The Seven Dwarfs and the Age of the Mandarins: Australian Government Administration in the Post-War Reconstruction Era

In 2011 public sector management is at a crossroads, without a clear way ahead. Politicians in New Zealand and comparable jurisdictions, such as Australia (Advisory Group on the Review of Australian Government Administration, 2010), are searching for new thinking on how to improve public sector performance. Some practitioners have responded by seeking to repackage long-standing ideas in an effort to extract improved performance from existing systems. In New Zealand, different governments have introduced marginal, piecemeal additions to the current system.

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Constructing the Problem of Religious Freedom: An Analysis of Australian Government Inquiries into Religious Freedom

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel10100583 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 583

Author(s):

Elenie Poulos

Keyword(s):

Religious Freedom ◽

Religious Diversity ◽

Political Support ◽

Indigenous Australians ◽

Australian Government ◽

Religious Groups ◽

Western Democracy ◽

Public Inquiry ◽

Statutory Body ◽

Post War

Australia is the only western democracy without a comprehensive human rights instrument and has only limited protection for religious freedom in its constitution. It was Australia’s growing religious diversity—the result of robust political support for multiculturalism and pro-immigration policies in the post-war period—that led to the first public inquiry into religious freedom by an Australian statutory body in 1984. Responding to evidence of discrimination against Indigenous Australians and minority religious groups, the report detailed the need for stronger legal protections. By 2019, Australia’s religious freedom ‘problem’ was focused almost solely on the extent to which religious organizations should be allowed to discriminate against LGBTIQ people. Using the What’s the Problem Represented To Be? approach to policy analysis, this paper explores the changing representation of the ‘problem’ of religious freedom by examining all public, parliamentary and statutory body reports of inquiries into religious freedom from 1984 to 2019. In their framing of the problem of religious freedom, these reports have contributed to a discourse of religious freedom which marginalizes the needs of both those who suffer discrimination because of their religion and those who suffer discrimination as a result of the religious beliefs of others.

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THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION: A DESCRIPTIVE OVERVIEW

Australian Journal of Public Administration ◽

10.1111/j.1467-8500.1976.tb00357.x ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 303-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stuart Hamilton ◽

Sue Hamilton

Keyword(s):

Royal Commission ◽

Australian Government ◽

Government Administration

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All of London's a stage: the 1943 County of London Plan Exhibition

Urban History ◽

10.1017/s0963926815000498 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 43 (4) ◽

pp. 539-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

MARCO AMATI ◽

ROBERT FREESTONE

Keyword(s):

Central Government ◽

High Water ◽

County Council ◽

Town Planning ◽

Historical Significance ◽

High Profile ◽

Reconstruction Era ◽

Exhibition Culture ◽

Post War ◽

Content Design

ABSTRACT:The post-war reconstruction era was marked by numerous planning exhibitions which provide a window on the contemporary nature of communication and consultation in planning practice. The 1943 Exhibition of the County of London Plan prepared by J.H. Forshaw and Patrick Abercrombie was a major event with the king and queen making a high-profile visit. This article describes the making of the exhibition, considers its content, design and historical significance and reflects on its importance as a high water mark in the culture of twentieth-century town planning promotion generally and exhibition culture specifically. Archival research reveals how the London County Council (LCC) negotiated for resources from the central government and the local boroughs in hosting and organizing the event and how crucial these negotiations were in its eventual staging, marketing and impact.

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