destabilisation in their parties, and they went on to serve record terms as Liberal leaders in their respective States, Bolte 1955-72 and Askin 1965-75. Neither was ever challenged in their leadership and each chose the time and nature of his departure from politics, a rarity among Australian political leaders. Their careers are traced here in the context of the Liberal revival and the heightened expectations of the post-war years when the Liberal Party reached an ascendancy, governing for a brief time in 1969-70 in all Australian States as well as the Commonwealth. Their leadership is also examined in the broader context of leadership in the Liberal Party, and also in the ways in which the new party sought to engage with and appeal to a wider range of voters than had traditionally been attracted to the non-Labor parties.
19
Hyland, Margaret, and n/a. "Task overlap of librarians and library technicians : a study comparing the duties of librarians class one and library technicians grades two and three in special libraries in Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities in the Australian Capital Territory." University of Canberra. Communication, 1990. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060801.120814.
Full textAbstract:
The present study attempted to measure the overlap of tasks being
performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two
and Three in special libraries located in Commonwealth Government
Departments and Statutory Authorities in the ACT. Overlap was also
measured between the two groups in libraries with six or more staff,
since size of library could have affected the results; and between
graduates (those employees with university or college of advanced
education degrees or graduate diplomas in library and information
science), and nongraduates (those without such qualifications).
To measure the overlap, a task list questionnaire was devised based
on task lists utilised in other research studies or which had been
the outcome of professional workshops. Work level guidelines and
position classification standards developed by pertinent Australian
employing authorities and the Library Association of Australia were
also used.
Results suggested that there may be considerable overlap in work
being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians
Grades Two and Three in the nominated libraries. Of the eight
functional areas of library work into which the task list
questionnaire was divided, only two areas, Reference, and Current
Awareness and User Services, resulted in proportions of the groups
tested being assigned the tasks in significantly different
proportions. For the six other functional areas, representing 125 of
the 160 tasks Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two
and Three performed the same tasks in similar proportions. Testing
for size of library and qualifications of respondents made very
little difference to these results.
Conclusions drawn from the present study are limited because the
questionnaire ignored the level of importance and the time occupied
in completing these tasks. Other constraints occurred in relation to
conclusions which could be made. The questionnaire methodology as
utilised by the present study is more likely to evoke responses to
what is there; and it does not identify what should be done or how
well tasks are performed. The study is limited to special libraries
within Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities
and is confined to three levels of staff only, Librarians Class One
and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three.
Despite these limitations, it seems clear that the levels of staff
included in the present study are often assigned tasks on the basis
of what tasks have to be done, rather than with regard to matching
level of task to level of position within the boundaries of the work
level guidelines; and this situation is also true of the larger
libraries with six or more staff.
These results have implications for those involved in educating
professional librarians and library technicians, for the
interpretation given by the profession to the meaning of
professionalism and for staff relations between librarians and
library technicians. Debate by the profession concerning the roles of
librarians and library technicians is an issue demanding urgent
attention.
20
Nielson, Pam, and n/a. "A comparative analysis of English as a second language programs and services in government school systems in Australian states and territories and the nexus with Commonwealth funding." University of Canberra. Education, 1988. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060824.132257.
Full textAbstract:
The study investigates the nature and extent of provision
of English as a Second Language (ESL) programs and
services for students of non-English speaking background
(NESB) in government school systems in the six Australian
states and two territories and the interrelationship of
state/territorial education authority provision and levels
of commonwealth funding. The study further examines
perceptions of state/territorial service providers of
where the onus of responsibility for ESL provision lies.
The study is limited to examination of ESL provision at
the school level in government education systems only and
does not address services for adult NESB learners or
provision in the non-government sector.
The study is set in the context of the impact of
commonwealth immigration policies on the nature of
Australia's multicultural society and on the evolution of
provision of appropriate programs and services for NESB
students in Australian government schools.
The major findings to emerge from this study which bear on
the issues identified in the literature and which are of
significance for the future of ESL service delivery are:
· the existence of overall commonality of definition of
NESB students and identification of such students for
ESL programs on the basis of need, but a degree of variation in procedures used by state and territorial
systems which falls short of standard practice and
renders comparative measurement of perceived shortfalls
in provision difficult;
· variation in definition of intensive programs which
renders comparison of provision difficult;
· strong commonality in overall provision of both
programs and services across all schooling sectors,
with limited local variation in service delivery;
an increasing commitment in all systems to the
mainstreaming of ESL provision through language across
the curriculum programs aimed at complementing
specialist ESL provision by enabling mainstream
teachers to accept responsibility for the language
needs of NESB learners;
· variation in degrees of dependence on commonwealth
funding for provision of programs and services ranging
from almost total dependence on commonwealth funding in
two systems to significant local education authority
provision in four systems;
· commonality of opinion among local service providers of
the commonwealth's responsibility for some degree of
funding of ESL provision, but variations in perceptions
of the extent of the commonwealth's responsibility in
this area;
· commonality of experience of initial identification of
need at the local level, but dependence on commonwealth
intervention to approach adequate provision to meet
identified need;
· a degree of tension between on the one hand,
recognition of individual differences among systems and
the concomitant need, or desire, for state/territorial
autonomy in service delivery; and on the other hand,
recognition of commonality of purpose and provision and
the concomitant need for some standardisation of
practice in the interests of efficiency and
accountability of service delivery.
