Academic literature on the topic 'Public welfare – law and legislation – australia'

Previous research has identified a number of issues arising at all stages of the animal law enforcement process. These issues contribute to an enforcement gap between the written law, as it relates to the penalties laid out in statutes, and the reality of the animal law justice system. This paper identifies and investigates the contributors to this gap. The identified factors discussed are (1) the role of the public in reporting animal cruelty, (2) the ambiguity of the language used in animal welfare legislation, (3) the nature of enforcement authorities, and (4) the role of the courts. Thus, the causes of the enforcement gap are multifactorial, derived from all stages of the enforcement process. Further research on the enforcement model and public education, in addition to debate on legislative reforms, will be needed to address this gap.

On the 2nd of September this year, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the Assembly in November 1989, came into force under international law, 30 days after the lodgment of the 20th instrument of ratification (by which time 31 countries had deposited ratifications). Shortly prior to that date, on 22 August, after some public controversy about the matter, Australia had determined to sign the Convention. The Convention, which stemmed from the 1979 International Year of the Child, expanded and elaborated within an international treaty, rights first enunciated (in non-binding form) in the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It applies to a person under the age of 18.Over 5 years ago, the Report of the Child Welfare Practice and Legislation Review Committee was published. That report - Equity and Social Justice for children families and communities, took, as one of its foundation principles, the proposition that Victorian law and practice should reflect internationally accepted principles of human and civil rights of children.

This article, written from a less than detached standpoint by the chairperson of the body concerned, takes the recently completed review of child welfare practice and legislation in the Australian State of Victoria, as a case study of the contours, and of the factors which shape, law reform in areas of social policy. Substantive issues dealt with in the body of the Report1 will not be addressed here. Rather, the article considers some of the reasons which might explain why the task was not entrusted to one of the existing structures for the review of law and social policy in this State, and it canvasses some of the features which may make review by such a free-standing committee the preferred approach when reviewing social policy. The main theme to be explored is that of the role of reviews in accelerating (or inhibiting) the process of change in a legal, welfare practice and public policy context. To this end the article addresses such matters as: the significance of the composition of the review body; its techniques of consultation with the public and with government; its dealings with government and major centres of power; and related matters which bear on its capacity to discharge its basic mandate. The contextual pressures which favour system inertia, or which may transform reform measures into something other than what was intended by the proponents of change, will also be alluded to. It will be argued that the model of expert independent committee suffers from a vulnerability to the effects of external factors and relationships. These may leach away much of its capacity to undertake a thorough, detached evaluation of its specified field, and preclude it from building up significant momentum for change. Nevertheless, it is contended that these weak points are capable of being shored up. As a consequence it is concluded that this model is superior to its competitors when a significant area of social policy is thought to be ripe for evaluation and change.

