DIRECTOR'S REPORT.

The article focuses on the Fifth Australian Family Research Conference of Australian Institute of Family Studies, held in Brisbane from November 27-29, 1996. There was intense interest in the proceedings of the conference, not only among the participants but also in the print and electronic media. One of the conference contributions to attract extensive media coverage was the keynote address presented on the final day by Professor Bob Gregory of the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. Professor Gregory is a prominent labour market economist and in his presentation he focused on the impact of current unemployrnent levels on families with children. Although in Australia the basic needs of the poor and the unemployed rarely go entirely unfilled, exclusion from the paid labour market implies effective exclusion from the kind of recognition as members of and participants in the larger society that contributes to a sense of inclusion, wellbeing and positive self-esteem.