The study concludes with an examination of the
implications of these findings for policy for future ESL
service delivery.
21
Ramsay, Janet Kay. "The Making of Domestic Violence Policy by the Australian Commonwealth Government and the Government of the State of New South Wales between 1970 and 1985: An Analytical Narrative of Feminist Policy Activism." University of Sydney. Discipline of Government and International Relations, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/724.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is a study of the processes by which domestic violence, as framed by Australian feminists from the early 1970s, was inserted into the policy agenda of governments, and developed into a comprehensive body of policy. The thesis covers the period between 1970 and 1985. Acknowledging the federal nature of the Australian polity, it examines these processes that unfolded within both the Australian Commonwealth government and the government of New South Wales. The thesis provides a political history of domestic violence policy making in the identified period. It shows that policy responses to women escaping violent partners included both immediate measures (such as protection and justice strategies) and more long-term measures to attempt to secure the conditions for women�s financial, legal and personal autonomy. The elements found to have been most significant in shaping the development of such policies were the roles and identities of the participant players, including the driving role of the women suffering partner violence; the lack of contest in the early stages of policy achievement with established professionals in related fields; the uniquely �hybrid� role and positioning of refuge feminists; and the degree of integration and continuity which characterised the domestic violence policy process. The thesis also investigates the relationship between domestic violence policy making and the broader women�s policy enterprise. It demonstrates the care with which those involved avoided the dangers of sensationalism and tokenism while striving for an appropriate policy response. The thesis pays particular attention to the circumstances in which feminists in the early 1970s experienced their �discovery� of domestic violence. It demonstrates the significance of social and economic circumstances in shaping the political options of feminists in the thesis period and those preceding it, and the extent to which policy possibilities are shaped by representations of the nature and functions of policy itself. Finally, the thesis investigates the relationship between the strategic processes undertaken and the policy outcomes produced, finding that policies achieved in the thesis period complemented and in some ways transcended accepted policy practice in the relevant period.
22
Ramsay, Janet. "The making of domestic violence policy by the Australian Commonwealth Government and the Government of the State of New South Wales between 1970 and 1985 an analytical narrative of feminist policy activism /." Connect to full text, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/724.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2005.Title from title screen (viewed 21 May 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Discipline of Government and International Relations, Faculty of Arts. Degree awarded 2005; thesis submitted 2004. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.
23
Frame, Thomas Robert History Australian Defence Force Academy UNSW. "Where fate calls : the HMAS Voyager tragedy." Awarded by:University of New South Wales - Australian Defence Force Academy. School of History, 1991. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/38724.
Full textAbstract:
On 10 February 1964 during naval night exercises off the south coast of Australia, the destroyer HMAS Voyager was lost after colliding with the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. 82 men were killed. Following the collision, there were two Royal Commissions that sustained a political controversy that lasted for over four years. This thesis examines the loss of Voyager as a watershed in the operational and administrative history of the RAN and as a major event in Australian national history. This study has four broad objectives: to describe the loss of Voyager and the long running controversy that accompanied the disaster; to offer a convincing explanation of the causes of the collision and why two royal commissions concluded that the causes for the disaster were inexplicable; to assess the effect on the RAN, in terms of specific reforms and its influence on Service culture and professional ethos, of the disaster and the inquiries that followed; and finally, to analyse the loss of Voyager as a media and political cause celebre in Australian history. As so little has been written about Voyager using primary sources, this thesis was committed to detailed description of events as well as analysis of themes. This thesis draws upon an extensive body of primary source material in the form of official naval and Royal Commission records to which complete access was given; several large collections of private papers; over one hundred interviews with principal participants; and comprehensive files of press cuttings. The discussion seeks to demonstrate that a series of naval accidents preceding the loss of Voyager contributed in a substantial way to shaping the public reaction to, and political handling of, the disaster; that the method of inquiry played a major role in generating public and political disquiet; that the collision was both a catalyst and stimulus to change in naval operations and reform in naval administration; that the inability of two Royal Commissions to ascertain the causes of the collision and then to public suspicion of a cover-up; and, that the collision was most probably caused by the incorrect relaying of a tactical signal on the bridge of Voyager. The loss of HMAS Voyager appears to be a key event in the development of the RAN, not as a direct result of the collision or its causes, but as a consequence of its long and controversial aftermath.