One of the crucial issues of our decades is how to stop the loss of biodiversity. Policy–makers need reliable data to base their decisions on. Managing wildlife populations requires, first of all, science–based knowledge of their abundance, dynamics, ecology, behaviour and dispersal capacities based on reliable qualitative data. The importance of dialogue and communication with the local actors should be stressed (Sennerby Forsse, 2010) as bag statistics and other monitoring data in wildlife management could be more precise if local actors, notably hunters, were better informed and aware of their importance, especially in supporting existing and emerging policies at national and international levels. Another essential issue in wildlife management is the conflicts generated by humans and their activities when they interact with wildlife (Heredia & Bass, 2011). A sociologic approach is required to take into account those human groups whose interests are divergent, facilitating communication and collaborative learning among these users of the same ecosytem. Obstacles should be addressed and solutions devised to protect and encourage a sustainable use of this ecosystem in, as much as possible, a win–win relationship. Policy objectives and mana-gement strategies should be discussed and debated among the stakeholders involved, then formulated. Policies can be translated into different types of instruments, economic and legislative, but also informative and educa-tive. As awareness of the actors is a key factor of successful regulation, the regulations should be sufficiently explained and stakeholders should be involved in the implementation of these regulations as much as possible. Finally, the effectiveness of the regulations should be evaluated in light of their objectives, and where necessary, the regulations should be strengthened or adapted to improve their performance (Van Gossum et al., 2010).The various aspects of the processes described above were highlighted in the plenary talk and the five oral communications presented during the session on wildlife law and policy. In his plenary talk, Dr Borja Heredia, Head of the Scientific Unit of the Secretariat of the CMS/UNEP in Bonn, pointed out different sources of human–wildlife conflicts, such as the logging activities in subtropical forests that induce overexploitation and poaching for bushmeat consumption; the problem of predators on livestock and the poisoning of lions in the Masaï Reserve; animals invading the human territory; and game species as a vector of diseases in humans and livestock (Heredia & Bass, 2011). Heredia stressed the importance for wildlife managers to deal with the human dimension; he stressed the importance of successful conflict management based on principles such as a non–adversial framework, an analytical approach, a problem–solving orientation, the direct participation of the conflicting parties, dialogue as a basis for mutual understanding and facilitation by a trained third party. Heredia explained how the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) contributes to confict resolution and in this way increases the chance of survival of these species. The CMS (see CMS website) works for the con-servation of a wide array of endangered migratory animals worldwide through the negotiation and implementation of agreements and action plans. Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed in Appendix I of the Con-vention. CMS parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them. Besides establishing obligations for each State joining the CMS, CMS promotes concerted action among the Range States of many of these species. Migratory species that need, or would significantly benefit from, international co–operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention. For this reason, the Convention encourages the Range states to reach global or regional agreements. The Convention acts, in this res-pect as a framework convention. The Agreements may range from legally binding treaties (called agreements, there are seven) to less formal instruments, such as Memoranda of Understanding, or actions plans (there are 20), and they can be adapted to the requirements of particular regions. The development of models tailored according to the conservation needs throughout the migratory range is a unique capacity to CMS. Heredia detailed inter alia the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, the Great Apes Survival Part-nership, the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and their Habitats, the MoU on the Saïga Antelope, and the Programme for the Conservation and sustainable use of the wild saker falcon (Falco cherrug) in Mongolia.The talk of Sarah Wilks, research fellow at the School of Law, University of Western Sydney, illus-trated the importance of adequate transparency and public consultation in environmental and conservation law and decision making. Wilks (2012) examined the Australian legislation concerning animal welfare and the export of Australian wildlife products and, as a case study, explored the Tasmanian State Government’s recent decision to promote the com-mercial harvest and export of brushtail possums She pointed out that although the Enviromment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation 1999 (EPBC) process intended to be open and co–operative, it is not, in prac-tice, co–operative, public and transparent. The export of possum products requires Australian Government approval under the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (EPBC). Wilks (2012) assessed the Tasmanian Wildlife Trade Management Plan for Common Brushtail Possums developed by the EPBC, the public submissions to the Austra-lian Government, and the Australian Government’s response against the provisions of the EPBC. As a result, she deplored that welfare outcomes, like that of back or pouch juveniles whose mother had been trapped or killed have not been adequately considered either at Tasmanian State or at Australian Govenment level. She concluded by deploring that submissions on ethical grounds could not yet be considered by the Australian Government because the decision to harvest or not to harvest is made at State level, and yet the Tasmanian State legislation is deficient in mandating public consultation.Data on hunting and game resources provide quan-titative and qualitative information on game species, but moreover, game monitoring has shown to be efficient in identifying threats to biodiversity, such as biodiversity problems in agriculture and forest ecosystems, and also to be an early warning in assessing threats from invasive alien species (Sennerby Forsse, 2010). They are an essential tool for game managers, scientists and policy–makers, and hunters and hunter organisations are key resources in the collection of this information.The ARTEMIS data bank was initiated by the Federation of Asssociations of Hunting and Conservation of the Euro-pean Union FACE (see ARTEMIS website) to improve information about game in support of existing and emer-ging European policies. The objective of ARTEMIS is to centralise and analyse, in a coordinated and coherent Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 35.2 (2012)161extending the ban to all waterfowl hunting and not only that undertaken in protected wetlands.The presentation of K. E. Skordas, from the Hunting Federation of Macedonia and Thrace, Research Divi-sion, Greece, illustrated the contribution of the Hellenic Hunters Confederation (HHC) to law enforcement for wildlife protection. It showed how stakeholders, hun-ters, set up heir own Game Warden Service in 1999, through their Hunting Associations, in order to assume responsibility for the control of illegal hunting and wil-dlife protection, in collaboration with the local Forest Service. These game wardens carry out repressive and preventive controls and prosecutions. Besides this initiative, information campaigns are organised by the HHC to improve hunters’ awareness (see website of the Hellenic Hunters Confederation, HHC). Skordas & Papaspyropoulos (2011) analysed the relation between law enforcement, hunter awareness and infringement categories, classed in degree of influencing wildlife protection. They observed a strong reduction in the number of infringements; particularly, they found that hunting out of season and hunting without a license decreased from 23.4% to 7.31% and from 30.12% to 11.8%, respectively.All the talks presented in this session stressed the importance of dialogue in wildlife management as a basis for mutual understanding. Communication and involvement of the local actors/stakeholders are key factors at different stages of wildlife management: when collecting reliable data on which policy–makers may draw up their decisions, when debating policy objectives and strategies, and when implementing regulations and administrative acts

