Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Police – Australia'

Australian Police Ministers and Commissioners occupy a pivotal position in the system of law enforcement. Collectively, they are responsible for the general policy, administration and operational direction and control of policing through the Australian States. There has been in the past twenty five years a growing complexity and a variety of problems facing police agencies which are arduous and demanding. Continuing social tension of recent years have given police ministers and commissioners higher public profiles than ever before. The research undertaken in this thesis examines the difficulties experienced between police ministers and commissioners in Queensland and New South Wales from 1970 to 1995. Three models have been developed as a framework to analyse the relationships and how they operate. The three models are called - 'Dependency', 'Independency' and 'Interdependency'. Twenty-one police ministers, commissioners and advisers from Queensland and New South Wales were interviewed during the course of the research. Five separate case studies were developed to analyse and interpret the relationships within the context of the three models. A summary chapter of additional research data provides supporting information which was used to substantiate the case study material. The conclusion argues that relationships operate more effectively when elements of the 'Interdependency' model exist. The need for further debate about the administrative, legal and management elements of the working relationship between a police minister and commissioner is essential to achieve a balance between policy, administration and operational requirements within a modern western democratic policing system.

This thesis examined police and Indigenous relations in rural and remote contexts in Australia which historically and in contemporary times have often been contentious. Using a grounded theory approach, the police participants of this qualitative research provided insight as to how social factors such as ecological, organizational and occupational culture influenced their responses in discrete Indigenous communities. The findings revealed that ecological factors such as community dynamics and Indigenous culture heavily influenced police in how they responded to situations, more so than the influence of organizational and occupational culture. It found that ecological factors played a large role in shaping policing responses in discrete Indigenous communities.

Utilising a qualitative, grounded theory methodology, this research investigated police engagement with the African communities, especially youth in Western Australia. Voices of African youth, police officers and African leaders’ perspectives and experiences were captured through in-depth interviews and focus groups in relation to the nature of their relationship. Factors contributing to the relationship and considerations for effective engagement between the multiple parties were explored. Overall, the study found that the relationship between African youth and police in Western Australia was tense and filled with mistrust. There was a gap between standard policing and the community policing models when addressing non-law-abiding African youth, particularly around the Perth commercial business district (CBD). Community policing was found to effectively engage African community leaders and their associations but unable to address ongoing tension between patrol officers and African youth in entertainment precincts around Perth CBD. African leaders were concerned with the harsh treatment of African youth by police and disappointed with non-law-abiding youths’ refusal to attend support events they organise for them. Youth accused police of being racist towards them. Many participants evidenced excessive monitoring and movement restrictions (through move-on notices), arrests and hefty charges in Perth CBD as being racially motivated. Police participants accused African youth of disorderly behaviour, including challenging police authority and involvement in violent crimes. Police, youth and African elders noted a lack of cultural sensitivity and training of patrol officers, as well as a lack of understanding of legal and policing matters by African youth. Considering community engagement models from both community development and community policing engagement perspectives, a community policing engagement model for culturally and linguistically (CaLD) communities has been proposed based on data obtained. Participation of African communities, especially youth, on policing matters, recruitment of African people into WA Police, cultural training of police officers and providing education to African communities on policing and legal matters are key to resolving tensions and building trust between the two parties. The continued tension and reported racism towards African youth in Perth CBD has brought into question WA police’s legitimacy, commitment to procedural justice and protection of basic human rights in terms of freedom of movement and inclusion of all citizens. While youth were interviewed from various Perth suburbs, there was a suggestion that the major concerns they had related more to the Perth CBD. By not prioritising non-law-abiding African youth and relying on African leaders to report community policing issues, police are not effectively addressing ongoing crime issues. Therefore, community policing needs to prioritise members of community who engage most with police, driven by core business needs and achieved by aligning standard policing and community policing priorities to work together in addressing African youth challenges.

Police high-speed vehicular pursuits are contentious due to lives lost and property damage resulting from unintended crashes. To reduce pursuit-related trauma, and potential litigation, police jurisdictions have introduced restrictive policies that limit when officers may engage in a pursuit. However, opponents of restrictive pursuit policies believe this results in reduced deterrence, increased criminal offending and dangerous driving practices. This thesis tested these assumptions using a single case study of Queensland, Australia, where the Queensland Police Service (QPS) implemented two restrictive pursuit policy iterations in 2007 and 2011. Five studies sought to establish the policies’ specific aims; whether they were achieved; if there was resistance to the policy reforms; and, if so, what were the rationales for such resistance. The major theoretical contribution of this thesis was to support the notion that Dent and Goldberg’s (1999a; 1999b) Loss Resistance Theory can help explain why police might resist policy reform. Loss Resistance Theory argues that change per se is not the root cause for resistance to performance altering policies, but stakeholders’ perceived losses in terms of their autonomy, status, and independent discretion, resulting from the policy change. Lipsky’s (2010) Discretionary Independence Theory applied to police officers acting as ‘street-level bureaucrats’ (Lipsky, 2010), provided an additional theoretical platform to test policy limitations on officers’ decision-making. Several other theories were derived from the literature and used to assist data collection and provide focus to the analysis. These included Classical Deterrence Theory, as derived from Hobbes (1651), Beccaria (1764/1872) and Bentham (1780/1988), that was tested relative to alterations in offending behaviour. Moore’s Public Value Theory (1995), that explains public acceptance of authority and coercion is judged against citizens’ expectations for justice, fairness, efficiency, and effectiveness, provided an opportunity to explore external policy acceptance and/or resistance. Cohen and Felson’s (1979) Routine Activity Theory proposes that for a crime to be successfully committed, the three necessary elements are a motivated offender, the availability of a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian. The theory was tested by analysis of crime patterns and offending behaviours where police guardianship may have been affected by the policy restrictions. The research began with study 1, a documentary archival search and analysis spanning the pre-policy years from 1989 to 2006, that sought to confirm the intent of Queensland’s restrictive pursuit policies. Applying a One Group Pretest/Posttest Design method, using official QPS data from 2003 to 2015, study 2 then explored changes in pursuit frequencies, and associated trauma, before and after each policy iteration. Study 3 used the same method to test changes in frequency and rate of selected offence categories. Study 4 analysed operational reports to identify policy noncompliance that may infer resistance. And, finally, study 5 analysed interview responses from fifteen operational police officers. Findings from study 1 reveal the primary intent of the policies was to reduce the number of deaths associated with police pursuits. Study 2 found that both restrictive policies reduced pursuit-related trauma, as intended. Crime classes tested in study 3 all showed reductions to varying degrees, except evasion offences, which increased exponentially. Early policy resistance was evident from the results of study 4 but diminished over time. The results of studies 4 & 5 found early resistance to the restrictive policies was predicated on officers’ fears of potential loss to their autonomy, independent decision-making capacity, and operational feasibility. This research established that restrictive police pursuit policies did not contribute to increases in the general road death toll due to any lack of road policing enforcement, as predicted in the literature. And, except for evasion offences, they did not facilitate increased crime where the use of a vehicle is either mandatory or desirable for the successful completion of the offence. With the passing of time, and the negation of pre-empted outcomes, resistance is now largely eliminated. However, police officers reportedly continue to resist applying the evasion offence policy requirements, while in their view prosecutors and magistrates fail to adhere to the relevant legislation. Future researchers may wish to test the findings in an alternative jurisdiction to establish if the results can be equally observed and replicated. However, the findings imply that police administrators contemplating policy reform should focus greater attention and resources on ongoing training investment before and after policy implementation. Their goal should be to ensure officers are thoroughly versed in the organization’s aims, so that policies may be fully embraced by operational and prosecutorial staff, while assuaging any perceived losses from the outset, particularly to officers’ status and authority.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Crim & Crim Justice
Arts, Education and Law
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"January 2002".
Thesis (DEd)--Macquarie University, Australian Centre for Educational Studies, School of Education, 2003.
Bibliography: p. 229-246.
Introduction: police education and police practice -- "Police": a definition -- Policing in a democratic society: the role dilemma -- Contemporary policing: a convergence of ideas -- Role conception: the United Kingdom -- Development of policing: Australia and the United States of America -- The nature of crime -- The police response: effectiveness and outcomes -- The perceptions and expectations of stakeholders -- The police culture -- The police organisation -- Police education and training: models of learning -- Police education and training: providers -- Police education and training: evaluation of 'training' models -- Police education and training: evaluation of 'professional models' -- Police education and training: evaluation of 'professional/academic' model -- Police education and training: evaluation of experience -- Conclusion.
A perception of escalating social disorder and allegations of police corruption and ineptitude have led to a social and political imperative to reform policing. Fundamental to this reform is the modification of the core mission of the police and the operational practices of the uniformed Constable. The core characteristics of policing and the operational practices of the uniformed Constable are determined by the core mission and the operational context of policing. -- Despite an imperative to reform the quality and provision of police services to the community the core mission of the police has not fundamentally altered during the last half century and remains crime control (Zaho, 1996). The core mission of contemporary policing has been criticised for being in direct conflict with basic democratic principles and for being simply unachievable. This thesis will establish that the origins and occurrence of crime, its prevalence and persistence is detennined by social, economic and cultural factors that are beyond the control of the police. It will be argued that long-term successful law-enforcement in a democratic society requires the acceptance, cooperation and approval of the community. Community oriented policing may provide the theoretical framework for internalising normative controls and for enhancing public participation in and sharing responsibility for crime control. -- It will be demonstrated that the strategc shift in policing implicit within the theoretical framework of community policing has significant implications for the reform of police . education and training. Several commentators and various Commissions of Inquiry have recommended upgrading police education and training, and the participation of police in tertiary education. -- The reform of police practice is contingent upon the reform of the core mission and the operational context of policing. The core mission and the operational context of policing is substantially defined, controlled and manipulated by the perceptions, expectations and actions of stakeholders. Directly or indirectly these have been found to be antithetical to alternative models of policing that are service orientated; thus blocking, diluting or redirecting efforts to implement community policing. -- Unless the core mission of the police and the operational context of policing are substantially modified then police education will continue to have a limited impact upon the operational practices of the uniformed Constable.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
xxi, 246 p

Diversified, essentially privatised, policing options are expanding daily in modern societies. They have become available to, and are being accessed by, individuals, community groups and governments on a regular basis. While this dissertation examines the phenomenon of private policing in Australia generally, its task, more specifically, is to document and review the laws that govern, shape and make accountable private policing operations and activities. Chapter 1 reviews the origins and manifestations of contemporary shifts to privatised models of policing. Chapter 2 examines models of relationships between public and private personnel, and the various methods of accountability that may serve to govern the activities of the latter. Chapters 3 to 8 explore and explain the applicable laws that inform, shape and govern private policing generally. What this examination reveals is that "private police" are empowered by a multitude of common law and legislative principles, along with a mosaic of diverse and semi-structured rules not necessarily designed for this specific purpose. One quickly finds that the laws that permit, facilitate, regulate and manage private manifestations of policing do not fall within easily discernible legal parameters. Finally, Chapter 9 provides a summary of the dissertation, together with some general thoughts concerning the effectiveness and appropriateness of the law as a vehicle for bringing about the desired goals, namely effective policing that provides appropriate outcomes for victims, suspects, private personnel, public police and the general public alike.