24
Hartford, Davis Sebastian Howard. "The legal personality of the Commonwealth of Australia." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:8453fe3f-7acf-4f1e-a786-267a9303203b.
Full textAbstract:
The thesis explores the legal personality of the Commonwealth of Australia under the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, against the background of constitutional litigation in the High Court of Australia, current to 1 February 2016. It assesses that jurisprudence alongside a wider enquiry into state and corporate personality, with some relevant comparative analysis of UK, Imperial, Canadian and New Zealand materials. The thesis advances the positive claim that the Constitution created a legal person, called the Commonwealth'. In order properly to understand the nature of this legal person, as a matter of domestic law, it is necessary to discriminate between the legal or 'constitutional person' formally constituted by the Constitution, and the Commonwealth of Australia conceived more widely as a 'government', or as a 'nation'/'political community'. There is a recent tendency in judgments of the High Court of Australia to suppose either that the Commonwealth (government), or the Commonwealth (nation), is a legal person. This thesis argues that both notions are wrong. The theory that the Commonwealth (government) is a legal person forms a primary focus in this regard. Primary governmental institutions in Australia are constituted by law as entities or groups, which perform functions of importance to the legal system but which do not have and cannot form legal relations. Such institutions are sometimes described as 'organs', 'branches', 'aspects' or 'facets' of a 'polity' or 'body politic', which is a legal person. These are words of fluid meaning, but which carry the flavour of the Hobbesian state: a sense that the 'Commonwealth' is a legal person incorporating every aspect of 'its' power and authority, and embracing all those who act on 'its' behalf. The thesis argues that this theory and its associated terminology misrepresent the nature and extent of the Commonwealth's legal personality. The thesis advances correlative negative claims: the Commonwealth (government) is not a legal person, and the Commonwealth (constitutional person) is not the government. The terms 'polity' and 'body politic' are often also used to describe the Commonwealth (nation), as distinct from the Commonwealth (government), sometimes with the implication that the Commonwealth (nation) is a legal person. The thesis advances reasons for rejecting this theory, whilst acknowledging that any such theory depends to a significant degree on what definition is adopted of the concept of 'nation'. Thus, the thesis argues that the legal person known as the 'Commonwealth' must not be confused with other significations of the word. The thesis contends for a narrower theory: the government and the nation are not legal persons, and must be distinguished from the Commonwealth (constitutional person). The narrow theory aligns with English antecedents, and avoids the conceptual problems otherwise thrown up by the need to explain how the amorphous interests, natural and artificial persons, offices, institutions and powers that are identified with the government or nation of Australia could rationally be understood as emanating from a single legal person. For legal purposes, neither the government nor the nation is treated as a unified legal personality. Rather, in different ways, both the government and the nation are constructed or comprised of a multitude of legal persons, one of which is the Commonwealth (constitutional person).
25
Foster, Ian D., and n/a. "The establishment of the Christmas Island Area School: a public policy analysis." University of Canberra. Education, 1990. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20050711.124419.
Full textAbstract:
In 1974 the Australian Government decided that from 1975 all education on its Territory of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, would be integrated into a single service. It further decided that all schools would be
staffed by Australian teachers from its recent1y established
Commonwealth Teaching Service and would implement a curriculum closely reflecting those on the Australian mainland. These were decisive shifts
from the previous system of separating the 'Asian' education system from the 'European' (Australian) system. This thesis sets out to find the
reasons for these decisions and the expectations, or objectives, of those who made them.
The changes to education had many Impacts on the Christmas Island community - both intended or unintended. These impacts are used to assist in evaluations of the policy objectives. The thesis uses the methodology of public policy analysis to examine the links between the government's education policy and its other broader policies regarding the Island. It thus examines operational decisions in the context of strategic considerations.
The mid 1970s saw rapid changes in many Australian Government policies.
Its new Christmas Island policies were responses to a range of complex,
interrelated problems which emerged in the early 1970s - only 15 years
after it assumed sovereignty. At the centre of these policy responses
was Resettlement. The government's education decisions are examined in
the light of the objectives and implications of its Resettlement policy
as well as other inputs to the policy problem.