AbstractActivation reforms targeted at single parents simultaneously construct them as a legitimate target for activation policy and subject them to new obligations to engage in paid work or education/training. The social policy literature has established that the work of ‘making-up’ target groups occurs at the street level as well as in government legislation. The street level has become even more significant in recent years as there has been a shift towards establishing quasi-markets for the delivery of welfare-to-work programmes and organising these around the principles of performance pay and process flexibility. However, what is largely missing from the existing literature is an analysis of how contract conditions, together with individuals' activation obligations, shape how they are targeted at the street level. Drawing on a study conducted over eight years with agencies in Australia's quasi-market for employment services, this paper argues that the changes to the contracts for governing this market changed how Australian single mothers were targeted by employment services. Over time there was a shift away from making-up single-parent clients as a distinct, vulnerable target group and a shift towards viewing them in terms of risk categories described within the agencies’ contracts.

The development and substance of animal welfare policy is subject to a range of social, cultural, economic, and scientific influences that commonly vary within and between countries. Discrepancies in policy can create confusion and mistrust among stakeholders and consumers and limit the ability to create a uniform minimum level of requirements to safeguard animal welfare, as well as create a level ‘playing field’ for farmers when trading with other jurisdictions. The livestock sector is receiving growing scrutiny globally for real and perceived violations of animal welfare, for example, the practice of mulesing in Australia. This article explores animal welfare legislation within Australia and how it reflects the scientific evidence surrounding routine husbandry practices in sheep, including tail docking, castration, and mulesing. While there is some variation between state and territory legislation, the most notable concern is the lack of enforceable recommendations surrounding the evidence-based use of analgesia and anaesthesia for painful husbandry procedures. The age at which these procedures are recommended to be performed is relatively consistent across Australian jurisdictions, but there is a marked difference compared to international legislation. The global context of animal welfare legislation, public perception, and producer perception of these procedures are also discussed, highlighting the difficulty of creating robust animal welfare legislation that promotes a good standard of welfare that is respected worldwide whilst being practical in an Australian setting given our unique geography and climatic conditions.

Animal sentience is recognised either implicitly or explicitly in legislation in all Australian states and territories. In these jurisdictions, animal welfare legislation prohibits acts of cruelty towards animals because animals have the capacity to experience pain or suffering. This acknowledgement is supported by scientific research that demonstrates animal sentience, as well as public opinion. Despite these legal prohibitions, calf-roping, a common event at rodeos, is permitted in the majority of Australian jurisdictions. In recent times, calf-roping has generated significant public concern due to the potential for injury, pain or distress for the calves involved. This concern is evidently shared in some overseas jurisdictions, such as New Zealand, where animal advocacy organisations have filed a legal challenge asserting that rodeo events violate New Zealand’s animal welfare legislation due to the pain and distress inflicted on the animals. This commentary discusses these welfare concerns, the legislative inconsistencies between Australian jurisdictions and the problematic legal status of calf-roping in Australia.

The article analyses the process of legal mobilization for migrants’ rights and investigates how and with what effects, measured in terms of obtaining general policy response and ensuring implementation, legal actors and in particular civil society organizations have mobilized EU, international and domestic legislation on discrimination to promote migrants’ rights in Italy. It focuses in particular on two issues: access to employment in the public sector and access to welfare. Both issues have generated significant levels of litigation in domestic courts, with increasing involvement of civil society organizations. In relation to both, national legislation has been amended, in accordance with EU law, allowing access to employment in the public sector and extending the area of those that have the right to access to social welfare under equal conditions to categories of migrants protected under EU law. The article outlines the EU, International and domestic legislation on non-discrimination and equality for migrants, provides an overview of how litigation has been used to challenge in court the exclusion of migrants from employment in the public sector and welfare, tracks the process that brought to the reform and litigation in the aftermath highlighting the effects of litigation as a means for policy response and implementation. Discrimination, multilevel protection, migrants, welfare, employment, legal mobilization, policy response, implementation, civil society, courts.

The purpose of this study is to redefine the significance of social security rights under the constitution, stipulate them at the time of constitutional amendment, and strengthen them as a welfare state. To this end, the significance of social security rights under the Constitution is specified, the basic law on social security rights embodied under the Constitution is reviewed, and social security is classified into five categories: social insurance, public assistance, and social services. Korea is a constitutional welfare state, so it is the subject of the state's obligation to provide social security, and the people have the right to social security as a basic right to demand it from the state, but it is not stipulated by the current constitution. It is not currently stipulated in the Constitution, but the constitutional social security right is stipulated by the current law in the Framework Act on Social Security, and one of these social security, public assistance, is emerging as a problem in Korean society, and it is a meaningful discussion to look at Taiwan's public assistance and its implications.

