Search

In 2000 the Howard government formed a consultative committee to review defence policy and gauge public opinion on defence issues. It concentrated on the impact of budgetary stringency and dramatic strategic change and supported increased defence spending on equipment to cater for high-level threats. Was there a thorough review? Inconsistencies occurred in the reports developed from the review and statements made by senior policy-makers while it was being conducted. The way the review was undertaken points to conceptual tensions in Australia's strategic culture and serious problems with entrenched interests in the services. Unless these challenges are addressed, a thorough review of defence policy cannot be undertaken. The review process itself needs to be reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007, then Australian Prime Minister Howard said of the Murray-Darling Basin's rivers that action was required to end the 'The tyranny of incrementalism and the lowest common denominator' governance to prevent 'economic and environmental decline'. This paper explores the management of these rivers as an epicentre for three key debates for the future of Australia. Information on biodiversity, analyses of the socioecological system, and climate change projections are presented to illustrate the disjunction between trends in environmental health and the institutions established to manage the Basin sustainably. Three key debates are considered: (1) conflict over the allocation of water between irrigated agriculture versus a range of other ecosystem services as the latest manifestation of the debate between adherents of the pioneering myth versus advocates of limits to growth in Australia; (2) cyclical crises as a driver of reactive policy reform and the prospects of the 2008 Water Act forming the basis of proactive, adaptive management of emerging threats and opportunities; and (3) subsidiarity in governance of the environment and natural resources in the Australian federation. Implementation of the 2012 Basin Plan as promised by the Federal Government 'in full and on time' is a key sustainability test for Australia. Despite Australian claims of exceptionalism, the Murray-Darling Basin experience mirrors the challenges faced in managing rivers sustainably and across governance scales in federations around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many have remarked upon Prime Minister John Howard's “use” of the Anzac legend for political purposes, our understanding of the nature and dynamics of such use remains fragmented and underdeveloped. Using the area of foreign policy as a case study, this essay approaches Howard's Anzac Day and related ceremonial rhetoric as examples of the epideictic genre, which presents speakers with a combination of unique rhetorical opportunities and strict generic constraints. While often perceived as apolitical and inconsequential, the genre embodies a form of argumentation that serves not only to increase the “intensity of adherence” to certain values, thus laying the groundwork for later deliberative appeals, but also creates a “disposition to act at the appropriate moment”. This paper will argue that Howard's employment of Anzac was bounded and defined by the nature and dynamics of the epideictic genre, of which Howard proved to be a savvy user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the asylum-seeker discourses of prime minister Malcolm Fraser and his minister for immigration and ethnic affairs, Michael MacKellar, during Australia’s 1977 federal election campaign, with those of prime minister John Howard and his minister for immigration and multicultural affairs, Philip Ruddock, during the much-analysed 2001 election campaign. It argues that in 1977 Fraser was not an outspoken advocate for asylum seekers as he was later in life, but that his silence—when considered in conjunction with MacKellar’s emphatic and humanising statements—functioned to depoliticise boat arrivals and calm public concerns. Further, it demonstrates that the arguments prosecuted by the Howard government in 2001 were not new; similar arguments had been made in 1977 but were decisively rebutted by MacKellar at the time. This analysis ultimately suggests that while government discourses have the power to amplify the latent fears and hostilities that can lead to moral panics, they also have the capacity to defuse them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst often being overshadowed by debate surrounding personal income and consumption taxes, the Howard government has also devoted significant resources to reviewing and reforming business and capital taxation. This paper provides an overview of the Ralph Review of Business Taxation and the Howard government's mixed record when it came to the implementation of the Ralph reforms. Having documented the subsequent changes in corporate income, capital gains and superannuation taxation, the paper analyses their economic impact. The paper concludes with an assessment of the longer term political significance of these changes and asks whether the concessional taxation of capital that has occurred under the Howard government represents a fundamental shift in the basis of Australian taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion that the Howard Government (1996-2007) used silencing dissent within Australian civil society as a key tool of political control is not new and has been explored elsewhere. This paper argues that while the Howard Government demonstrated a weakening support for civil society organisations and attempted to delegitimise the role of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in the public sphere, the Abbott Government displayed some significant differences. Their approach moved beyond this to undermine key elements of Australian democracy. The government attempted to shrink, delegitimise and criminalise the advocacy and democratic purposes of NGOs and civil society. Crucial access to the judicial system for NGOs