26
Oakshott, Stephen Craig School of Information Library & Archives Studies UNSW. "The Association of Libarians in colleges of advanced education and the committee of Australian university librarians: The evolution of two higher education library groups, 1958-1997." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Information, Library and Archives Studies, 1998. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/18238.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines the history of Commonwealth Government higher education policy in Australia between 1958 and 1997 and its impact on the development of two groups of academic librarians: the Association of Librarians in Colleges in Advanced Education (ALCAE) and the Committee of Australian University Librarians (CAUL). Although university librarians had met occasionally since the late 1920s, it was only in 1965 that a more formal organisation, known as CAUL, was established to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information. ALCAE was set up in 1969 and played an important role helping develop a special concept of library service peculiar to the newly formed College of Advanced Education (CAE) sector. As well as examining the impact of Commonwealth Government higher education policy on ALCAE and CAUL, the thesis also explores the influence of other factors on these two groups, including the range of personalities that comprised them, and their relationship with their parent institutions and with other professional groups and organisations. The study focuses on how higher education policy and these other external and internal factors shaped the functions, aspirations, and internal dynamics of these two groups and how this resulted in each group evolving differently. The author argues that, because of the greater attention given to the special educational role of libraries in the CAE curriculum, the group of college librarians had the opportunity to participate in, and have some influence on, Commonwealth Government statutory bodies responsible for the coordination of policy and the distribution of funding for the CAE sector. The link between ALCAE and formal policy-making processes resulted in a more dynamic group than CAUL, with the university librarians being discouraged by their Vice-Chancellors from having contact with university funding bodies because of the desire of the universities to maintain a greater level of control over their affairs and resist interference from government. The circumstances of each group underwent a reversal over time as ALCAE's effectiveness began to diminish as a result of changes to the CAE sector and as member interest was transferred to other groups and organisations. Conversely, CAUL gradually became a more active group during the 1980s and early 1990s as a result of changes to higher education, the efforts of some university librarians, and changes in membership. This study is based principally on primary source material, with the story of ALCAE and CAUL being told through the use of a combination of original documentation (including minutes of meetings and correspondence) and interviews with members of each group and other key figures.
27
Aroney, Nicholas Theodore 1966. "The Federal Commonwealth of Australia : a study in the formation of its constitution." Monash University, Faculty of Law, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8864.
Full text
28
Magnussen, Amanda, and n/a. "The development of virtual libraries in Commonwealth libraries in Australia." University of Canberra. Information Management & Tourism, 2002. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060829.130944.
Full textAbstract:
This research examines the development of virtual libraries in Commonwealth
libraries in Australia in 1998-1999. The background to the study lies in some of
the current issues in the information sector, and government responses to those
issues.
The study begins by considering the nature of the Australian Commonwealth
Government, reviewing what government libraries are and whom they serve, and
examining the future trends expected to affect Commonwealth libraries. The
current state of virtual library research is then reviewed, and the need for research
in the Commonwealth library sector examined.
The author reviews the virtual library concept as expressed in the literature in the
field, determines what a virtual library is, and gives consideration to why virtual
libraries are being developed. The issues that affect and are affected by virtual
library development are then examined. Based on this, a model of virtual libraries
is formulated, along with a brief consideration of the possible application,
importance and problems associated with each element of the model.
The research design and methods that were used to gather information for this
study are then outlined, along with the inherent limitations of the research model.
Following this, the findings from a survey of virtual library development in
Commonwealth libraries are discussed. The author then conducts some analysis
of these responses, and makes comparisons between different Commonwealth
library responses, as well as comparisons with virtual library studies conducted in
American and Australian academic libraries.
The research concludes by attempting to reach some conclusions about
Commonwealth virtual library development and the validity of the proposed
model of virtual libraries. Flowing from this, recommendations are made for
further research in this field.
29
McGrath, Frank Roland. "Intentions of the Framers of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution." University of Sydney. History, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/850.
Full textAbstract:
The thesis examines the speeches and debates in the Australasian Federation Conference of 1890, and the Australasian Federal Conventions of 1891 and 1897-8 for the purpose of establishing what the framers of the Commonwealth Constitution understood to be the meaning and purpose of the individual sections of the Constitution upon which they were called upon either to support or oppose. The particular matters involved in the examination are the manner and form in which the principles of responsible government were incorporated into the constitution, and the relationship of these principles to the powers of the Senate; the crisis in the 1891 Convention in relation to the powers of the Senate over money bills; the significance of the difference in composition of the Convention of 1891 compared with that of 1897-8; the significance of the classification of the Constitution as an indissoluble federation under the Crown; the principles of responsible government and the provisions of s.57 in the context of the deadlock over Supply in 1975; the meaning and purpose of s.41 preserving the rights of voters qualified to vote in State elections for the lower Houses, and the misconceptions in relation thereto the position of aborigines under the Constitution; the meaning and purpose of the special laws power in the light of the 1967 Constitutional referendum, and its interpretation bU the High Court in the Hindmarsh Island Bridge case; the relationship of the intentions of the framers of the Constitution to the interpretation bu the High Court of the Financial Clauses of the Constitution, and the provisions of s.92; and the meaning and purpose of the external affairs power, and the corporations power as understood bu the framers of the Constitution.
30
McGrath, Frank Roland. "The intentions of the framers of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution in the context of the debates at the Australasian Federation Conference of 1890, and the Australasian Federal Conventions of 1891 and 1897-8 The understanding of the framers of the Constitution as to the meaning and purpose of the provisions of the Constitution which they debated at these assemblies /." Connect to full text, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/850.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2001.Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 24, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of History, Faculty of Arts. Degree awarded 2001; thesis submitted 2000. Includes bibliography and of tables of cases. Also available in print form.