In this thesis I outline a view of primary legislation from a systems perspective. I suggest that systems theory and, in particular, autopoietic theory, as modified by field theory, is a mechanism for understanding how society operates. The description of primary legislation that I outline differs markedly from any conventional definition in that I argue that primary legislation is not, and indeed cannot be, either a law or any of the euphemisms that are usually accorded to an enactment by a parliament. I cite two reasons for such a conclusion. The primary reason for my conclusion is that I see primary legislation as being an output of a particular subsystem of society, while the law is the output of another subsystem of society. I argue that these outputs are the discrete products of separate subsystems of society. I argue that primary legislation should be viewed as a trinity. The first state of this trinity is that, upon enactment, primary legislation is a brute fact in that it is but a thing and the only property of this thing is that of being a text. The second state of this trinity is that following the act of enactment, the thing enacted will be reproduced and this reproduction is a separate thing that will sit in some repository until used. The third state of this trinity is that, upon use, this thing that is primary legislation will be transformed into an object and the user will attribute such functions and attributes to that object as are appropriate to the context within which the object is used. The thing has therefore become an object and an institutional fact. The second reason for my conclusion that primary legislation is not a law relates to the fact that the thing that is primary legislation is a text and the only function of a text is that it is available to be read. That is to say, of itself, a text is incapable of doing anything: it is the reader who defines the status of the text and attributes functions and attributes. Upon use, primary legislation thus becomes a censored input for future action and one of these actions may be some statement by a court of law. I assert that the view of primary legislation that has been accepted within the body politic is the product of the discourse of a particular subsystem of society that I have designated ?the legal practice?, and I outline why and how this has occurred. Outlining a view about primary legislation also necessitates outlining a view as to the nature of the law. I assert that the law is a myth and I see this myth as a product of the discourse of the legal practice. I have asserted that although it is the judges that state the law, such statements flow from the discourse of those who practise the law.

Whistleblower protection legislation in Australia has three objectives: (i) to facilitate the making of disclosures about public interest wrongdoing in government departments, (ii) to ensure such disclosures are properly dealt with, and (iii) to ensure the protection of whistleblowers. These objectives align with the three core purposes of accountability: reporting information, justification and debate, and the rectification of any wrongdoing. Using empirical data collected by a national research project, ‘Whistling While They Work’, this thesis analyses the experiences of whistleblowers who make their disclosures to external accountability agencies - auditors-general, ombudsmen, corruption and crime commissions and public sector standards. The whistleblowers in this study reported wrongdoing to their own departments, out of loyalty to their organisation and trusting that their managers shared their ethical values and commitment to integrity. Only when this trust was breached, did they make their disclosures to external accountability agencies in the hopes of achieving rectification of the wrongdoing and protection from reprisals. The focus of the analysis is on the extent to which accountability agencies are achieving the objectives of the legislation. The fundamental conclusion is that they are not. Resource constraints and problems with the legislation itself, particularly the ‘public interest’ threshold test, clearly contribute to agencies’ limited achievements. In large part, however, accountability agencies have failed to develop approaches to whistleblowing that take into account the needs and vulnerabilities of whistleblowers. Accountability agencies trust the ‘distributed integrity’ in government departments in the same way as they do for other areas of their work, for example, complaints from the general public. In doing so, they fail to use the many-faceted experience of whistleblowing to improve accountability. All too often, they simply confirm whistleblowers’ disappointment in the standards of ethics and accountability within the public sector.

The Australian justice system is based in a conventional model of justice with the aim of uniformity in sentencing. It is important to ascertain public opinion on the relevance of different factors to be taken into account at sentencing as accurately as possible, in order to provide informed public opinion which may assist policy makers in making legislation or educating the public on these matters. The current study examined the impact of varying levels of victim harm (high or low) and offender remorse (high or low) for both person and property crimes on sentencing decisions made by both male (n = 99) and female (n = 94) members of the Western Australian public. The design was a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 between subjects factorial, with dependent variables of length of sentence assigned (0-10 years jail), rated influence of four sentencing goals (retribution, rehabilitation, incapacitation and deterrence) on sentence choice, and responses to an open-ended question about the reasons for the sentence chosen. The main findings were that demonstrations of offender remorse and the level of harm caused to the victim appeared to be factors in public participants' sentencing. There was no difference in sentences assigned by male and female participants. Although the majority of participants believed they sentenced for rehabilitative reasons. Retribution appeared to be the major factor in the sentences assigned an outcome which reflects the focus of the Western Australian sentencing legislation. Implications arising from the results include the need for more public education in the areas of the functions or the courts, legal principles and theories, and options for victims of crime. Overall, the current study added to the body of research examining public opinions about the potential relevance of various victim and offender factors at the sentencing phase in the search for uniformity in sentencing.