Bibliography: leaves 210-226. Based on 18 months ethnographic fieldwork about the ways in which members of the South Australian Police Band make music. Studies their disconnection from the body of the community, acheived via an embodiment of emotional disconnection; the power of the Department to appropriate a particular order of emotion for the purposes of power; and, the misrecognition of the appropriation of emotion by members of the public who are open to the Department's emotional domination. The context material describes the reasons for the existence of the police band in the police view, while the core material of the thesis is concerned with describing what it is that police band members do, and what they do most of all is, in their own words, experience something that they call "the feel".

The program of research presented in this thesis focuses on the construct of employee turnover. It is argued, despite the intense interest that employee turnover has attracted (Cotton & Tuttle, 1986; Griffeth, Hom & Gaertner, 2000), that turnover theory and research suffers from a number of notable shortcomings. These shortcomings primarily stem from the development and study of employee turnover models that attempt to make predictions for all individuals, at all times and across all places (Lee & Mowday, 1987). It is proposed that three shortcomings need to be addressed, specifically the need to develop employee turnover models that are organisationally specific, including predictors that are particularly relevant to the context under study and consideraton of the impact of career stage and gender on this process. Given the argument that employee turnover models need to be developed according to organisational context, a specific organisational population was identified for study in this research program. The current research program focused on a sample population of police officers employed in an Australian police organisation. This population was chosen due the paucity of research that has investigated turnover and turnover intention processes within the policing context and in light of the practical implications, specifically the significant financial cost, associated with police turnover. In addition to addressing the three key shortcomings of employee turnover theory and literature as identified above, the current program of research also addressed a number of limitations that are specifically relevant to police turnover research. This research represents an important contribution to the existing body of police specific turnover research due to the limited attention that the study of employee turnover within the policing context has attracted. Furthermore, the current research program studied large sample populations of Australian police officers given that previous police turnover research has been limited by the use of relatively small sample sizes and have focused primarily on the study of officers employed in United States police organisations. This research, in contrast to existing police turnover research, utilised statistical techniques that allowed multi-variable process models of turnover intention to be developed and tested. Lastly, this research clearly articulated the type of turnover being examined. This is particularly important given that many studies of police turnover have failed to specify the specific form of turnover that is under study. This research has contributed to current understanding of voluntary resignation and voluntary turnover intention processes. Three studies comprised the empirical component of the current program of research. The series of studies that were conducted were founded on a career development sequence. Each study contributed to the overarching aims of the research program, namely to examine turnover and turnover intention processes of male and female police officers at distinct phases of the employment relationship. Study One examined turnover at the earliest stage of the employment relationship, the recruitment phase. This study tested the hypothesis that personality is predictive of voluntary resignation of male and female police officers. Using logistic regression analysis, the results of this study indicated that male and female police officers (N = 560) who voluntary resign from the police organisation compared to those who remain, are more affected by feelings than emotionally stable, are more tender-minded than tough-minded and are more venturesome than shy. No evidence was found to suggest that differential predictive relationships exist between personality and turnover as a function of gender. Study Two examined the turnover intention processes of police recruits (Time One: N = 253; Time Two: N = 253; Time Three: N = 216) engaged in their first year of employment with the police organisation. Using multiple group structural equation modelling (multiple group SEM), it was concluded that socialisation stage and gender impacts on the relevance of predictors contained within turnover intention models and gender affects the strength of predictor relationships. Moreover, this study provided evidence to suggest that turnover intention process models should include variables that are particularly relevant to the organisational context being studied. This study found that two variables identified as particularly relevant to police organisations, namely person-organisation and person-job fit, play key roles in police specific turnover intention processes. Study Three examined the turnover intention processes of male and female police officers (N = 996) across the career span. Using multiple group SEM, it was concluded that career stage impacts on the relevance of turnover predictors and in some instances, career stage and gender impacts on the strength of predictor relationships. More specifically, it was concluded that a single model largely captures the process of turnover intention for officers in early and middle career stages while a slightly altered model is needed for officers in the late career stage group. Furthermore, this study suggested that organisationally relevant predictors of turnover intention, in this instance, police specific stress, organisational stress and health status, should be included in police specific process models of turnover intention. Based on the three studies conducted under the auspices of the current program of research a number of important conclusions were drawn. It was concluded that organisational context should be considered when developing and applying models of turnover and turnover intention to Australian police organisations. In particular, an analysis of the organisational environment should be undertaken in order to identify factors that may be specifically relevant to understanding turnover and turnover intention in the context under study. Moreover, understanding of employee turnover and turnover intention is enhanced through the development of models that are tailored to specific points within the career span. Lastly, it was concluded that separate models developed according to gender are not warranted however the differential strength of predictive relationships as a function of gender should be considered.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
School of Applied Psychology (Health)
Full Text

The occurrence of attrition is a major concern for any police organisation. Studies undertaken in this area have surveyed current and former officers in an attempt to identify the unique reasons behind police resignations. The majority of research, however, has been conducted using uniformed police officers, while limited studies have examined the attrition of police who specialise in a particular field. Therefore, this study filled the gap by investigating why detectives might be resigning from their positions. The primary focus of the study was to identify where areas of dissatisfaction may be more prominent, by measuring the attitudes of different detective ranks and posting areas towards five specific attrition factors. These factors were concerned with promotion, workload, resource availability, working conditions and job expectations. Data was collected from 223 current and former detectives from the Western Australia Police using a self-report questionnaire. The data did not reveal differences between detective ranks in their attitudes towards the lack of promotional position availability. Their negative attitudes did however indicate that this issue was causing discontent for all ranks. The issue of heavy workload was revealed to impact more negatively on higher ranked detectives. Differences in attitudes were also presented between the detective posting areas in their responses towards the lack of resource availability, and job expectations. In both cases, district detectives displayed more negative attitudes, which indicated that they were considerably more dissatisfied with these two factors. Lastly, the negative attitudes displayed towards the working conditions indicated that all posting areas felt their working conditions were unsatisfactory. Additional analysis of qualitative responses revealed that the lack of recognition, monetary rewards, and further training were also causing discontent. Of particular interest was the finding that current detectives held more negative attitudes than former detectives, suggesting that attrition in the Western Australia Police may continue as a result of the dissatisfaction being experienced from the above factors.

We are currently at a point in time in Australia where questions concerning how to govern police have never been more pressing or more fluid. Systemic corruption has been identified in several states; a range of new accountability mechanisms have been established internal and external to police and in Victoria police corruption has been linked with a violent 'gangland war'. This thesis locates these contemporary developments within a broader analysis of the historical circumstances shaping the changing techniques for governing state police. More specifically, this thesis engages in a detailed comparative study of the changing techniques of governing police in Queensland and Victoria. The theoretical tools to conduct this analysis are drawn from 'governmentality studies'. This refers to a broad grouping of theoretical scholarship concerned with the changing ideas - or 'political rationalities' - on how to govern some thing or some activity, and the underlying reasoning, justifications and ambitions contained within the practical tools or 'techniques' used to govern. Central to the thesis is an argument that a new politics of policing has emerged recently, one that extends the dyad of the old accountability - 'police powers' and 'external accountability' - to a pluralisation of accountability processes and structures. The thesis argues that governmentality studies offer new insights into ways of analysing the techniques for governing state police, increasingly shaped by the managerialisation of governing and embodying efforts to make police innovative, risk-taking problems-solvers. This is what I refer to as an open-ended normative project for re-making the entrepreneurial officer. However, a detailed examination of the development of governmental techniques for 'making up' the entrepreneurial officer indicates that such a governmental project is not implemented unproblematically. Nonetheless, the thesis concludes that the attempts to remake the entrepreneurial officer through the managerialisation of governing presents distinct possibilities for a new 'politics of policing' that fosters deliberative, reflective police practice within a new framework of police accountabilities.