31
Jenkins, Stephen. "Australia's Commonwealth Self-determination Policy 1972-1998 : the imagined nation and the continuing control of indigenous existence /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2002. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phj522.pdf.
Full text
32
Welsh, Mary, and n/a. "Promoting quality schooling in Australia : Commonwealth Government policy-making for schools (1987-1996)." University of Canberra. Education, 2000. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061110.123723.
Full textAbstract:
Promoting the quality of school education has been an issue of international, national
and local significance in Australia over the past three decades. Since 1973 the pursuit
of quality in school education has been embedded in the rhetoric of educational
discourse and framed by the wider policy context.
This study focuses on the Commonwealth (federal) government's policy agenda to
promote the quality of schooling between 1987 and 1996. During this ten year period,
successive Labor governments sought to promote quality through a range of policy
initiatives and funding programs. Through extensive documentary research, fifty
semi-structured interviews and one focus group with elite policy makers and
stakeholders, the study examines how the Commonwealth government's 'quality
agenda' was constructed and perceived. An analysis of relevant government reports
and ministerial statements provides documentary evidence of this agenda, both in
terms of stated policy intentions and the actual policy initiatives and funding programs
set in place in the period 1987-1996. Set against this analysis are elite informants'
perspectives on Commonwealth policy-making in this period - how quality was
conceptualised as a policy construct and as a policy solution, the influences on
Commonwealth policies for schools, whether there was a 'quality agenda' and how
that agenda was constructed and implemented. Informants generally perceived quality
as a diffuse, but all-encompassing concept which had symbolic and substantive value
as a policy construct. In the context of Commonwealth schools' policies, quality was
closely associated with promoting equity, outcomes, accountability, national
consistency in schooling and teacher quality. Promoting the quality of 'teaching and
learning' in Australian schools took on particular significance in the 1990s through a
number of national policy initiatives brokered by the Commonwealth government.
An exploration of policy processes through interview data reveals the multi-layered
nature of policy-making in this period, involving key individuals, intergovernmental
and national forums. In particular, it highlights the importance of a strong, reformist
Commonwealth Minister (John Dawkins), a number of 'policy brokers' within and
outside government and national collaboration in constructing and maintaining the
Commonwealth's 'quality agenda' for schools. While several Australian education
ii
policy analysts have described policy-making in this period in terms of 'corporate
federalism' (Lingard, 1991, 1998; Bartlett, Knight and Lingard, 1991; Lingard,
O'Brien and Knight, 1993), a different perspective emerges from this study on policymaking
at the national level. Despite unprecedented levels of national collaboration on
matters related to schooling in this period, this research reveals an apparent
ambivalence on the part of some elite policy makers towards the Commonwealth's
policy agenda and its approach to schools' policy-making within the federal arena.
Policy coherence emerged as a relevant issue in this study through analysis of
interview data and a review of related Australian and international policy literature.
Overall, informants perceived the Commonwealth's quality agenda to be relatively
coherent in terms of policy intentions, but much less coherent in terms of policy
implementation. Perceptions of Commonwealth domination, state parochialism,
rivalry, delaying tactics and a general lack of trust and cooperation between policy
players and stakeholders were cited as major obstacles to 'coherent' policy-making.
An analysis of informants' views on policy-making in this period highlights features of
coherent policy-making which have theoretical and practical significance in the
Australian context.
This research also demonstrates the benefits of going beyond the study of written
policy texts to a richer analysis of recent policy history based on elite interviewing.
The wide range of views offered by elite policy makers and stakeholders in this study
both confirms and challenges established views about policy-making in the period
1987-1996. Elite interviewing lent itself to a grounded theory approach to data
collection and analysis (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1998). This
approach was significant in that it allowed relevant issues to emerge in the process of
research, rather than relying on 'up front' theoretical frameworks for the analysis of
data.