In the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Annual Report of 2011/2012 it is stated that there were more than 15 million social grants paid out to needy beneficiaries of which 10 927 731 were Child Support Grants. A major challenge that is continually being addressed is the management and administration of these grants. In particular, the focus is on service delivery and zero tolerance to fraud and corruption. SASSA has made various attempts to address these issues, such as the rollout of biometric smart cards in 2012. This research endeavour attempts to discover whether a framework can be designed where necessary factors are taken into consideration to provide for an efficient social grant application and delivery process that uses biometrics. The framework aims to suggest improvements in the use of biometrics for the social grants. Seeing that biometrics in this case is used as a technology to improve a system involving humans, this study followed a Design Science approach and made use of a case study to collect the data required for the study. Literature studies reviewed the fields of social grants and biometrics. The challenges and lessons learnt from current implementations of social grants and biometrics within the South African context and further abroad were also relevant for the study. The framework that resulted from the above was evaluated for validity and applicability after which a modified framework is presented. The research concludes with specific implementation guidelines as well as areas for future research.

Thesis (LLD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Substantive equality is a constitutional imperative, hence the need for strategies that attempt to realise it for the sake of genuine social reconstruction. The principle of equality runs through all other rights in the South African Constitution. Be that as it may, equality is an elusive concept, which makes its achievement an ambitious task. Nonetheless, there are strategies that attempt to bring to the fore the ‘substance’ of the concept in order to ensure the actual realisation of socio-economic benefits. Such strategies include, among others: social security, education, economic empowerment, skills development and affirmative action. This study will focus on the latter of these strategies, namely affirmative action. Although affirmative action is practised around the world, one of the (many) criticisms of the policy is that it fails to bring about substantive or structural change. In other words, it may change the racial and gender composition of the classroom or the workplace, but does not address the challenges that cause the disadvantages of marginalised groups in the first place. It is arguable that affirmative action has increased inequality in South Africa by benefiting the apex of the class structure and not the majority of the population living in abject poverty. This study develops a theoretical analysis of the link between status (race, sex and ethnicity) and socio-economic disadvantage, and the central question that the study addresses is the following: How can the policy of affirmative action be redesigned to ensure that it benefits the socio-economically disadvantaged? A secondary question that is investigated is whether affirmative action can contribute to the development of human capacities in the context of poverty alleviation. It is arguable that substantive equality facilitates the adoption of strategies (such as affirmative action) to address socio-economic inequality, poverty and social exclusion. The research suggests that a paradigm shift is necessary in order to reconceive of affirmative action as a policy that does not only focus on ensuring ‘equitable representation’ of disadvantaged groups in the workforce or the classroom, but also provides for the development of human capacities. This can be achieved if one adopts an expansive view of affirmative action and if one utilises class as one of the numerous criteria for determining the beneficiaries of the policy.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Substantiewe gelykheid is ′n grondwetlike vereiste, vandaar die behoefte om strategieë te ontwikkel wat poog om dit te realiser in die belang van daadwerklike sosiale rekonstruksie. Die beginsel van gelykheid is vervleg met alle ander regte in die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet. Gelykheid is nietemin ′n ontwykende konsep, en dit maak die bereiking daarvan ′n ambisieuse taak. Daar is egter strategieë wat gemik is daarop om sosio-ekonomiese voordele te bereik. Voorbeelde van sodanige strategieë sluit in sosiale sekuriteit, opvoeding, ekonomiese bemagtiging, die ontwikkeling van vaardighede, en regstellende aksie. Hierdie studie fokus op laasgenoemde strategie, naamlik regstellende aksie. Ten spyte van die feit dat regstellende aksie regoor die wêreld toegepas word, word die beleid nietmin gekritiseer as sou dit nie werklik wesenlike of strukturele verandering teweeg bring nie. Met ander woorde, dit bring moontlik ‘n verandering teweeg in die rasse-en geslagsamestelling van die klaskamer of die werkplek, maar spreek nie die uitdagings aan wat in die eerste plek lei tot die posisie van relatiewe benadeling waarin gemarginaliseerde groepe hulself bevind nie. Sommige argumenteer dat regstellende aksie bydra tot ongelykheid in Suid-Afrika deur voordele te beperk tot diegene wat hulself aan die toppunt van die klasstruktuur bevind terwyl dit die meerderheid van die bevolking wat in armoede leef ignoreer. Hierdie studie ontwikkel ′n teoretiese ontleding van die verband tussen status (ras, geslag en etnisiteit) en sosio-ekonomiese benadeling. Die sentrale vraag van die studie is die volgende: Hoe kan die beleid van regstellende aksie herontwerp word om te verseker dat dit lei tot die bevoordeling van die sosio-ekonomiese benadeeldes? ’n Sekondêre vraag wat in die studie onder die loep kom is of regstellende aksie ’n bydrae kan maak tot die ontwikkeling van menslike vermoë in die konteks van armoedeverligting. Daar kan geragumenteer word dat die strewe na substantiewe gelykheid strategieë (soos regstellende aksie) na vore bring om sosio-ekonomiese ongelykheid, armoede en sosiale uitsluiting aan te spreek. Die navorsing dui daarop dat ′n paradigmaskuif nodig is om regstellende aksie te herkonseptualiseer as ′n beleid wat nie net fokus op die bereiking van ‘billike verteenwoordiging’ van benadeelde groepe in die werkplek of klaskamer nie, maar ook voorsiening maak vir die ontwikkeling van menslike vermoë. Dit kan bereik word deur die aanvaarding van ’n uitgebreide siening van regstellende aksie en deur die benutting van klas as een van menige faktore wat in ag geneem word om die bevoordeeldes van die beleid te identifiseer.
Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Law
National Research Fund

