Suchergebnisse

Purpose - This paper attempts to replace the understanding of public sector accountability as a linear and hierarchical process with one in which accountability occurs within a network of social relationships. It associates the former approach with the introduction of New Public Management principles in Australian public administration. It investigates the effect of this on the ability of Australia's indigenous people both to access democratic accountability as citizens, and to develop their community organisations as service providers. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on field experience with aboriginal community organisations and critical assessment of the literature on this aspect of Australian public administration. Findings - The paper finds that New Public Management approaches in Australian public administration have not led to greater political accountability but the reverse. As a disadvantaged, culturally distinct minority, aboriginal people are the subject of, rather than partners in, accountability regimes which mire their community service organisations in reporting requirements at the expense of practical activity. In some respects Aborigines are dealt with as individual citizen/clients, at other times as a disadvantaged minority group, and third, as culturally distinct polities. Each of these approaches implies different forms of accountability both by Aborigines to the state and by the state to them. Research limitations/implications - This analysis is inherently interpretative rather than exclusively empirical. However, greater efficiency as well as culturally appropriate outcomes can be found by instituting regional regimes of reciprocal accountability. Originality/value - The analysis of developments in public administration is rarely brought to bear on Australian indigenous affairs.

1. Background issues -- 2. Indigenous health status in perspective -- 3. Comparing like with like: analysis by income -- 4. Per capita health expenditure by income and Indigenous origin -- 5. Further information on the usage of health services by equivalent income -- 6. Health status by equivalent income -- 7. Conclusion.

Purely by chance, 1999 brought together the main themes of Australian foreign policy during this century, especially the second half of it. The year was dominated by issues arising out of East Timor, the ramifications of which went far beyond the narrow confines of that sad territory. Australians faced questions of basic identity: our role and place in the region; the value and costs of the American alliance; the influence of domestic sentiment on foreign policy; the limitations of Australian power and influence; human rights; the South Pacific; and foreign trade. In this article, I will look at how events during 1999 shed light on some of these basic issues. I will not attempt to cover everything that happened; nor even less to give a blow-by-blow account of all the detail. I also ignore some important questions and relationships where there were no significant changes in 1999.

Purely by chance, 1999 brought together the main themes of Australian foreign policy during this century, especially the second half of it. The year was dominated by issues arising out of East Timor, the ramifications of which went far beyond the narrow confines of that sad territory. Australians faced questions of basic identity: our role and place in the region; the value and costs of the American alliance; the influence of domestic sentiment on foreign policy; the limitations of Australian power and influence; human rights; the South Pacific; and foreign trade. In this article, I will look at how events during 1999 shed light on some of these basic issues. I will not attempt to cover everything that happened; nor even less to give a blow-by-blow account of all the detail. I also ignore some important questions and relationships where there were no significant changes in 1999.

Since they renounced the policy goal of assimilation in the 1970s, Australian governments have encouraged indigenous Australians to form corporations. Such bodies receive public money to deliver services, and they have become the sinews of a mobilized indigenous constituency. By reviewing the research and recommendations of a recent Australian government report, this article addresses the controversy about the indigenous corporation's multiple accountability: to the taxpayer, their employees, and their clients. In addition, drawing on recent international theoretical debates about the rationales of liberal tolerance for cultural minorities, this article qualifies the widely held assumption that accountability in this instance must be culturally appropriate.

Reviews continuity and change in the bipartisan bases of Australian diplomacy as manifested during a year of governmental change; examines development of important links with East Asia, while maintaining valuable links with the US.

Life expectancy for Indigenous Australians is approximately 20 years less than that of other Australians, & endemic family violence is a causal factor. This article discusses evaluation data gathered from an Indigenous empowerment program aimed at increasing personal empowerment in order to improve individual & social well being. Our analysis of the data demonstrates the success of the program in building personal strength, increasing ability to assist others, & increasing motivation to challenge structural factors impacting on health equality. We consider the operational implications of a human rights framework & argue that empowerment programs & human rights discourse, focusing on exploration of self & an analysis of colonization, discrimination, & human rights, could empower individuals & communities with an innovative approach to challenging health inequality. Adapted from the source document.

This article explores the tensions between the principles of rehabilitation and community protection in the sentencing of Aboriginal people, especially in the context of dysfunctional and remote Aboriginal communities. In order to explore these tensions, the article draws on the issues raised in a recent Australian case involving the sentencing of nine young Aboriginal men and boys who pleaded guilty to the rape of a 10-year-old girl in a remote Aboriginal community in the far north of Australia. Although many Aboriginal women have called for greater protection for women and children by the criminal justice system, they have argued for community restoration rather than incarceration. This article suggests that, in the context of remote Aboriginal Australia, the focus on victim protection has served to entrench oppression through the continued sentencing preference of incarceration. The article concludes with a call for the decolonisation of justice and explores options by which this might be achieved.

Indigenous Australians and those with disability are two of Australia's largest minorities. There are 757,000 Australian's receiving the disability support pension and the vast majority of indigenous Australian's receive some form of income support from the government. This report has selected three of the most important policy areas to explore; education, employment and welfare dependency. Australia has ratified both the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Declaration of the Rights of Persons with Disability and this is the basis for the policy links discussed in this report. While those with Disability are able to appeal to the UN if all other avenues have been exhausted indigenous Australians are not. The UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous has been 'ratified' yet has no legal standing for fear of land rights issues arising and compensation claims developing as a result of the stolen generation. The education system of those with disability and indigenous Australians is the most important policy area. Both are under the control of state governments but need further funding and support from the Federal government. It is recommended that a higher level of accountability is required if there is to be development in this area. It is required at all levels, from students to teachers to governmental officials. It is also recommended that · an early intervention program is created to develop a culture of learning and assistance among indigenous communities and those parents of children with disability. A direct result of troubled education sector is the employment opportunities available in the private sector to indigenous Australians and those with disability. The mentality of employing people with disability needs to change, with both financial assistance and governmental support. There are sign of progression within the indigenous community and those involved with disability should look to those programs for further policy ideas. The private sector and the government need to continue working together to decrease the level of governmental support required to employ indigenous Australians and people with disability. Welfare dependency is one of the biggest problems within indigenous Australian and people with disabJiity. It is not always a choice, but as result of past failures in other policy areas there are limited options for alternative income. There needs to a deliberate effort by government to change the mentality of Australians that view welfare recipients as bludgers. The vast majority receive income support as they have no other option, either due to remote locations, or changes in the life that were out of their control. · Through changes to the education and employment system the problem of welfare dependency will fix itself, increasing people's options in terms of future employment. This report provides a background to the systems currently in place for indigenous Australians to be educated and find employment. The level of income support received by indigenous Australians and people with disability shows that the current systems are not working. The current Federal government realises this and is in the process of implementing new policy. The changes that are needed will not happen over night, they are generational and this must be remembered in the policy implementation stages.