We are currently at a point in time in Australia where questions concerning how to govern police have never been more pressing or more fluid. Systemic corruption has been identified in several states; a range of new accountability mechanisms have been established internal and external to police and in Victoria police corruption has been linked with a violent 'gangland war'. This thesis locates these contemporary developments within a broader analysis of the historical circumstances shaping the changing techniques for governing state police. More specifically, this thesis engages in a detailed comparative study of the changing techniques of governing police in Queensland and Victoria. The theoretical tools to conduct this analysis are drawn from 'governmentality studies'. This refers to a broad grouping of theoretical scholarship concerned with the changing ideas - or 'political rationalities' - on how to govern some thing or some activity, and the underlying reasoning, justifications and ambitions contained within the practical tools or 'techniques' used to govern. Central to the thesis is an argument that a new politics of policing has emerged recently, one that extends the dyad of the old accountability - 'police powers' and 'external accountability' - to a pluralisation of accountability processes and structures. The thesis argues that governmentality studies offer new insights into ways of analysing the techniques for governing state police, increasingly shaped by the managerialisation of governing and embodying efforts to make police innovative, risk-taking problems-solvers. This is what I refer to as an open-ended normative project for re-making the entrepreneurial officer. However, a detailed examination of the development of governmental techniques for 'making up' the entrepreneurial officer indicates that such a governmental project is not implemented unproblematically. Nonetheless, the thesis concludes that the attempts to remake the entrepreneurial officer through the managerialisation of governing presents distinct possibilities for a new 'politics of policing' that fosters deliberative, reflective police practice within a new framework of police accountabilities.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Arts, Media and Culture
Full Text

Internationally, there have been few studies examining the attitudes of people who have been raped towards police (Jordan, 2001a; Lievore, 2005; Temkin, 1997, 1999). Little research in Australia (particularly South Australia) has examined the experiences of victims/survivors of rape with police. Existing data do show that women who have been raped rarely report assaults to police. This has been attributed by researchers to a range of reasons, both personal and systemic, including the influence of stereotypes and myths about rape on victims’/survivors’ decision-making. Rape myths often reflect community attitudes, social norms and police responses. For example, victims/survivors may blame themselves and also expect police will blame or disbelieve them. Such expectations (or subsequent experiences) of negative police responses undermine victims’/survivors’ faith in police. However, this is not the whole story. In reality, police responses to rape are complex and inconsistent, influenced by both individual and organisational factors. I initiated this study to explore victims’/survivors’ expectations of, and experiences with, police in a transparent and accessible forum. Based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 11 women who had been raped in South Australia, my findings illustrated the diversity of South Australia Police responses to victims/survivors of rape and suggested that South Australia Police practices were similar to those of other Australian and English-speaking jurisdictions. Overall, interactions with South Australia Police ‘simultaneously provide grounds for hope and are disappointing (Lievore, 2005: 59; emphasis added). In many cases police responses were disappointing, through service provision that was partly or wholly negative. Specific individual and organisational factors were associated with satisfactory or unsatisfactory police practices. Poor service provision was evident in individual police officers’ apathy and dismissive or disbelieving responses, and through low prioritisation and limited resourcing of sexual violence at an organisation level. However, my findings indicated that there was also much to be hopeful about when considering South Australia Police responses to rape. The participants in my study often reported exemplary service from individual officers. At the reporting and investigation stages, good practices were based on ‘procedural justice’ rather than ‘outcome justice’: characterised by strong communication, empathy and professionalism at an individual level and consistency at an organisational level.

This thesis comprehensively examines the policing of economic crime by Australian private investigators. The findings identify that the services afford clients a level of discretion and autonomy not found within the justice system, which is now provided by investigators who are qualified and who utilise the skills of a corporate investigator, an accountant and a lawyer. The thesis considers the competing professions within economic crime and examines the regulatory issues and challenges these present. It makes an original and substantial contribution to the knowledge of private policing by identifying the changing environment in which private investigators operate in Australia.

Deaths in custody often attract considerable public interest. While the State’s duties in relation to deaths in custody are clear, the key obstacles faced in trying to prevent these deaths relate to the nature of Western Australia’s police investigation model and the coronial system. Despite the number of deaths in custody remaining relatively stable in recent years, there is a lot more that can be done to prevent deaths occurring. The initial police investigation into any death in custody must be independent, efficient and effective. This allows the police to obtain evidence relating to the death and provide it to the coroner, and if an offence has been committed, to the prosecutor. The Western Australian model of police investigation is not optimal because it relies on police to investigate all deaths in custody, even when the deceased was in police custody or died as a result of police operations. This poses a conflict of interest and must be addressed. The coroner has the unique ability to make recommendations to prevent deaths occurring. There are a number of issues associated with Western Australia’s coronial system which mean that the coroner’s ability to prevent deaths in custody is not being fulfilled. These issues include that there is no system in place to monitor whether coronial recommendations are implemented, and that the coroner relies on the initial police investigation, which is conducted using a flawed model. This paper will discuss several systemic issues associated with police investigations and the coronial system. These issues seriously inhibit the potential to prevent deaths in custody because systemic and non-systemic issues are potentially not being identified or addressed. To resolve these issues, the Western Australian police investigation model and coronial system must be reformed.

In 1996 the Police Service of Western Australia embarked on a major and ongoing period of change regarding all aspects of local policing. Part of this program involved the adoption of a number of practices that included an undertaking to pay increased attention to issues such as a customer focus, problem solving, a commitment to developing and motivating personnel, a localised delivery of policing services and improved management practices. This research was conducted for the purpose of uncovering the factors that create the unique environment of the Police Service of Western Australia and exploring how these might impact upon the manner in which officers conduct their daily duties. More specifically the purpose was to determine if there existed any aspects of organizational culture or structure that have an influence on the ability and/or willingness of officers to carry out their duties according to the processes and procedures of either the problem solving or the problem-oriented policing philosophy. The research methodology was guided by the grounded theory approach. Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with constables, sergeants, inspectors and superintendents as it was considered that these ranks best represented the views of the members of the organization in terms of numbers and those most affected by day-to-day events. The data analysis revealed the existence of 13 factors that all exhibit negative aspects and collectively create a Basic Social Problem that has been termed “Feeling Vulnerable”. Although all of these factors have been well known for many years, the current research integrates these in a new way in order to produce a model of the organization that demonstrates how they combine to create an environment that is counter-productive to the implementation of a problem-solving or problem-oriented approach to policing by members of The Police Service of Western Australia at many levels. The Basic Social Process disclosed by the current research has been termed “Controlling By Avoidance”. It is based on four tactics used by officers to control their working environment. The employment of one or more of these tactics by officers is designed to give the impression of engaging with issues while simultaneously exerting control over events in order to prevent the occurrence of outcomes that experience tells them are likely to have undesirable personal consequences. The intention is to create an environment where they hope to be safe from the consequences of problems that will inevitably occur at some time. As well as providing an explanation for the conduct of officers under the problem solving model the analysis also provides an insight into why the organization has apparently avoided coming to grips with the implementation of the full Goldstein model of problem-oriented policing. This appears to be due to concerns on the part of senior management about the likelihood of a loss of control over subordinate ranks and the personal problems that this would generate for them. Recommendations are made about the need to adopt the Goldstein model and the steps required to successfully implement this approach are listed.

In 1996 the Police Service of Western Australia embarked on a major and ongoing period of change regarding all aspects of local policing. Part of this program involved the adoption of a number of practices that included an undertaking to pay increased attention to issues such as a customer focus, problem solving, a commitment to developing and motivating personnel, a localised delivery of policing services and improved management practices. This research was conducted for the purpose of uncovering the factors that create the unique environment of the Police Service of Western Australia and exploring how these might impact upon the manner in which officers conduct their daily duties. More specifically the purpose was to determine if there existed any aspects of organizational culture or structure that have an influence on the ability and/or willingness of officers to carry out their duties according to the processes and procedures of either the problem solving or the problem-oriented policing philosophy. The research methodology was guided by the grounded theory approach. Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with constables, sergeants, inspectors and superintendents as it was considered that these ranks best represented the views of the members of the organization in terms of numbers and those most affected by day-to-day events. The data analysis revealed the existence of 13 factors that all exhibit negative aspects and collectively create a Basic Social Problem that has been termed 'Feeling Vulnerable'. Although all of these factors have been well known for many years, the current research integrates these in a new way in order to produce a model of the organization that demonstrates how they combine to create an environment that is counter-productive to the implementation of a problem-solving or problem-oriented approach to policing by members of The Police Service of Western Australia at many levels. The Basic Social Process disclosed by the current research has been termed 'Controlling By Avoidance'. It is based on four tactics used by officers to control their working environment. The employment of one or more of these tactics by officers is designed to give the impression of engaging with issues while simultaneously exerting control over events in order to prevent the occurrence of outcomes that experience tells them are likely to have undesirable personal consequences. The intention is to create an environment where they hope to be safe from the consequences of problems that will inevitably occur at some time. As well as providing an explanation for the conduct of officers under the problem solving model the analysis also provides an insight into why the organization has apparently avoided coming to grips with the implementation of the full Goldstein model of problem-oriented policing. This appears to be due to concerns on the part of senior management about the likelihood of a loss of control over subordinate ranks and the personal problems that this would generate for them. Recommendations are made about the need to adopt the Goldstein model and the steps required to successfully implement this approach are listed.

In 1996 the Police Service of Western Australia embarked on a major and ongoing period of change regarding all aspects of local policing. Part of this program involved the adoption of a number of practices that included an undertaking to pay increased attention to issues such as a customer focus, problem solving, a commitment to developing and motivating personnel, a localised delivery of policing services and improved management practices. This research was conducted for the purpose of uncovering the factors that create the unique environment of the Police Service of Western Australia and exploring how these might impact upon the manner in which officers conduct their daily duties. More specifically the purpose was to determine if there existed any aspects of organizational culture or structure that have an influence on the ability and/or willingness of officers to carry out their duties according to the processes and procedures of either the problem solving or the problem-oriented policing philosophy. The research methodology was guided by the grounded theory approach. Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with constables, sergeants, inspectors and superintendents as it was considered that these ranks best represented the views of the members of the organization in terms of numbers and those most affected by day-to-day events. The data analysis revealed the existence of 13 factors that all exhibit negative aspects and collectively create a Basic Social Problem that has been termed 'Feeling Vulnerable'. Although all of these factors have been well known for many years, the current research integrates these in a new way in order to produce a model of the organization that demonstrates how they combine to create an environment that is counter-productive to the implementation of a problem-solving or problem-oriented approach to policing by members of The Police Service of Western Australia at many levels. The Basic Social Process disclosed by the current research has been termed 'Controlling By Avoidance'. It is based on four tactics used by officers to control their working environment. The employment of one or more of these tactics by officers is designed to give the impression of engaging with issues while simultaneously exerting control over events in order to prevent the occurrence of outcomes that experience tells them are likely to have undesirable personal consequences. The intention is to create an environment where they hope to be safe from the consequences of problems that will inevitably occur at some time. As well as providing an explanation for the conduct of officers under the problem solving model the analysis also provides an insight into why the organization has apparently avoided coming to grips with the implementation of the full Goldstein model of problem-oriented policing. This appears to be due to concerns on the part of senior management about the likelihood of a loss of control over subordinate ranks and the personal problems that this would generate for them. Recommendations are made about the need to adopt the Goldstein model and the steps required to successfully implement this approach are listed.