This study was conducted in the context of the regulation of professional nursing and midwifery practice in the Australian health care system. In this environment, professional regulatory authorities established by State and Territory legislation in all jurisdictions, regulate and control the work of health professionals. In Queensland, registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives are regulated by the Queensland Nursing Council, the statutory body created by the Nursing Act 1992 (Qld). Part of the regulatory role of this and other authorities is to discipline professionals whose conduct or behaviour falls short of appropriate and acceptable standards of practice. All regulated health professionals, including nurses and midwives, are potentially subject to professional disciplinary action if a complaint is lodged in relation to their conduct. This being an important issue in the management and delivery of health care, and an increased trend among health care consumers, the dearth of existing research into the disciplinary process is a major concern. This exploratory study examined the disciplinary role of the Queensland Nursing Council in adhering to its legislative mandate to ensure safe and competent nursing practice. The study focused on the extent to which structural (legislation and policy), professional, and process factors impacted on the outcomes of disciplinary Tribunals and Committees in cases of incompetent or unsafe practice and sexual misconduct. The study was situated within the interpretive paradigm using a case study approach. Specifically, it investigated cases of sexual misconduct by nurses and unsafe or incompetent practice by midwives. The study was guided by Donabedian's conceptual framework of structure-process-outcome. This framework was seen to be most suited to the aims of the study and provided a template for in-depth analysis of the data emerging from the two cases. The findings of this study provided insight into the factors underpinning the decisions of the disciplinary bodies in making determinations and formulating outcomes. There was found to be a lack of consistency and predictability in both the legislative frameworks and the interpretation of terms and concepts used to identify conduct warranting a disciplinary response from regulatory authorities. Although the processes of disciplinary proceedings are prescribed by both legislation and policy, their practical application was characterised by considerable challenges, which resulted in varying outcomes. The thesis reports this information so that it can be used as an initial basis to build a body of knowledge from practical experience with disciplinary proceedings that will inform future processes. Subsequent case studies in other contexts and systems will increase the level of knowledge available to nurses, other health care providers, health care institutions and regulatory authorities. The initial base of evidence suggests implications for practice, education and further research which are outlined in the final chapter of the thesis.

Abstract In most countries of the world, sustainability issues are viewed by the public as of increasing importance and animal welfare is perceived to be both a public good and a key aspect of these issues. European Union animal welfare policy and legislation on animal welfare has helped animals, has had much positive influence in the world and has improved the public image of the EU. Health is a key part of welfare and the one-health and one-welfare approaches emphasize that these terms mean the same for humans and non-humans. The animals that humans use are described as sentient beings in EU legislation. Scientific information about animal welfare, like that produced by EFSA, is used in the formulation of the wide range of EU animal welfare laws. The European Commission has an animal welfare strategy including the Animal Welfare Platform. However, most kinds of animals kept in the EU are not covered by legislation, and they are subject to some of the worst animal welfare problems, so a general animal welfare law and specific laws on several species are needed. Animal sentience and welfare should be mentioned, using accurate scientific terminology, in many trade-related laws as well as in animal-specific laws.