33
Armstrong, Gillian Claire. "Administrative justice and tribunals in South Africa : a commonwealth comparison." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/17997.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (LLM )--Stellenbosch University, 2011.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the field of administrative law, the judiciary has traditionally exercised control over the administrative actions of the executive through judicial review. However, judicial review is neither the most effective nor the most efficient primary control mechanism for systemic administrative improvement. In a country faced with a task of =transformative constitutionalism‘, and hindered with scarce resources, there is good cause to limit judicial intervention as the first response to administrative disputes. The major theme of this thesis is to investigate the feasibility of administrative tribunal reform in South Africa, using two other commonwealth countries, Australia and England, as a basis for comparison. Australia and England have been chosen for comparison because they share similar administrative law traditions and they can provide working models of coherent tribunal structures. The Australian tribunal system is well-established and consists of tribunals which fall under the control of the executive, while tribunals in England have recently undergone a significant transformation, and are now part of the independent judiciary. The South African government currently spends, indeed wastes, a significant amount of money on administrative law litigation. Due to the limitations of judicial review, even after the high costs of litigation and the long duration of court proceedings, the results achieved may still be unsatisfactory. Furthermore, judicial review is unsuited to giving effect to systemic administrative change and the improvement of initial decision-making. Australia and England have begun to move away from the traditional court model for the resolution of administrative disputes. Both have indicated a preference for the important role of tribunals in the administration of disputes. Tribunals have been shown to offer the advantage of being speedier, cheaper, more efficient, more participatory and more accessible than traditional courts, which contributes to tribunals being a more available resource for lay people or people without sophisticated legal knowledge, and provides wider access to remedies than courts. The English and Australian models indicate a few important trends which need to be applied universally to ensure a sustained tribunal reform and a system which provides a higher level of administrative redress than the over-burdened and institutionally inept courts currently do. These include co-operation among government departments and tribunals; open and accountable systemic change; the need for supervision and evaluation of the whole of administrative law by an independent and competent body; and ultimately a focus on the needs of users of state services. At the same time, there are arguments against administrative tribunal reform. These include the costs of reform; the ways to establish tribunals; and the level of independence shown by the tribunals. These arguments are especially relevant in the South African context, where the government faces huge social problems and a scarcity of resources. However, after an analysis of the valuable characteristics of tribunals and the role that they serve in the day to day administration of justice, it is difficult to see how these objections to tribunals can outweigh their potential importance in the administrative justice system. The need for sustained systematic reform in South Africa is one that cannot be ignored. Tribunals offer a valuable alternative to judicial review for the resolution of administrative disputes. Furthermore, the tribunal systems of Australia and England demonstrate how the effective creation and continued use of comprehensive tribunal structures contributes firstly to cost reduction and secondly to ease the administrative burden on courts who are not suited to cure large-scale administrative error.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die administratiefreg oefen die regsprekende gesag tradisioneel beheer uit oor die uitvoerende gesag deur middel van geregtelike hersiening. Geregtelike hersiening is egter nie die mees doeltreffende of effektiewe primêre beheermeganisme om sistemiese administratiewe verbetering teweeg te bring nie. In 'n land met die uitdagings van 'transformatiewe konstitusionalisme‘ en skaars hulpbronne, kan 'n goeie argument gevoer word dat geregtelike inmenging as die eerste antwoord op administratiewe dispute beperk moet word. Die deurlopende tema van hierdie tesis is 'n ondersoek na die lewensvatbaarheid van hervorming van administratiewe tribunale in Suid-Afrika, in vergelyking met die posisie in Australië en Engeland, waarvan beide ook, tesame met Suid-Afrika, deel vorm van die Statebond. Hierdie lande is gekies vir regsvergelykende studie aangesien hulle 'n administratiefregtelike tradisie met Suid-Afrika deel en beide werkende modelle van duidelike tribunale strukture daarstel. Die Australiese tribunale stelsel is goed gevestig en bestaan uit tribunale onder die beheer van die uitvoerende gesag, terwyl die tribunale stelsel in Engeland onlangs 'n beduidende hervorming ondergaan het en nou deel van die onafhanklike regsprekende gesag is. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering mors aansienlike hoeveelhede geld op administratiefregtelike litigasie. Selfs na hoë koste en lang vertragings van litigasie mag die resultate steeds onbevredigend wees as gevolg van die beperkings inherent aan geregtelike hersiening. Tesame met hierdie oorwegings is geregtelike hersiening ook nie gerig op sistemiese administratiewe verandering en verbetering van aanvanklike besluitneming nie. Australië en Engeland het onlangs begin wegbeweeg van die tradisionele hof-gebaseerde model vir die oplossing van administratiewe dispute. Beide toon 'n voorkeur vir die belangrike rol wat tribunale in die administrasie van dispute kan speel Tribunale bied die bewese voordele om vinniger, goedkoper, meer doeltreffend, meer deelnemend en meer toeganklik te wees as tradisionele howe, sodat tribunale 'n meer beskikbare hulpbron is vir leke, oftewel, persone sonder gesofistikeerde regskennis en dus beter toegang tot remedies as tradisionele howe verskaf. Die Engelse en Australiese modelle dui op enkele belangrike tendense wat universeel toegepas moet word om volgehoue tribunale hervorming te verseker en om =n stelsel te skep wat 'n hoër vlak van administratiewe geregtigheid daarstel as wat oorlaaide en institusioneel onbekwame howe kan. Dit verwys bepaald na samewerking tussen staatsdepartemente en tibunale; deursigtige en verantwoordbare sistemiese veranderinge; die behoefte aan toesighouding en evaluasie van die hele administratiefreg deur 'n onafhanklike, bevoegde liggaam; en uiteindelik 'n fokus op die behoeftes van die gebruikers van staatsdienste. Daar is egter terselfdertyd ook argumente teen administratiewe tribunale hervorming. Hierdie argumente sluit in die koste van hervorming; die wyses waarop tribunale gevestig word; en die vlak van onafhanklikheid voorgehou deur tribunale. Hierdie argumente is veral relevant in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks waar die regering voor groot sosiale probleme te staan kom en daarby ingesluit, 'n tekort aan hulpbronne ook moet hanteer. Daarenteen is dit moeilik om in te sien hoe enige teenkanting en teenargumente met betrekking tot die vestiging van administratiewe tribunale swaarder kan weeg as die potensiële belang van sulke tribunale in die administratiewe geregtigheidstelsel, veral nadat 'n analise van die waardevolle karaktereienskappe van tribunale en die rol wat hulle speel in die dag-tot-dag administrasie van geregtigheid onderneem is. Die behoefte aan volhoubare sistemiese hervorming in Suid-Afrika kan nie geïgnoreer word nie. Tribunale bied 'n waardevolle alternatief tot geregtelike hersiening met die oog op die oplossing van administratiewe dispute. Tesame hiermee demonstreer die tribunale stelsels in Australië en Engeland hoe die doeltreffende vestiging en deurlopende gebruik van omvattende tribunale bydra, eerstens om kostes verbonde aan die oplossing van administratiewe dispute te verlaag en tweedens, om die administratiewe las op die howe, wat nie aangelê is daarvoor om grootskaalse administratiewe foute reg te stel nie, te verlig.
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Stevens, Jonathan. "The deserving poor : aspects of the old age pension movement in South Australia and the Commonwealth /." Title page, contents and preface only, 1993. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09ars8443.pdf.
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Laver, John Poynton, and n/a. "The Public Works Committee : an anlysis and evaluation of the Australian Commonwealth's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works." University of Canberra. Management, 1990. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060816.155712.
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This dissertation analyses the origin, purposes, nature, operation
and achievements of the Commonwealth's Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Public Works (Public Works Committee - PWC),
and assesses its utility to parliament. The PWC originated in
1913 as a permanent committee of parliamentarians established to
examine government proposals for public works, and report on
them to parliament. Its purpose is to provide detailed data on
works proposals in order to allow informed voting. In the process
parliament also achieves a degree of control over government
- ministers and public servants. Unlike most parliamentary
audit of government expenditure, the PWC scrutinises proposals
before works are built. It is a joint, statutory, scrutiny
committee.
The proper role for parliamentary committees in general is the
checking of government, through influence, criticism, scrutiny,
and publicity. The PWC is assessed against this role through an
analysis of its legislation and operation, and interviews with
involved parliamentarians and bureaucrats. Criteria used include
adequacy of evidence obtained, precision and clarity of
reports, and degree of influence on government and acceptance of
recommendations. In these terms the PWC has little effect in
controlling policy making by the executive government - cabinet
and ministers. Moreover, specific amendment of its act together
with the consequential effects of nominally unrelated
legislation, have reduced the scope of Committee activities to
an estimated less than half of all Commonwealth public works.
This trend is continuing under current policies of corporatising
departmental activities and excluding the resulting statutory
corporations from PWC examination. These moves prevent parliament
playing its proper role in the governance of the country.
However, within the ambit of its powers, the PWC generally rates
highly against the above criteria, and exerts a significant
degree of parliamentary control over government administration -
the public service - in the implementation of public works.
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Dunbar, Cameron A. "Walking a Fine Line: Britain, the Commonwealth, and European Integration, 1945-1955." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1505144142763366.
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Monro, Dugald. "The results of federalism an examination of housing and disability services /." Connect to full text, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/493.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2002.Title from title screen (viewed 15 April 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Discipline of Government and International Relations, School of Economics and Politics, Faculty of Economics and Business. Degree awarded 2002; thesis submitted 2001. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.
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Carter, Carolyne History Australian Defence Force Academy UNSW. "Bewtween war and peace : the experience of occupation for members of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, 1945-1952." Awarded by:University of New South Wales - Australian Defence Force Academy. School of History, 2002. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/38647.