Cannabis is currently the most frequently used illicit drug in Australia. Research has revealed a range of health, economic, criminal and social consequences associated with the drug. The widespread use of cannabis and the consequences associated with its use has ignited strong political and social debate as to what response should be taken to minimise the harmful effects of the drug. In order to reduce the harms associated with cannabis, and in line with the national harm minimisation framework, the Western Australia (WA) Cannabis Infringement Notice (CIN) scheme commenced in 2004. The introduction of the CIN scheme as part of the Cannabis Control Act 2003 (WA) aimed to divert minor, first-time cannabis offenders into cannabis education sessions. As police are gatekeepers to the criminal justice system they play an important role in the diversion of cannabis offenders away from the justice system. As such, police officers’ experience with the CIN scheme is a valuable source of information to guide well informed cannabis related policy and legislation. Despite the significance of research related to police officers’ experiences with cannabis policy and legislation, a review of the literature reveals that the existing body of research has neglected regional police officers’ understanding of and experience with cannabis legislation. As a result, this qualitative research seeks to explore regional police officers’ perceptions towards, and experience with, the WA CIN scheme. Developing an understanding of the CIN scheme from the perspective and experience of police officers is essential if we are to begin developing and implementing more effective cannabis policies. This research is focused on Mid West–Gascoyne District police officers’ experience with the CIN scheme. A phenomenological approach has been adopted so the focus remains on police officers’ lived experience. Data was collected through semistructured interviews with ten operational police officers. Analysis reveals that police officers’ experience with the CIN scheme centres around three key themes: their knowledge of the scheme, the surrounding circumstances they are faced with when implementing the scheme, and their perceptions of cannabis as a drug and of cannabis users.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant relationship between secondary employment by Western Australia police officers and organisational commitment. The study also examined whether there was a relationship between secondary employment of Western Australia police officers and, gender, work location, employment hours, rank and tenure. Finally, the study sought to understand why Western Australia police officers undertook secondary employment. A mixed methods approach to research was undertaken with 5756 Western Australia police officers sent a survey adapted from Meyer and Allen’s Three-Component Model (TCM) Employee Commitment Survey (2004). This survey tool is based on earlier studies by Meyer and Allen (1991) which suggest commitment consists of three components which they referred to as, affective commitment (an individual’s desire to remain with the organisation), normative commitment (an individual’s level of obligation to remain with an organisation) and continuance commitment (an individual’s belief that they need to remain with the organisation). The qualitative stage of the study followed which involved content analysis of interviews with 20 Western Australia police officers who indicated they engaged in secondary employment within the last 12 months. The findings of this study reveal that whilst affective, normative and continuance commitment was greater for Western Australia police officers who did not engage in secondary employment compared to those who did, it was only continuance commitment where this relationship was found to be significant. In addition, the study found there was a significant relationship between secondary employment and gender specifically, male police officers were more likely to engage in secondary employment compared to female police officers. Finally, when the motives for Western Australia police officers to work a second job were examined, it was found that enjoyment of the job exceeded financial reasons as the primary motivating factor. The results of this study should allay the fears of those within law enforcement who believe secondary employment is detrimental to their organisations. These findings reveal secondary employment can instead benefit law enforcement agencies, both through improving the psychological health of their employees and through the introduction of new skills learnt in these secondary occupations.

The word 'marijuana' was introduced to Australia by the US Bureau of Narcotics via the Diggers newspaper, Smith's Weekly, in 1938. Marijuana was said to be 'a new drug that maddens victims' and it was sensationally described as an 'evil sex drug'. The resulting tabloid furore saw the plant cannabis sativa banned in Australia, even though cannabis had been a well-known and widely used drug in Australia for many decades. In 1964, a massive infestation of wild cannabis was found growing along a stretch of the Hunter River between Singleton and Maitland in New South Wales. The explosion in Australian marijuana use began there. It was fuelled after 1967 by US soldiers on rest and recreation leave from Vietnam. It was the Baby-Boomer young who were turning on. Pot smoking was overwhelmingly associated with the generation born in the decade after the Second World War. As the conflict over the Vietnam War raged in Australia, it provoked intense generational conflict between the Baby-Boomers and older generations. Just as in the US, pot was adopted by Australian Baby-Boomers as their symbol; and, as in the US, the attack on pot users served as code for an attack on the young, the Left, and the alternative. In 1976, the 'War on Drugs' began in earnest in Australia with paramilitary attacks on the hippie colonies at Cedar Bay in Queensland and Tuntable Falls in New South Wales. It was a time of increasing US style prohibition characterised by 'tough-on-drugs' right-wing rhetoric, police crackdowns, numerous murders, and a marijuana drought followed quickly by a heroin plague; in short by a massive worsening of 'the drug problem'. During this decade, organised crime moved into the pot scene and the price of pot skyrocketed, reaching $450 an ounce in 1988. Thanks to the Americanisation of drugs policy, the black market made 'a killing'. In Marijuana Australiana I argue that the 'War on Drugs' developed -- not for health reasons -- but for reasons of social control; as a domestic counter-revolution against the Whitlamite, Baby-Boomer generation by older Nixonite Drug War warriors like Queensland Premier, Bjelke-Petersen. It was a misuse of drugs policy which greatly worsened drug problems, bringing with it American-style organised crime. As the subtitle suggests, Marijuana Australiana relies significantly on 'alternative' sources, and I trawl the waters of popular culture, looking for songs, posters, comics and underground magazines to produce an 'underground' history of cannabis in Australia. This 'pop' approach is balanced with a hard-edged, quantitative analysis of the size of the marijuana market, the movement of price, and the seizure figures in the section called 'History By Numbers'. As Alfred McCoy notes, we need to understand drugs as commodities. It is only through a detailed understanding of the drug trade that the deeper secrets of this underground world can be revealed. In this section, I present an economic history of the cannabis market and formulate three laws of the market.

Under traditional International relations theory, diplomacy relates to relations between sovereign nations. There have been two broad schools of thought on the dynamics behind these relations: the ‘realist’ school, which tends to consider power and conflict as the major lens through which such should be viewed, and the ‘idealist’ school which tended to focus on cooperation rather than conflict. Between these two extreme views, a third school, the English School of International Relations, also known as the British Institutionalists, provides somewhat of a compromise view, acknowledging the merit of both realism and idealism, by accepting that power remains an important element but also advocating that acceptance of common norms and institutions plays a significant role in determining relations, or the International Society between states. In 1977 Hedley Bull offered the following definition of International Society when he stated that International Society … exists when a group of states, conscious of certain common interests and common values, form a society in the sense that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the working of common institutions. This thesis is not specifically related to International Relations theory, which deals with inter-state relations. Whilst inter-state conflict and international relations remain important drivers of foreign and military policy, there is a growing recognition that it is intra-state conflict avoidance and post-conflict reconstruction which increasingly mitigate the risk to the safety, security, peace and prosperity of nations and regions. Much of this disquiet has its roots in maladministration, poor governance and a lack of justice. These are areas in which traditional approaches to foreign intervention via trade, aid and military force have limited effect, and in which effective consent-based policing and justice can play a significant part in building sustainable and peaceful outcomes. This thesis discusses the role played by a non-traditional actor in the international arena, the police, specifically the Australian Federal Police (AFP), in addressing some of these intra-state justice and governance issues in a constantly changing, unstable and unpredictable global and regional environment. The thesis is intended to outline the diversity and versatility of AFP activities and to contextualise them in terms of non-traditional New Diplomacy. The aspects of diplomacy of most significance relate to diplomatic qualities or traits of the individual police officer, diplomatic behaviours of these members, and diplomatic outcomes of their activities. As such the thesis does not relate directly to International Relations theory or to International Society, as espoused by Hedley Bull. There are, however, some interesting intersections which are worthy of note. There are some critics of the English School who argue that it is Eurocentric. Today’s International Relations originated in the 19th century when a number of European nations formed a club of ‘civilised’ states bound by international law, which expanded around the globe to involve all nations. This concept has been used to explain the lack of imperative for a supra-state or world government to maintain orderly inter-state relations, as the force which binds them is consent to agree to common interest and values within a global rules-based order. In terms of policing on an international scale, global government is simply too unwieldy. There are a number of global, consent-based institutions such as the United Nations and INTERPOL, which fulfil this requirement to a certain extent. The AFP has had long involvement with both of these global institutions, as well as several regional policing institutions. In terms of conflict-oriented ‘realism’ and cooperative ‘idealism’, policing walks both sides of the street. As this thesis will discuss, the whole posture of liberal-democratic policing is conflict prevention, and the means by which such police carry out their daily duties is by cooperation. This is the context in which replication or expansion of International Society should be considered in relation to the activities of the AFP internationally and regionally. This thesis is by definition Eurocentric, or more specifically Anglo-centric, due to the historical fact that the AFP draws all of its principles from Australia’s British antecedents and adheres to a largely ‘western’ or European notion of human rights values. This thesis explores the role of the AFP as an international actor. The thesis asserts that effective international policing has never been more important in linking the international with the domestic. The way the AFP operates in a landscape where traditional policing paradigms are rapidly changing, due to ever-changing, political, diplomatic, and transnational issues, is examined in the context of the ‘globalisation paradox’, of both needing and fearing, global governance simultaneously, as raised by Anne-Marie Slaughter in her book, A New World Order. The way the organisation has evolved from its origins, based on Western liberal-democratic policing values, approaches and skills, to an organisation involved in international policing and diplomacy at the highest levels, while still retaining its liberal-democratic credentials is explained. It is argued that in the contemporary international and Australian context, the AFP is an effective and experienced agency. It is further argued that this is a distinctive form of new diplomacy, appropriate to an increasingly globalised world. The AFP has established an extensive international network in more than 30 countries, has been a consistent contributor to national security, has participated in numerous international deployments over half a century, and continues to play a meaningful role in Australian foreign policy efforts. The thesis provides evidence to show how AFP officers exhibit diplomatic qualities similar to those listed by Daryl Copeland in his book Guerrilla Diplomacy , as well as those mentioned by Christopher Meyer in his book Getting Our Way. In all of its international endeavours, AFP members have demonstrated, in varying degrees, the three enduring elements of diplomacy as outlined by Jonsson and Hall in their book The Essence of Diplomacy. They have communicated and negotiated in some very challenging circumstances and they are representatives of the Australian Government and its humanitarian values. The AFP, as part of broader efforts with institutions such as the UN, have not so much sought a replication of international society, as mentioned by Jonsson and Hall, but have provided a supplement to international society, by effective networking, thereby addressing in large part, Slaughter’s ‘globalisation paradox’. It is not so much universal police homogeneity which is sought by such endeavours, as a balance between it, and the heterogeneity which is inevitably associated with cultures transitioning from custom and tradition, to 21st century expectations of nationhood. The way the AFP’s transnational operations, activities, and deployments, not only serve perceived national interests, but result in more effective regional governance, is identified as ‘diplomacy by default’, because formal Track I diplomacy is not their primary objective. It will be demonstrated how international diplomacy, while generally conducted with perceived national interests as its primary goal, has a secondary benefit, good international citizenship, and that the AFP has a credible history of serving both. It is argued that the AFP is well positioned within government, law and intelligence and security circles, in the Australian and international contexts, through an extensive liaison officer network in South-East Asia, the South-West Pacific as well as more broadly. It will be demonstrated how the AFP has shown itself as capable and ready to respond effectively to extant and emerging challenges, and as such, has earned a place in foreign policy discussions and considerations at the highest diplomatic levels, including the UN. The AFP provides a distinctive and direct link between the global, the regional, and the domestic, which matches the rapidly globalised community it represents. The thesis confirms that international policing acts as a distinctive aspect of Australian ‘firm’ diplomacy, and supplements the more traditional elements of international engagement, between the ‘soft’ or traditional diplomacy, and the ‘hard’ form of military intervention. The evidence provided shows how it is by this form of whole-of-government activity, inclusive of policing, that stability and security are enhanced, and peace and prosperity are encouraged. Overall, the thesis affirms the AFP as a transnational agency, which is well placed to link the international with the domestic, the contextual with the aspirational, and the theoretical with the practical, in a period of strategic uncertainty in international affairs at the dawn of the Third Millennium.