AbstractIn the era of post-modernity, which defines an ever-changing global economy, effective governance in public administration and employee skills are crucial parameters for citizens' welfare in European Union member states with soft skills acquiring a prominent role in addressing modern occupational challenges. This study examines the evolution of employee evaluation processes in the Greek public sector, focusing on the institutional and organizational perspectives. It closely examines the evaluation system established by Law 4940/2022. While historical references to employee evaluation exist in Greek legislation since the 1950s, some previous attempts at implementation have been proved mostly unsuccessful. The enactment of Law 4940/2022 marks a notable institutional innovation, introducing a comprehensive evaluation system tied to goal setting and soft skills, part of broader reform efforts for the Greek public sector. The study aims to highlight key aspects of the framework established by Law 4940/2022, trace its evolution, compare it with EU member states' systems and assess its effectiveness. A literature review methodology was adopted. Implications are also discussed.

AbstractSweden, taken alone or in conjunction with the other Nordic countries, is commonly perceived as a nation where the protection of children and children’s rights has significantly contributed to building both the welfare state and a national identity. The adoption of legislation that prohibits the use of corporal punishment within the family in 1979 is often seen as an example of Sweden’s modernization and commitment to the welfare state and has made the country perform as one of the leaders in the struggle for children’s rights. This chapter looks back at the political situation that has allowed the introduction of a legal ban on corporal punishment within the family, which was built on the concomitant establishment of a new type of relationship between children, the family and the state and on the advent of a multicultural society.Children’s rights were redefined step by step as a consequence of fundamental changes in the role of the state in representing, protecting, and controlling children in institutions such as orphanages, reformatories, childcare and penal institutions under state and government responsibility as well as in schools and in the family. The direct disciplining of children’s bodies by corporal punishment and humiliating treatment was curtailed and prohibited in public institutions and in due time also the role of the family. The discourses evolved around different representations of children’s individual rights, that were considered equal to those of parents, and of children’s physical, psychological and emotional integrity. The discussion evolved from a focus on the disciplining of older children to a focus on the maltreatment of infants; as a result of that corporal punishment in public institutions and educational and care facilities was banned. In the early 1960s which signified the advent of the expansion of the welfare state and family support with parental leave and childcare, corporal punishment was only accepted in the family and the integrity of the family from state regulation of the upbringing of children and gender relation was questioned. The immigrant population whose views on child rearing were presented as a problem during the 1970s necessitated more direct state intervention and policy of child protection.This position conflicted with the overriding principle concerning respect for various cultural values which formed part of Swedish immigration policy during the same period. The values concerning raising children, and the rights of children in Sweden, were established as fundamental, as human rights in a democratic society and in parity with universal democratic human rights. The 1979 Swedish law prohibiting corporal punishment of children was partly a reaction to the transformation of a relatively homogeneous society into a multicultural society but also a result of a fundamental change of the scope and organization of welfare institutions for children.

The extraordinary partnership that Beatrice and Sydney Webb embarked on when they married in 1892 spanned almost fifty years and left a lasting mark on British sociology, social welfare policy, and public administration. Groomed to make a Society marriage, Beatrice Potter (1858-1943) grew up believing that love and career were incompatible goals for a woman. Her disastrous relationship with the prominent, domineering politician Joseph Chamberlain reinforced that conviction. After it became clear that they would not marry, Beatrice made a name for herself as a social investigator, studying London’s poor in the late 1880s. But she could not shake off her obsessive love for Chamberlain. When Sidney Webb (1859-1947), a Fabian Socialist and a clerk in the Colonial Office, fell in love with Beatrice in 1890, he assured her that she could enjoy love and work. After a year of agonizing doubt, she agreed to marry him because she believed he would be the ideal partner for her work. But she was not passionately in love with him, as she had been with Chamberlain. She did not find Sydney physically attractive and was embarrassed by his lower class origins. It took Beatrice ten years to be fully happy with Sidney and a marriage that was focused almost entirely on work. Instead of having children, they wrote books together. They investigated social and economic issues, campaigned for sweeping changes in education and social policy, sat on government commissions, and were instrumental in founding the London School of Economics. When they married, Sidney vowed they would show the world what a marriage of true equals looked like. Beatrice agreed, but always recoiled from any suggestion that she was the dominant partner in the relationship. Their collaboration, in sharp contrast to the Youngs’ partnership, was fundamentally egalitarian: it acknowledged Beatrice’s contributions as much as Sidney’s and allowed each to play a variety of public roles. Beatrice headed a public campaign to rewrite Britain’s Poor Law legislation, and sat on several government commissions during World War I. Sidney was elected to Parliament and held two Cabinet posts. They are buried together in Westminster Abbey, the only non-royal couple to be so honored. But their seemingly idyllic union was marred for many years by Beatrice’s yearning for a more romantically compelling partner than Sydney and her sublimated passion for the dominating Chamberlain.