was limited by defunding of organisations that supported civil society to access legal mechanisms. In this way, the independence of the public service and of universities was challenged and compromised. These actions suggest a waning commitment to a public battle of ideas and a rethinking of the relationship between government, citizens and civil society. In this case, it represents a significant attempt to re-mark Australian democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Government has tried to counter the threat of Islamic extremism by investing in mentoring and educational initiatives. Fearful of the potential for “home-grown” extremism, especially after the July 2005 London attacks, the Australian authorities seek to counter the narrow-minded narrative of extremism by sponsoring “moderate Islam”. This approach is aimed at presenting a counter-ideology to Islamism, and has had some success. But it neglects the broader context of Muslim experience which is marked by socio-economic under-privilege and political alienation. These experiences marginalise Australian Muslims and make them vulnerable to extremist ideas. This pattern is most evident among the youth, whose sense of self is still in flux. Furthermore, the state's sponsorship of “moderate Islam” puts Australia on a questionable path as it chips away at the principle of the separation of state and religion and makes moderate Muslims vulnerable to accusation of “betraying” Islam by the more radical elements in the Muslim community. This paper argues that efforts by the Australian Government to counter radicalisation are hindered by a range of political, cultural and socio-economic factors and analyses these factors in the light of historical, ethnic, cultural and social conditions relevant to the Muslim community in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper builds on the insights of Sawer and Laycock (2009) to explore similarities in the use of populist discourse by former Australian Prime John Howard and current Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. While Sawer and Laycock label this discourse ‘market populism’ and focus on economic issues, here it is argued that Howard and Harper's populism is better understood as ‘mainstream populism’ due to the equal importance of sociocultural issues in their discourses. To demonstrate this, the treatment of issues such as immigration, multiculturalism, the culture wars, criminal justice, and childcare is considered. It is further suggested that such populist policies were used to satisfy rival wings of their respective parties – neoliberals and social conservatives – that do not always share the same priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Australia–India relations continue to puzzle foreign policy analysts. The reasons for stronger ties seem obvious, yet each successive Australian government has proved unable to forge the links necessary for more fruitful collaboration. Prime minister John Howard made two visits to India. His second visit in 2006—when he expressed unqualified enthusiasm for India's fast-growing economy and for the development of a new centre of gravity for the world, the emerging ‘global middle class’ of China and India—promised to change the language of engagement from neglect to partnership. This paper examines the context of the changing relationship, looks at the role of leadership in the formulation of foreign policy, and asks whether the momentum developed from Howard's visit was deep and strong enough to sustain the shocks ahead—the 2009 attacks on Indian students and the reversal of the decision on the sale of uranium—and to maintain a position for Australia in India's growing global engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaders of government within Westminster democracies undertake a key rhetorical task on the day an election is called. Following a visit to the monarch or the vice-regal representative, leaders emerge to give their opening speech of the election campaign. These are moments of definition; moments when leaders rhetorically frame the battle to come. This paper argues that in Westminster democratic systems, these statements conform to a set pattern of rhetoric, which reflects the length of time the government has been in office. This pattern - or 'speech cycle'- suggests that electoral rhetoric is not governed solely by the policy issues of the day, and that some restraints apply to governments in the rhetoric they can legitimately utilise at different points in their tenure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how public political discourse acts or does not act as a persuasive force in promoting and justifying political policy remains of critical importance. This paper presents a rhetorical criticism of the public political language used by the then Prime Minister John Howard and Minister Kevin Andrews, the chief spokespersons for the introduction of the Work Choices legislation. We demonstrate that these speakers drew upon a metaphor of evolutionary change as a means of promoting their legislation to the Australian working public. We argue that although this metaphor has persuasive utility, this merit was outweighed by the contradictions that arose when the metaphor was situated within a surrounding discourse promoting the concept of individual choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores fear-arousing content in Australian former Prime Minister John Howard's political rhetoric about terrorism. We coded 27 speeches delivered between September 2001 and November 2007 for the presence of statements promoting fear-consistent appraisals ( Smith & Lazarus, 1993 ). Fear-arousing content was present in 24 of these speeches, but the amount of fear-arousing content varied markedly. In particular, rhetoric that raised doubts about the capacity of Australia and its allies to cope with terrorism was most strongly present in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq and at times of declining support for