Prior to 1994 I had little interest in the activities of the police. As a mass media consumer I was aware of the prominence of crime in the daily news agenda and I watched, read and listened to potted summaries of rape, mayhem and murder. Frequent too, were stories of police malpractice, incompetence and corruption. Police stories were also a significant part of television drama with programs like the long running British series The Bill, and a range of Australian productions: The Feds, Halifax f.p, Rafferty's Rules, Blue Heelers, State Coroner, and Water Rats. The police also featured at the cinema with crime genre movies Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone, USA), Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, New Zealand) and Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, USA) becoming box office hits. My interest in the portrayal of police change dramatically when on the 7th of October 1994, I was appointed Officer-in-Charge of the Media and Publications Branch of the Australian Federal Police (AFP). I was responsible for all aspects of the communication function including: media liaison, crisis management, media management, publications and internal communication. My branch dealt with media inquiries from local, national and international media across the gamut of issues facing the AFP. These ranged fiom industrial issues about budgets and overtime, allegations of corruption and incompetence, and operational matters as diverse as burglaries, alleged Nazi war criminals, peace-keeping operations and drug 'busts'. Needless to say my police stakeholders did not always see things the same way as my media colleagues. I was seeing at a practical day-to-day level the complex taxonomy of police/media relations outlined by Putnis (1996). Putnis noted the ubiquity of the police and the media as social institutions and observed that their daily operations involved a complex, dynamic, relationship constructed out of many thousands of interactions, across all levels of the organisations, in many different settings. My experiences in dealing with the media became the genesis of this study. My aim is to expand our understanding of the police/media relationship by exploring characteristic forms of print news-media reports about policing, the impact these reports have on police, and on law and order policy. The possibility of bias towards police in this study is acknowledged given I was a member of a police service fiom 1994 until 2002 and the research relies heavily on 'participant observer' techniques (Kay 1997; Potter1 996; Schofield 1993). Every effort has been made to maintain a critical perspective on the subject matters raised and it should be noted my association with police ended prior to the writing-up phase of the research. In addition to comments fiom my supervisory panel, ongoing discussions with media colleagues were another strategy adopted to ensure balance in the writing-up of this study. This is a unique study in that it offers an insider's perspective of police/media relations and at a time that represented a watershed for police. The early 90s was a period of straightened finances for public sector agencies and police, like other agencies, were under pressure fiom governments to demonstrate the efficient use of public monies (AFP 1995; Grieve 2000). Reform programs swept through policing with many, like the AFP, being organised along business lines (Palmer 1995; Etter 1995; Rohl 1999; WAPOL 1999). The 90s were also a watershed for criminal organisations with the emergence of transnational criminal syndicates, such as drug traffickers, that had the potential to impact on crime at a local level without even entering the country, let alone the jurisdiction, in which the crime took place (Bliss and Harfield 1998; Palmer 1995; McFarlane 1999). In order to combat these syndicates, police began to work in a more cooperative fashion and formed loose coalitions, often across countries, in a manner similar to the criminal syndicates they were trying to combat (Palmer 1995). The 90s also saw the continuation of committees of inquiry and royal commissions into police malpractice (Landa and Dillon 1995) and the inevitable bad press for police (Wood 1996; Munday 1995). The media and police have a symbiotic relationship and it is a critical one as most members of society have little direct contact with the criminal justice system. Information about crime, and the efforts of police to combat it, is obtained second hand through fictional accounts from such vehicles as television dramas, and from the news media. As aptly described by Hall et al. (1975), nearly thirty years ago, the media is the link between crime and the public. The police are therefore heavily reliant on the media to provide a balanced account of the panoply of issues surrounding the criminal justice system (Cowdery 2001). At its most fundamental, police require the support of the communities they serve in order to be effective, and the news media can have a major impact on perceptions about police performance (Reiner 1997; Surette 1992). As organisational entities, police need to compete with other bureaucracies for public hnding, and the media is an essential tool in generating positive publicity about successful operations and policies. The media is, therefore, critical to the maintenance of positive relationships with the two most important stakeholders in the policing function: the community and the government. McGregor (1993) provides a useful summary of the literature relating to print media coverage of policing issues: there are substantial discrepancies between official accounts of criminal activity and press reports of crime; the media tends to homogenise crime by concentrating on a limited range of crimes (mainly violent crime) and drawing facts from a limited range of sources (police/court reports); the media over-report serious crimes, especially murder and crimes with a sexual element; and, the press concentrates crime reportage on events rather than issues, so crime incidents and specific crimes form the bulk of crime news as opposed to analyses of the causes of crime or remedies, trends or issues. McQuail (1994, p.256) reminds us that assessing media performance on the basis of media content, measured against the extent to which content relates to reality, is open to question. He argues that there is no general answer to questions of meaning construction, but media research has pointed to several elements in a more general framework of social and personal meanings including clues as to what is more or less important, salient or relevant in many different contexts (1994, p. 379). An important research question concerns the impact of news media practices, particularly given the significant costs to the community flowing from the commission of crime, its investigation by police, and the processing of offenders through the criminal justice system. The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates the cost of crime in Australia is approximately $19 billion, while the cost of dealing with crime is another $13 billion (Mayhew 2003). The news media, articulated through radio talk-back hosts, are seen as having undue influence on how public funds on crime control are spent (ABC, The Media Report, 1 August 2002; Chan 1995; Cowdery 2001; Dixon 2002; Weatherbum 2002). These commentators have pointed to the serious public policy issues arising from the contribution made by the media towards what Weatherburn describes as an irrational public debate about law and order (2002, p. 12) and Hogg and Brown have coined 'the uncivil politics of law and order' (1998, p. 4). As Hogg and Brown (1998, p. 4) observe: crime is depicted as a problem of ever-increasing gravity set to overwhelm society unless urgent, typically punitive measures are taken to control and suppress it. The influence of the media on public policy has long been recognised. As Paletz and Entmann (l981, p. 6) observe: they influence the decisions and actions of politicians; they are open to manipulation by the powerful which insulates the powerful fiom accountability to the public; they reallocate power amongst the already powerful; they decreased to a marked extent the ability of ordinary citizens to judge events; they foment discontent among the public; and they preserve the legitimacy of the political, economic and social system. Ethnomethodological approaches (Ericson and Haggerty 1997) underpin the research in this study. The ethnomethodological approach was used because of its wider scope, employing as it does, observation, interviewing, and document-analysis techniques (Ericson et al. 1987, p. 77) and its ability to provide meaning and context to the phenomena under observation (Hall 1978; Willis l981). Ethnomethodological approaches are complemented by news framing analyses (Barkin and Gurevitch 1987; Blood, Putnis and Pirkis 2002; Capella and Jamieson 1996; Coleman 1995; Entman 1993; Kitzinger 2000; Keely 1999; Darling-Wolf 1997; London 1993; Pan and Kosicki 2001; Miller and Riechert 2001; Pirkis and Blood 2001; Reese, Gandy and Grant 2003; Scheufele 1999) to explore the news media frames employed in the genre of print crime reporting. What emerges from the study is evidence of a one-sided, highly negative, discourse about policing implemented through a range of media frames centred on conflict and broader xenophobic and egalitarian narratives. Despite the advantages police have as information gatekeepers, their attempts to manage the media environment have met with little success (Hughes 2004; Williams 2002) and the need for police to restrict access to police communications is being challenged (Crime and Misconduct Commission 2004, Inquiry into the effects of a Queensland Police Service decision to adopt digital technology for radio communications). There are exceptions, of course: the news media are not all bad. Routine reporting of crimes, where details of offenders are publicised, greatly assists the work of police as reflected in the case of 43-year-old Mr Colin George Dunstan which is discussed in Chapter Eight. Dunstan sent a series of explosive devices through the mail system in Canberra and police provided the media with photographs of the devices, Mr Dunstan (who was the main suspect), and his vehicle. The media coverage restricted Mr Dunstan's movements and led to his early arrest. Similarly, publication of the details of missing persons, warnings about lethal batches of drugs and crimes such as drink-spiking, enable police to reach a mass audience efficiently and quickly. And at a more abstract level, as noted by McQuail (1994, p. 34), modem communication vehicles can make a positive contribution to cohesion and community. The emergence of the 'yapping pack' form of journalism (Tiffen 1999, p. 207) has resulted in elements of the media exercising a worrying degree of influence over what should be a broader and better informed debate about criminal justice issues. An illustration of this process occurred toward the end of this study with the widely reported spectacle of the Premier of New South Wales presenting his replacement police minister before radio presenter Mr Alan Jones for his endorsement; the subsequent involvement of that minister in operational police matters (Williams 2002); and the departure of the state's police commissioner as a result of sustained media attack (ABC, The Media Report, 1 August 2002; Weatherburn 2002). These incidents say much about the influence of the news media in relation to police matters and makes this study a timely one. What follows is a literature review examining contemporary trends in policing and the media; a detailed analysis of two major case studies involving complex police operations; an analysis of a number of examples of print media reports about policing, to identify typical, or characteristic, media frames; the findings from nearly 50 interviews with senior people involved in the policelmedia interface; and an examination of changes in the milieu in which media reports about policing occur.