Abstract The offence of cruelty continues to be the cornerstone of animal protection legislation in Britain, notwithstanding that the principal English and Scottish statutes pre-date the First World War and, even when enacted, were not intended to be especially innovative. The durability of the offence is attributable to its generality, enabling it to be applied to a wide variety of situations, together with its scope: in relation to domestic and captive animals, only acts lawfully carried out under the authority of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are completely beyond its reach.

Abstract In England and Wales tribunals form part of the judicial, rather than the administrative, arm of government. However the term tribunal is used to describe a very wide range of bodies which possess few, if any, universally common features. Typically tribunals, unlike inquiries, are adjudicative bodies performing a judicial function. Like courts they have the power to determine issues in dispute but they are distinct from the court structure. Tribunals are commonly more accessible and less formal than courts and many have evolved in areas of specialized legislation dealing with the relationship between state and citizen in such fi elds as immigration, welfare benefits and taxation. Ideally tribunals are independent of the government department responsible for the area of policy at issue and are consciously established to reflect in their membership the relevant areas of expertise.

Abstract Determining those factors which have a bearing on an animal’s welfare, together with their relative importance, is essentially a question of science. However, deciding upon the appropriate degree of protection afforded to animals by the law requires more than the mere mechanical translation of scientific opinion into legislation. Although scientific advice is generally an essential consideration, and will often be paramount, it is not necessarily decisive. Even on those rare occasions when there is a consensus among the relevant experts, ethical, economic, political, and health issues may also require to be taken into account. For example, in deciding how best to control sheep scab, prevent the introduction into Britain of rabies, or investigate the prevalence of TB in badgers and cattle, a balance has to be struck between conflicting interests. Developing public policies towards animals, there fore, requires the exercise of judgment-a responsibility which falls ultimately to politicians.

Abstract In many democratic constitutional systems, an idea of using illicit legislative purposes serves as the exclusive basis for the invalidation of statutes in the field of separation of state and religion. It is shown that in the case law of top courts in countries as different as the United States, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Germany, and Israel, legislative motives serve as the crucial factor for judicial decisions regarding state/religion relationship: either for upholding the law when wrongful motives are absent or for invalidating the law when prohibited purposes are detected. In all the landmark judgments discussed in this chapter, the religious motives for the legislation were either viewed as exclusive grounds for the judgment about unconstitutionality or otherwise dominated the effects of legislation as factors for the determination of a judicial outcome.

This chapter discusses domestic legislation on cargo liability. In English law, common carriers, such as masters of general ships, were carriers who exercised a public employment, offering carriage to all persons wishing to use the services offered, whether for the carriage of goods (or of passengers). The general principle, as in Roman law, was that the carrier was liable as an ‘insurer’ of the goods, absolutely responsible for delivering the goods at the destination in like order and condition. Unlike public carriers, private carriers undertake the carriage of goods but do not hold themselves out as exercising a public employment. Usually, the carrier’s obligations arise from his contractual agreement to carry the goods of the shipper and, where for reward, private carriers are bailees and have the ordinary responsibilities of a bailee of the goods. The chapter then looks at the Harter Act of 1893 and legislation in other Commonwealth countries, including the Shipping and Seamen Act 1903 in New Zealand, the Sea-Carriage of Goods Act in Australia, and Canada’s Water-Carriage of Goods Act in 1910.

This paper explores the extent to which Uruguayan institutions (as interbranch relations, electoral rules, budgetary rules, etc.) and political actors (parties, factions, interest groups and bureaucrats) involved in the budgetary process affect the fiscal performance of governments in terms of sustainability, efficiency and representativeness. Since the early nineties and the beginning of the structural adjustment and the economic reforms of the Washington Consensus, Uruguay has been strongly committed to implement a restrictive fiscal policy. However, unlike most Latin American countries, Uruguay has been able to sustain a relatively large public sector and particularly the largest welfare state in the region. To a large extent, this particular combination is the result of a Uruguay's particular democracy where the budget law has become the most important piece of legislation for all incumbent governments and relevant political actors. The paper includes a description of the broad policy making process and the set of actors and institutions characterizing the Uruguayan political system; a description of the budgetary policy making process; a set of hypotheses dealing with the level of Sustainability, Efficiency and Representativeness of the fiscal policy.