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This thesis explores the British Commonwealth experience of occupation in Japan from 1945-1952. It draws on official and private records from the four participating British Commonwealth countries ??? Australia, Britain, India and New Zealand- to examine the complex relationship that developed between the occupying troops and the occupied Japanese population in the period between the cessation of hostilities and the formal ratification of a Peace Treaty. The thesis begins with an analysis of the preconceptions British Commonwealth troops brought with them to Japan, to establish the context for their cross-cultural encounter with Japan and the Japanese people. An understanding of the historical background enables the impressions formed by BCOF troops during the occupation to be presented not as random observations, but as part of a tradition of contact and cultural critique. The British Commonwealth experience in Japan was shaped by a number of external factors. Delays in moving to Japan weakened media and public interest in the force, eroded morale and precipitated a ???foreign force??? mentality. Once in Japan, the dominant US presence, the subordinate status of BCOF and the shortcomings of the isolated, rural area allocated to the force were a source of disappointment and frustration. But the difficulties attending British Commonwealth involvement in the occupation should not obscure the simultaneous development of a significant cultural encounter. The circumstances of the occupation created a particular dynamic between BCOF troops and Japanese civilians. The responsibilities and obligations that SCAP conferred on the British Commonwealth force invested BCOF personnel with authority over the Japanese. The disparity in power was reinforced by participation in occupation tasks that confirmed their status as occupiers. The occupation relationship was heavily influenced by the nature of personal interactions established between BCOF personnel and the Japanese people. Service in Japan provided opportunities for troops to reassess their views of the Japanese in the light of personal experience. For some, the cultural differences they observed only reinforced their sense of the ???otherness??? of the Japanese. For many others, the occupation provided a bridge between war and peace, as contact with Japanese people eased the intense hatreds generated during the war. For most British Commonwealth personnel, service with BCOF impacted in some way on the beliefs they held about Japan and the Japanese.
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"Mythic reconstruction a study of Australian Aboriginal and South African literatures /." Click here for electronic access to document: http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20070928.143608, 2006. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20070928.143608.
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Jenkins, Stephen (Stephen William). "Australia's Commonwealth Self-determination Policy 1972-1998 : the imagined nation and the continuing control of indigenous existence." 2002. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phj522.pdf.
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"September 2002." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 336-366) Argues that the Australian nation is the primary obstacle to the granting of self-determination to indigenous people because it is imagined and constituted as a monocultural entity, one that resists any divisions within the national space on the basis of culture or 'race'.
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Young, Owen Australian Graduate School of Management Australian School of Business UNSW. "The internationalisation of financial services firms." 2007. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/40634.
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Most financial institutions have not been successful at internationalisation, with some being remarkably unsuccessful. There are fewer occurrences of cross-border mergers and acquisitions than in most other industries. Foreign financial institutions tend to underperform relative to domestic financial institutions. Rugman and others have argued that their internationalisation primarily occurs at the regional rather than global level. Existing theories identify some barriers to firms? internationalisation, but these theories, were developed for manufacturing firms, and were rarely applied to financial services firms. This research seeks to identify barriers to financial institutions' internationalisation and contribute to the under-researched area of services internationalisation. To better understand the barriers to internationalisation, qualitative research techniques were used for an in-depth case-study analysis of one firm and its attempts at internationalisation, followed by detailed interviews of internationally experienced financial institutions executives from other firms. Finally, the apparent preference for regional over global expansion was investigated, through a quantitative analysis of over 12,000 cross-border, financial-services merger and acquisition transactions from 1990 to mid-2005. The research identified thirty-eight barriers to internationalisation, consistent with Rugman's findings on regional expansion, but also with the effects of similarity variables such as language, culture and legal system. The quantitative analysis tested these effects and found that the region effect was high, and was stronger than language and cultural effects individually, but about the same as their combined effect. The legal system similarity is not statistically significant when all effects are combined. This research contributes to this under-researched field. Given that internationalisation supports economic growth in the host and home countries, an improved understanding of these barriers may assist policy makers and enable managers to make better international investment decisions. The findings on the effect of geography versus other factors, such as language and culture, may inform managers' choice of target countries.
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Konířová, Kristýna. "Analýza vlivu stárnutí populace na výdaje v oblasti zdravotnictví ve vybraných zemích Commonwealthu." Master's thesis, 2014. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-332111.
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Analysis of the impact of ageing on health care spending in selected countries of the Commonwealth Abstract This thesis examines and analyses development of population ageing in Australia, Canada and New Zealand and especially its impact on the spending in the sector of health care. It includes comparison of demographic trends and description of health care systems in selected countries. The analysis is then processed by an econometric model focused on the impact of population ageing on government spending and spending of the private sector on health care through life expectancy at birth, ratio of population aged 65 years and above and other indicators. The modelling is carried out using linear regression, vector autoregression and fixed effects model in panel data. The results show that population ageing indeed affects through different intensity both government and private sector spending on health care in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
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Vaněčková, Anna. "Posuzování vlivu na životní prostředí - komparace české a australské právní úpravy." Master's thesis, 2016. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-351232.
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This research paper summarizes legal regulation regarding Environmental Impact Assessment in the Czech Republic and Commonwealth of Australia. Both these countries recently enacted amendments to the current regulation or taken steps to implement changes of this process in order to make it more efficient in term of costs of the proceedings and also in terms of more quality protection of the environment. The author consequently compares and contracts these legal regulations and analyses how they fulfill the worldwide respected principles for EIA Best Practice. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)