Police culture often valorises 'hard' drinking, and in NSW police label their heavy drinkers 'heroes'. It is queried if there is some relationship between occupational culture and drinking style.It is found that much of the current theorising about the origins and nature of problem drinking, such as psychological theorising about stress, is inadequate to explain and address the extraordinary level of high-risk drinking among police.This thesis explores alternative views such as critical and feminist perspectives on police culture, constructions of masculinity, and mechanisms of 'enabling', to discover whether these might prove more applicable and more productive. The research also explores the matter of whether a case can be made for taking alternative ideas and theories into account in designing intervention programmes for specific occupation contexts, and whether they raise any policy and practical implications for addressing problem drinking within the NSW Police Service.
Master of Science (Hons)

The word 'marijuana' was introduced to Australia by the US Bureau of Narcotics via the Diggers newspaper, Smith's Weekly, in 1938. Marijuana was said to be 'a new drug that maddens victims' and it was sensationally described as an 'evil sex drug'. The resulting tabloid furore saw the plant cannabis sativa banned in Australia, even though cannabis had been a well-known and widely used drug in Australia for many decades. In 1964, a massive infestation of wild cannabis was found growing along a stretch of the Hunter River between Singleton and Maitland in New South Wales. The explosion in Australian marijuana use began there. It was fuelled after 1967 by US soldiers on rest and recreation leave from Vietnam. It was the Baby-Boomer young who were turning on. Pot smoking was overwhelmingly associated with the generation born in the decade after the Second World War. As the conflict over the Vietnam War raged in Australia, it provoked intense generational conflict between the Baby-Boomers and older generations. Just as in the US, pot was adopted by Australian Baby-Boomers as their symbol; and, as in the US, the attack on pot users served as code for an attack on the young, the Left, and the alternative. In 1976, the 'War on Drugs' began in earnest in Australia with paramilitary attacks on the hippie colonies at Cedar Bay in Queensland and Tuntable Falls in New South Wales. It was a time of increasing US style prohibition characterised by 'tough-on-drugs' right-wing rhetoric, police crackdowns, numerous murders, and a marijuana drought followed quickly by a heroin plague; in short by a massive worsening of 'the drug problem'. During this decade, organised crime moved into the pot scene and the price of pot skyrocketed, reaching $450 an ounce in 1988. Thanks to the Americanisation of drugs policy, the black market made 'a killing'. In Marijuana Australiana I argue that the 'War on Drugs' developed -- not for health reasons -- but for reasons of social control; as a domestic counter-revolution against the Whitlamite, Baby-Boomer generation by older Nixonite Drug War warriors like Queensland Premier, Bjelke-Petersen. It was a misuse of drugs policy which greatly worsened drug problems, bringing with it American-style organised crime. As the subtitle suggests, Marijuana Australiana relies significantly on 'alternative' sources, and I trawl the waters of popular culture, looking for songs, posters, comics and underground magazines to produce an 'underground' history of cannabis in Australia. This 'pop' approach is balanced with a hard-edged, quantitative analysis of the size of the marijuana market, the movement of price, and the seizure figures in the section called 'History By Numbers'. As Alfred McCoy notes, we need to understand drugs as commodities. It is only through a detailed understanding of the drug trade that the deeper secrets of this underground world can be revealed. In this section, I present an economic history of the cannabis market and formulate three laws of the market.

The topic of training specifically designed for investigators of sexual offences has received little attention from academic researchers to date. Previous studies have not described training provided to police investigators of sexual offences in Australia. This thesis developed Turnley’s Framework for the Examination of Police Training in Sexual Assault Investigation, to examine and describe a Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigative Teams (SOCIT) Course, provided to Victorian Police from 2009 to 2011. This entailed triangulation of findings from non-participant observations of one SOCIT Course, with quantitative and qualitative data sourced though an in-depth interview with course trainers; feedback sheets voluntarily completed by trainees who undertook the course and responses from an online survey of 44 police who completed a course between 2009 and 2011. A description of the course design, resourcing, content, delivery, individual and organisational outcomes are presented as findings. Trainees reported the SOCIT course to be highly relevant for the work of specialist sexual assault investigators, with 80% of survey respondents self-reporting a change in their attitudes towards victims of sexual offences as a result of the SOCIT training. Despite these self-reports, findings from the survey indicate the maintenance of negative attitudes by some police in relation victims. The findings of this thesis concur and support findings of the Policing Just Outcomes Project with regard to the need for police to focus on, and refine the process of selection and recruitment, for this specialised area of police work.

Extant research on police use of force has established that force is not distributed evenly across communities. However, this body of research is limited compared to the attention afforded to the influence of individual and situational factors on police use of force. Further, findings on the influence of community characteristics have been inconsistent and the overwhelming majority of this research has been generated out of policing jurisdictions in the United States (U.S.), so the transferability of these findings to other jurisdictions, such as Australia, is unclear. There is also a dearth of rigorous translational research that can inform police agency responses that might reduce police use of force across communities. While community-oriented policing (COP) has been associated with reduced police use of force (theoretically and, recently, at the policy level), to date there is no empirical evidence to support the association. This thesis aims to address these critical evidence gaps: to explain variations in police use of force across communities by examining the influence of community characteristics and COP on police use of force in Australia. The thesis comprises four empirical studies to address the research aim. Study 1 aimed to determine the influence of community characteristics on the distribution of police use of force across communities, examining the most commonly applied theories and community characteristics used to explain community-level distribution of police use of force from the extant literature – minority threat theory, ecological contamination theory, social disorganisation and socio-economic disadvantage. This study utilised data from police use of force reports from a three-and-a-half-year period (comprising 18,322 police use of force events) in combination with recorded crime data and census data. Findings from a negative binomial regression analysis indicated support for ecological contamination theory (violent crime rates), social disorganisation and partial support for socio-economic disadvantage in predicting the frequency of serious police use of force events across communities, while minority threat theory was not supported. In contrast, results from a multilevel ordered logistic regression analysis suggested that individual and situational factors are more influential than community characteristics in predicting force severity. Study 2 examined the extent to which the distribution of citizen behaviours and risks across communities may be a driver for some of the variation in the frequency of police use of force across communities that were found in Study 1. This study drew on the same data sources as Study 1 and used Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to identify a typology of citizen behaviours in police use of force events, drawing on citizen behaviours and risks reported in police use of force reports. A five-class typology demonstrated best fit, comprising the following classes: ‘violent, unstable and drug or alcohol affected’; ‘apparent mental disorder and possessing a weapon’; ‘alcohol-related violence’; ‘suspicious and fleeing’; and ‘violent behaviour and threatening a weapon’. Additionally, these citizen presentation classes were associated with distinct offence types, contexts for use of force, and citizen characteristics. Multilevel logistic regression determined that the five citizen presentation classes were differentially distributed across communities, with three of the most prevalent classes showing the most significant associations with community characteristics. This indicates that the distribution of citizen behaviours and risk factors in police use of force events are also influenced at least to some extent by community factors. Study 3 examined whether a policing approach, specifically COP, may be able to impact on the frequency with which police and citizen encounters result in the use of force by police, focussing in particular on communities where the propensity for police use of force may be higher. This study drew on a sample of 64 socially challenged communities in an Australian policing jurisdiction. It examines the association between Officer-in-Charge (OIC) reports of formal and informal community consultation in a problem-solving context (elicited through an online survey), and the frequency of police use of force (drawn from police use of force reports). This study found that higher levels of COP were associated with lower rates of police use of force in high violent crime communities, but not low violent crime communities. The findings of this study support the contention that COP may reduce the use of coercive policing tactics. Study 4 further examined the impact of COP on police use of force, this time focussing on how higher levels of community engagement by officers may influence their attitudes towards coercive policing responses. Additionally, this study tested one pathway through which community engagement may influence police use of force: through the reduction of officer perceptions of social distance from the community. Study 4 drew on the same sub-sample of socially challenged communities in Australia as used in Study 3. Survey responses from 300 officers from 55 Divisions were used in the study, along with a number of other publicly available data sources. Regression analyses supported the contention that COP is associated with a reduced propensity for coercive policing at the officer level, and an increased propensity for non-coercive policing, aligning to the findings of Study 3. The findings also indicate that social distance mediates the relationship between officers’ community engagement and their endorsement of non-coercive policing responses but not coercive policing responses. Overall, the collective findings of this thesis suggest that community matters when it comes to police use of force in Australia. A number of characteristics of communities, such as violent crime, social disorganisation and socio-economic disadvantage, increase the frequency with which police use force. The influence of these community characteristics is likely to be driven by both tangible and intangible factors. In terms of tangible factors, these community conditions can drive concentrations of particular types of social problems, offending and disorderly behaviour, which may elicit more assertive or coercive policing responses. However, officers’ perception of social distance is an intangible factor that is also affected by community conditions and which is associated with the propensity to use non-coercive policing. COP approaches were found to be a policing approach that can reduce police use of force in high violent crime communities, at least in part by reducing officers’ experience of social distance from the community.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Crim & Crim Justice
Arts, Education and Law
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The objective of this research project was to gain an understanding of the inhibitors and facilitators to knowledge sharing within a policing environment. Although it did not begin with the intention of applying interverntions of any kind, in the course of the thesis it became clear that a form of action research was being employed. Initially, I presented my research proposal as a hermeneutic examination of the facilitators and inhibitors to knowledge sharing in the Western Australia Police. However, somewhere along my research journey I realised that rather than me simply collecting and analysing data from and about my colleagues, we had all become part of the process of changing, acting and reflecting. This is when my hermeneutic approach crossed paths with action research. Using this dual approach, my research explored knowledge sharing in the Western Australia Police within three separate but Integrated dimensions; historical, current and future.