government policies. Textual analysis of three key speeches confirmed a marked difference between Howard's speech given immediately after the attacks on September 11, 2001, and the second and third speeches presented prior to and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. These findings indicate that Howard has not consistently employed fear-inducing rhetoric in his speeches about terrorism, but that particular speeches appear to take this form, raising the possibility that fear-arousing rhetoric may have been selectively deployed to support his political purposes at those times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the impact of recent upgrades in security ties between Australia and Japan and their implications for the bilateral relationship. In particular, the development and future of the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation (JDSC) is assessed. It is argued that former Prime Ministers Abe and Howard encouraged the enhancement of security ties to unprecedented new highs, but that the rise of China and leadership change in Japan and Australia in 2007 will make the prospects of a full security treaty unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we re-evaluate explanations, derived from the Australian Election Study surveys, for the Coalition's winning office in 1996 and holding it ever since. We show that, in occupational terms, electoral support for the major parties is less distinct than it was in the Hawke and Keating years. We document the shift to the Coalition, net of other factors, among older respondents, those with little education, and Catholics. And we show the shift to Labor among respondents from non-English speaking backgrounds. At the same time, we point to the failure of respondents on low or middle incomes to move in either direction. This leads us to an explanation for the Coalition's success grounded not so much in Labor's eroding blue-collar base but in terms of Howard's ability to construct a form of populist politics. We also demonstrate the significance of various issues, the part played by perceptions of the economy and the state of household finances, and the importance of voters' thinking that election outcomes matter. If we are right, not only are earlier analyses mistaken, but much of the political history of the period needs to be rewritten. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the patterns of television news coverage of the political parties, their leaders and the issues they raised during the 2001 Australian federal election campaign. By focusing on some issues, parties and leaders, television has long been argued to constrain voters' evaluations. We find that television news coverage in the 2001 Australian election campaign focused primarily on international issues, especially terrorism and asylum seekers, and on the two major parties - virtually to the exclusion of coverage of the minor parties and their leaders. Within the major party 'two-horse race', television gave substantially more coverage to the leaders than to the parties themselves, thereby sustaining what some have called a 'presidential'-style political contest. John Howard emerged as the winner in the leaders' stakes, garnering more coverage than Labor's Kim Beazley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant forces mean that governments are reassessing their responsibilities for welfare. The welfare changes introduced by the Howard Government have a strong role for mutual obligation. After reviewing the meaning of welfare, the historic welfare responsibilities of government and the impact of social and economic change, three key objectives for a current Australian Government are proposed. These are to protect the vulnerable, to develop capacity to function effectively in a more difficult environment and to promote social cohesion. The paper examines whether the current application of mutual obligation assists their achievement, concluding that all are compromised. Protection is compromised by the reduction in levels of income support payments, often to very marginalised and vulnerable individuals. Capacity building is undermined by the limited activities and choices available and social cohesion is affected by the divisions created by mutual obligation and the lack of attention to institution building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on various issues affecting the family in Australia. The September 1, 1999 edition of "Family Matters" focuses on the theme of families, welfare and social policy. In a speech at the National Press Club on 29 September 1999, Senator Jocelyn Newman, Minister for Family and Community Services, announced that social policy would be a major reform priority of the Australian Prime Minister John Howard Government. Senator Newman announced the formation of a Reference Group on Welfare Reform to guide the development of a comprehensive Green Paper on welfare reform. Welfare dependency is a key issue for investigation by the Reference Group. The Australian Institute of Family Studies's interest in the issue of welfare reform has been a long one, indeed, the Institute held a Workshop as long ago as 1983 on the subject of "Single Parents: Work or Welfare?" Since its inception 1980 the Institute has built up and shared a wealth of experience and knowledge on issues affecting the well being and stability of families. Research areas have included: the social costs of child and family poverty and marriage breakdown; the living standards of low and middle income families; labour force issues; housing; family income transfers, child support and tax; educational and other disadvantage suffered by children in poor families; and child abuse and neglect. INSET: NEW AIFS DIRECTOR APPOINTED.

Reports on Australian Prime Minister John Howard's release of a White Paper entitled 'Securing Australia's Energy Future,' which aimed at establishing a comprehensive long-term policy framework for Australian energy. Excerpts form the media release.