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Implicit in the current dialogue on community policing in Australia and New Zealand, is the assumption that the people who comprise our policing organisations need to respond efficiently and competently to changing demographics, crime, terrorism, increasing community and government expectations. It is timely for Australian and New Zealand police jurisdictions to take a lead role in policy and practice of policing in a culturally, linguistically, politically and religiously diverse environment. In order to facilitate this, focus and organisational commitment must be given to developing leadership and recruitment and retention initiatives which enhance the internal diversity of our workforces.

This thesis examines the Japanese-Australian clash over the White Australia Policy during the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. It explores the questions as to why Japan strongly objected to the White Australia Policy and why Australia was uncompromising in its position of excluding Japanese immigrants by placing these issues in a broad historical and international context of the time, particularly the development of collective national identities in Japan and Australia. Japan and Australia developed their national identities almost simultaneously in the late 19th century. In the case of Japan, after embarking on a frenzied modernisation and Westernisation in order to achieve equality with the West, it attempted to establish an identity as a “civilised” nation. Australians, for their part, embraced “British race nationalism” as the core foundation of their nation and developed their identity as a white British nation. However, because of their unique historical circumstances—in Japan’s case, because of its status as the only non-white great power in a European-dominated international society, and in Australia’s, because of its peculiar geo-cultural situation of being a white colonial outpost in the Pacific surrounded by people with different race and culture—they were both insecure about the identities they created for themselves, feeling that their national identities were constantly challenged and threatened by external circumstances. This thesis suggests that both nations’ visions of, and anxieties around, national identity greatly influenced their responses to the issue of Japanese exclusion in Australia and argues that the Japanese-Australian clash over the White Australia Policy can be interpreted as a clash between a country which sought to reaffirm its civilised identity by achieving equality with the West even on immigration issues and a country which was determined to defend its identity as a culturally and racially homogeneous white British nation from the perceived threat posed by the rise of a non-white power in the region. In other words, this thesis analyses the Japanese-Australian confrontation over the White Australia Policy as a means of shedding light on how the Japanese and Australians perceived their identities in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. In so doing, it aims to contribute to the existing literature on Japanese immigration and the White Australia Policy and offer a more comprehensive analysis of the Japanese-Australian clash over the White Australia Policy.

This dissertation presents an evaluation of a funded consultancy that was intended to bring about change in the education and training of police in Australia in response to illicit drugs. Sponsored by what was at the time known as the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, the ultimate goal of the consultancy was a national framework for police education and training to enhance frontline police response to illicit drug problems. The research used a case study design. Guba and Stufflebeam’s (1970) Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) model was used to organise the presentation of a rich description of the design, development and implementation of the consultancy. Application of this framework enabled illumination of a number of issues related to social policy, change and innovation, and quality improvement processes. The study explores the role of education and training in organisational change and concludes that the potential of external consultancy activity to effect meaningful change in police education, training and practice is limited by a number of factors. Key findings of the study are that while a number of consultancy processes could have been enhanced, the primary determinants of the extent to which a change in police education and training will enhance frontline practice are contextual and conceptual factors. The study reveals that the response of frontline police to illicit drug use is influenced by multivariate factors. The findings of this study suggest that while frontline police are keen to provide solutions to a range of practice issues in response to illicit drug problems, they desire concrete strategies that are well defined and supported by management, consistent with policy and within the law. However, the complexity of police activity in response to illicit drugs; the dissonance between the conceptual frameworks of police and health agencies; and, resistance to what is perceived as externally initiated change in police practice, education and training; were found to be powerful inhibitors of an utopian attempt to enhance frontline police response to illicit drug problems. Using the metaphor of board games, the study concludes that the development of an education and training framework will be of little value in achieving enhanced frontline practice in response to illicit drug problems unless the criteria for enhanced response are made more explicit and seen to be congruent with both the conceptualisation and operationalisation of police roles and functions. Moreover, the study questions the mechanisms through which changes in policy are conceived, implemented and evaluated and highlights a need for greater congruence between evaluation frameworks and the nature of change.

This thesis is about the importance of nuclear weapons to Australian defence and strategic policy in Southeast Asia between 1953 and 1973. It argues that Australia's approach to nuclear issues during this period, and its attitude towards the development and acquisition of nuclear weapons in particular, was aimed exclusively at achieving narrowly defined political objectives. Australia was thus never interested in possessing nuclear weapons, and any moves seemingly taken along these lines were calculated to obtain political concessions - not as part of a 'bid' for their acquirement. This viewpoint sits at odds with the consensus position of several focused studies of Australian nuclear policy published in the past decade. Although in general these studies correctly argue that Australia maintained the 'nuclear weapons option' until the early 1970s, all have misrepresented the motivation for this by contending that the government viewed such weapons in exclusively military terms. The claim that Australia was interested only in the military aspect of nuclear weapons does not pay due attention to the fact that defence planning was based entirely on the provision of conventional forces to Southeast Asia. Accordingly, the military was interested first and foremost with issues arising from extant conventional planning concepts, and the government was chiefly concerned about obtaining allied assurances of support for established plans. The most pressing requirement for Australia therefore was gaining sway over allied countries. However, the Australian government was never in a position to overtly influence more powerful allies against an undertaking that could escalate into limited war, and was similarly incapable of inducing its allies to retain forces in the region in spite of competing pressures. It was for this reason that Australia would seek to manipulate the nuclear weapons option. Indeed, access to such weapons offered Australia the opportunity to achieve greater integration in formulating allied planning, while the threat to manufacture them provided a means of convincing regional partners to maintain a presence in the area. The thesis therefore concludes that Australia carefully presented its options for procuring nuclear weapons to gain influence over its allies in response to strategic developments in Southeast Asia.

[Truncated abstract] Conservative, incremental and modest approaches to redressing gendered workplace cultures have had limited success in challenging the demographic profile of densely masculinist workplaces. In this thesis I draw on a study of women in police work to argue that combating highly institutionalised, entrenched masculinist practices calls for more than modesty. Indeed the study shows that ambitious, even contentious, recommendations for new procedures can play an important role when the goal is tangible change in cultures where there is an excess of men. In conclusion I posit the need for some bold risk-taking, alongside incremental tactics, if the aim is to change the habits and practices of masculinist organisations . . . This dissertation maps that interventionist process across a four-year period. In assessing the role played by the feminist methodology I analyse what people can learn to see and say about organisational practices, how they participate in or seek to undermine various forms of teamwork, as well as how individual team members display their new understandings and behaviours. I conclude that the techniques for supporting women in authoritarian, densely masculinist workplaces should include some bold and highly visible ‘critical acts’, based on commitment from the top coupled to strongly motivated and highly informed teamwork.

In 1948, after twenty years in the Papuan administration, Stanley Middleton became the Western Australian Commissioner of Native Affairs. State and Federal governments at that time had a policy of social assimilation towards Aboriginal people, who were expected to live in the same manner as other Australians, accepting the same responsibilties, observing the same customs and influenced by the same beliefs, hopes and loyalties. European civilization was seen as the pinnacle of development. Thus both giving Aboriginal people the opportunity to reach this pinnacle and believing they were equally capable of reaching this pinnacle was viewed as a progessive and humanitarian act. Aboriginal cultural beliefs and loyalties were not considered important, if they were recognized at all, because they were seen as primitive or as having being abandoned in favour of a Western lifestyle.

Are there policy markets in Australia, and if so, how do they operate? This is the core question for this dissertation. Beginning with a focus on this simple formulation of the problem, the thesis explores the idea of policy markets, breaking it down into its constituent parts��policy� and �markets��and develops four different ways in which policy markets (i.e. markets for policy analysis, research and advice) might be modeled: 1. the dimensions of knowledge, values and competition in policy development systems and processes; 2. a hierarchy of policy markets according to strategic, programmatic and operational concerns; 3. policy markets in the context of cyclical process models of policy-making, especially the variant posited by Bridgman and Davis (1998); and 4. a typology of policy markets ranging from �pseudo� forms through to a form of full (or �pure�) policy market. Against the background of this theory-building, the empirical evidence�which was gathered through a combination of documentary investigation and some 77 interviews with senior public servants, consultants and ministers�is addressed through three interrelated approaches: an analysis of the (relatively limited) government-wide data; a comparison of this material with experience in New Zealand; and a set of three extended case studies. The three case studies address the idea and experience of policy markets from the point of view of: � the supplier�in this case, the economic forecasting and analysis firm, Access Economics; � ministers-as-buyers�through a study of the Coalition Government�s 1998 efforts to reform the waterfront; and � the bureaucracy as implementers of an extensive program of outsourcing�through a detailed examination of the outsourcing of corporate services (especially human resource management) by the Department of Finance and Administration. Several conclusions are drawn as to the character, extent and theoretical and practical significance of policy markets in Australia. While various elements of actual markets (e.g. contracts, price and service competition, multiple sources of supply, etc.) can be detected in the Australian approach to policy-making, policy markets are not as prevalent or as consistent as the rhetoric might suggest. In particular, while the language of the market is a common feature throughout the Australian policy-making system, it tends to mask a complex, �mixed economy�, whereby there is a continued preference for many of the mechanisms of bureaucratic ways of organising for policy analysis, combined with a growing challenge from various forms of networks, which are sometimes �dressed� as markets but retain the essential elements of policy (or, perhaps more particularly, political) networks. Nevertheless, the growing use of the language and some of the forms of the market in Australia�s policy-making system suggests that practitioners and researchers need to take this form into account when considering ways of organising (in the case of practitioners) or ways of studying (for researchers) policy development in Australia.

On 25 July 1969, President Richard Nixon would announce a new direction in American foreign policy towards Asia that would have far reaching implications for its ANZUS partner in Australia. This study aims to map out the affects the Nixon Doctrine would have on Australian policy reforms in an attempt to critically examine the forces within international politics that saw Australia comprehensively engage with its Asia neighbours. This Asian region, which had previously been looked at with fear, was gradually viewed in the light of Nixon’s new policies as the only path to Australia’s long-standing future in the region.

The Australian economy has enjoyed several mining booms over the past few decades. As an export-orientated economy, Australia has experienced several mining booms since the 1960s, including one in the early 1980s and, most notably, the unprecedented boom of the 2000s. This latest mining boom began in the early 2000 when the demand for natural resources such as coal and iron ore soared in response to increasing demand in Asia, particularly China. This unprecedented demand has contributed to Australia’s robust economic performance over the past decade, especially during the Global Financial Crisis. However, the 2000s boom may have also had some detrimental effects on other tradable sectors of the Australian economy, such as agriculture and manufacturing. Moreover, from a regional (intra-country) perspective, the economic benefits and costs of the mining boom are not identically distributed across the country. While only certain regions benefited from the growth in minerals and resources exports, the cost of the mining boom appear to be much more widespread.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith Business School
Griffith Business School
Full Text

Australia's foreign policy may be drafted in Canberra, but it is implemented in the jungles of Java and the bazaars of Dar-es-Salaam, as well as in the offices and boardrooms in Washington, London or Bonn. The aim of this sub-thesis is to examine the role of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) as an instrumentality for the practical implementation of Australia's foreign policy, particularly in relation to developing countries, and more specifically in the AsiaPacific Region. Towards this end a comparison and contrast will be made of two SMEC overseas projects. As well as covering some specific details, it is hoped that these two case studies will present SMEC's overseas operations in microcosm.

Žvelgiant iš istorinės perspektyvos, svarbu pastebėti, kad Australijos užsienio politika, kaip savarankiška ir nepriklausoma nuo Didžiosios Britanijos, pradėjo formuotis gana vėlai. Tai įvyko tik Antrojo pasaulinio karo metais, kai silpstanti Didžioji Britanija nebesugebėjo išlaikyti kolonijinės valdžios daugelyje savo kolonijų bei užjūrio teritorijų. Australija, pasinaudojusi šia padėtimi, siekė glaudesnių ryšių su JAV. Nuo šalies užsienio politikos formavimosi pradžios Australijos užsienio politikai didžiulę įtaką daro JAV, dėl šios priežasties Australijai JAV nuo pat jos diplomatinės tradicijos formavimo pradžios tapo pagrindine partnere. Pabrėžiama, kad Australijos užsienio politika ne tik nesivaizduojama be JAV, bet ir šios šalies praradimas Australams reikštų pagrindinio strateginio partnerio bei pagrindinių gynybinių pajėgumų praradimą. Kita vertus, JAV aktyviai veikia, siekdama Australiją paversti savo satelitu. De facto šią šalį ir taip galima vadinti JAV pasiuntine pietryčių Azijoje ir Okeanijoje. Nors Australiją ir galima laikyti viena iš regiono lyderiu, visgi Australija yra šalis, pasižyminti nepilnavertiškumo kompleksu. Ši aplinkybė apsunkina jos įtakos regione sklaidą bei siekius tapti stipria vidutine galybe. Australijos svarbos šiame regione negalima paneigti, tačiau pastebima jos pajėgumų koncentracija į tuos pasaulio kraštus, kurie ne tik nedaro jokios įtakos šalies raidai, tačiau ir teikia abejotiną naudą pačios Australijos vykdomai politikai. Visgi... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]
From a historical perspective, it is important to note that Australia's foreign policy, as an autonomous and independent from the United Kingdom, began to take shape quite late. It was the Second World War when the weakening Great Britain remained unable to maintain the colonial government in many of its colonies and overseas territories. Australia used this situation to seek closer relations with the United States. Since the formation of the country's foreign policy beginning in Australia's foreign policy a U.S made the major impact. It is emphasized that Australia's foreign policy not only could not be seen without the U.S., but the country would mean the loss of Australia’s main strategic partner and key defensive capacity. On the other hand, the U.S. is actively engaged, Australia to turn their satellite. De facto this country can be called the ambassador of the U.S. in Southeast Asia and Oceania. While Australia can be considered one of the region's leaders, however, Australia is a country characterized by an inferiority complex. This circumstance complicates the spread of its influence in the region and aims to become a strong “Medium Power”. Australia's interest in the region cannot be denied, however, has seen its capacity levels to those of the world, which not only does not affect the development of the country, and provide questionable benefits to the Australian policies. It is noted that Australia since the start of cooperation with the United States actively... [to full text]

Frontier issues are an inevitable part of Australian historiography, and have often been dealt with in either an indifferent or a moralistic manner. Specifically, it has been widely argued that records of officially condoned frontier violence have been destroyed or lost. This thesis, which deals with the Native Police in Queensland from 1860 to 1905, attempts to move the discussion on to firmer ground. It is driven by a passionate commitment to the rights of Indigenous Australians, and shows that detailed archival research does not support those who deny the violence that accompanied the colonisation of Australia. Apologists for dispossession will find no comfort in the archival records. The Native Police force was widely reputed to have been the most violent police force on the Australian frontier. Long-standing and widely cited references about the lack of Native Police records have been tied into arguments about the kind of force it was. This dissertation is the first significant archival work on the Native Police force after Separation. The force was part of broader colonial settler-society, and I analyse the Native Police in that context. The problem with existing literature is that the archives have not been adequately consulted, and historians have neglected vital contextual aspects of the force in Queensland. The sociology of policing has not been integrated with a model of military force in the Queensland case, even though in colonial Queensland the same men formed the dual function of soldiers and police. The aim of the thesis is to provide an integrated model documented by detailed research in the archives. The research hypothesis is that the Native Police played a central role in the dispossession and punitive treatment of Indigenous people. Chapter 1 sets up the research problem in the context of the existing scholarship on native policing. Chapter 2 looks at the officers. Chapter 3 is concerned with the Aboriginal troopers of the force, and Chapter 4 examines the operations of the Native Police in Queensland. The thesis is very detailed, as the topic requires, but it still only opens up essential avenues of research. In particular, more work needs to be done on the experiences of the troopers and on the records of frontier violence in general.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Arts, Media and Culture
Full Text

The aim of my thesis is to evaluate the impacts of several public policies in Australia. I apply tools common in the policy evaluation literature to identify the causal effect of these policies on outcomes that policymakers care about, such as student test scores, employment rates and wages. Although the tools I use are common, the identification strategies and datasets I use are novel. These identification strategies are developed by carefully studying Australia's institutional details. My first chapter examines whether an increase in capital spending in schools (e.g. to build a new library or classroom) affects student test scores. Exploiting a large-scale natural experiment and school-level administrative data, I find no evidence that an increase in capital spending improves student test scores. The achievement effects that I find are close to zero and precisely estimated. My second chapter assesses how changes in minimum wages affect the labour market outcomes of employees paid the minimum wage. I exploit Australia's detailed system of ‘award’ wages to implement a control strategy. I find that increases to minimum wages are almost fully passed on to employee wages (implying that firms largely comply with their legal obligations). Importantly, however, there is no evidence that these minimum wage changes affect hours worked or job loss. My third chapter explores whether the decline in union membership rates in Australia has contributed to low wages growth in recent years. My co-author and I argue that trends in unionisation rates are unlikely to account for much of the recent low wages growth. This reflects our finding that the ‘union wage growth premium’ has remained stable over recent decades and that the share of the workforce who receive that premium has also remained steady, contrary to conventional wisdom.

In his book, Inventing Australia: Images and Identity 1688-1980, Richard White argues that: There is no 'real' Australia waiting to be uncovered. A national identity is an invention [. ..]. When we look at ideas about national identity, we need to ask, not whether they are true or false, but what their function is, whose creation they are, and what interests they serve. White's argument is a useful starting point when considering the “obsession” Australian intellectuals have always felt to uncover their national identity, which goes back to the very birth of Australia as a settler-colony. Australia’s beginning as a colony not only implied a complete dependence in terms of economy, defence and culture towards Great Britain but also the dispossession of the indigenous population under the legal doctrine of Terra Nullius. All settler-colonies in search for a national identity follow the same initiatory path. The settlers at first feel isolated and in exile, far away from any familiar landmark and find it difficult to measure up with the mother country. After having, not without difficulty, defined itself through the invention and the appropriation of myths originating from the dominant Anglo Celtic society, Australia now seems to suffer from a national identity crisis. The last three decades saw the challenging and eroding of the mainstream white Australia identity by minority groups such as women, non Anglo-Celtic migrants and indigenous Australians. While those groups have made their voices heard throughout the last thirty years, we can easily identify a dominant decade for each group. Women saw most of their claims settled in the 1970s, multiculturalism became a reality in the 1980s while indigenous Australians stamped on the 1990s with native title laws, the reconciliation movement and the growing acceptance and adoption of Aboriginality as a desirable component of the Australian national identity.