Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Since the early 1990s a number of projects have developed indexes to measure vulnerability to environmental change. This article investigates the key conceptual and methodological problems associated with such indexes. It examines in detail an index that explicitly addresses environmental change as an issue of vulnerability, the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) developed by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC). This examination offers some broader lessons for indicator-based projects, all of which require a simple model of complex and uncertain social-ecological systems, and entail difficult choices about the selection, standardization, weighting, and aggregation of indicators selected to represent important aspects of those systems. We conclude that indexes of vulnerability to environmental change cannot hope to be meaningful when applied to large-scale systems, and so should focus on smaller scales of analysis. We argue that they should not be used as the basis for disbursing funds, comparing countries, or for measuring the performance of countries in environmental management. We also argue that vulnerability is a context-specific rather than a generic condition. Finally, we suggest that because vulnerability is about values at risk, there should be more input from a broader array of people when indexes are being developed and tested.

Data on satisfaction with care in labor and birth were gathered in a survey conducted in conjunction with a review of maternity services in Victoria, Australia. All women who gave birth in one week in 1989 (> 1000) were mailed questionnaires eight to nine months after the birth, with a response rate of 790 (71.4%). When adjusted for parity in a logistic regression model, the following factors were highly related to dissatisfaction with intrapartum care: lack of involvement in decision making (p < 0.001), insufficient information (p < 0.001), a higher score for obstetric intervention (p = 0.015), and perception that caregivers were unhelpful (p = 0.04). No association was found between satisfaction and maternal age, marital status, total family income, country of birth, or health insurance status. The survey results were influential in shaping final recommendations of the Ministerial Review of Birthing Services by countering stereotypes about women who become dissatisfied with their care, providing evidence of far greater dissatisfaction with intrapartum than antenatal care, and demonstrating the importance of information, participation in decision making, and relationships with caregivers to women's overall satisfaction with intrapartum care.

This paper examines the validity of predominant assumptions about popular support for the welfare state. These presuppositions include the notion that support for the welfare state varies in different types of regimes (be they &amp;apos;liberal &amp;apos; or &amp;apos;social democratic&amp;apos; or &amp;apos;conservative&amp;apos;), the idea that different social groups (for example, the middle and working classes and the unemployed) have different interests with respect to the welfare state, and the view that political alignments have a strong influence on attitudes to welfare. To investigate these issues we analyze the 1990 International Social Survey Programme Role of Government Survey and compare it to the findings of an analysis we conducted on the 1985 survey. The aim therefore is to examine the relationship between mass attitudes and specific types of welfare state regime and the social and other correlates of mass opinion. Research into mass opinion about the welfare state has reflected the concerns of particular social contexts. Until the late 1970s, most writers were confident about the future of the welfare state and of popular support for it. The welfare

Journal Article Workplace Violence towards Social Workers: The Australian Experience Get access Stella Koritsas, Stella Koritsas Stella Koritsas is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria, and her research interests include violence and behaviour. Jan Coles is a Senior Research Fellow with Child Abuse Research Australia and an academic general practitioner. Malcolm Boyle is a senior lecturer teaching primarily evidence-based paramedic practice to undergraduate students. Primary research interests include pre-hospital trauma triage, pre-hospital trauma management, and data linking and analysis of pre-hospital datasets. Correspondence to Stella Koritsas, Building 1, 270 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill, VIC, 3168, Australia. E-mail: stella.koritsas@med.monash.edu.au Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Jan Coles, Jan Coles Stella Koritsas is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria, and her research interests include violence and behaviour. Jan Coles is a Senior Research Fellow with Child Abuse Research Australia and an academic general practitioner. Malcolm Boyle is a senior lecturer teaching primarily evidence-based paramedic practice to undergraduate students. Primary research interests include pre-hospital trauma triage, pre-hospital trauma management, and data linking and analysis of pre-hospital datasets. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Malcolm Boyle Malcolm Boyle Stella Koritsas is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria, and her research interests include violence and behaviour. Jan Coles is a Senior Research Fellow with Child Abuse Research Australia and an academic general practitioner. Malcolm Boyle is a senior lecturer teaching primarily evidence-based paramedic practice to undergraduate students. Primary research interests include pre-hospital trauma triage, pre-hospital trauma management, and data linking and analysis of pre-hospital datasets. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 40, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 257–271, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcn134 Published: 26 September 2008 Article history Accepted: 01 September 2008 Published: 26 September 2008

BACKGROUND: For Indigenous Australians, health transcends the absence of disease, and includes the health and wellbeing of their community and Country: their whole physical, cultural and spiritual environment. Stronger relationships with Country and greater involvement in cultural practices enhance the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians, and those in more remote regions have greater access to their Country and higher levels of wellbeing. However this does not translate into improvements in clinical indicators, and Indigenous Australians in more remote regions suffer higher levels of morbidity and mortality than Indigenous people in non-remote areas, and other Australians. The Interplay research project aimed to explore how Indigenous Australians in remote regions experience high levels of wellbeing despite poor health statistics, and how services could more effectively enhance both health and wellbeing. METHODS: Indigenous Australians in remote regions, together with researchers and government representatives developed a wellbeing framework, comprising government and community priorities: education, employment and health, and community, culture and empowerment respectively. To explore these priorities Indigenous community researchers recruited participants from diverse Indigenous organizations, including Indigenous land management, art, business development, education, employment, health and municipal services. Fourteen focus groups and seven interviews, involving 75 Indigenous and ten non-Indigenous service providers and users were conducted. These were recorded, transcribed and analyzed, using thematic analysis, based on the wellbeing framework. RESULTS: Research participants highlighted Indigenous land management as a source of wellbeing, through strengthened identity and empowerment, access to traditional food sources, enjoyable physical activity, and escape from communities where high levels of alcohol are consumed. Participants described how collaboration and partnerships between services, and recognition of Indigenous languages could enhance wellbeing, while competition between services undermines wellbeing. Indigenous land management programs work across different sectors and promote collaboration between services, serving as a source of comprehensive primary health care. CONCLUSIONS: Developing primary health care to reflect distinctive health needs of Indigenous Australians will enhance their health and wellbeing, which includes their communities and Country. Indigenous land management consolidates aspects of comprehensive primary health care, providing both clinical benefits and wellbeing, and can provide a focus for service collaboration.

This paper develops an economic measure of relative deprivation and explores its relationship to envy and economic inequality. It is demonstrated that, while the concept of envy is virtually identical with that of relative deprivation, economic inequality, although a related concept, and a determinant of relative deprivation, is fundamentally different in its intent and purpose. It is also demonstrated that an essential feature of relative deprivation is that it is a nonlinear and nonmonotonic function of economic inequality. As a result, a high degree of economic inequality means only a low degree of relative deprivation. Copyright 1996 by WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG

BACKGROUND: Wellbeing has been difficult to understand, measure and strengthen for Aboriginal people in remote Australia. Part of the challenge has been genuinely involving community members and incorporating their values and priorities into assessment and policy. Taking a 'shared space' collaborative approach between remote Aboriginal communities, governments and scientists, we merged Aboriginal knowledge with western science - by bringing together stories and numbers. This research aims to statistically validate the holistic Interplay Wellbeing Framework and Survey that bring together Aboriginal-identified priorities of culture, empowerment and community with government priorities including education, employment and health. METHOD: Quantitative survey data were collected from a cohort of 842 Aboriginal people aged 15-34 years, recruited from four different Aboriginal communities in remote Australia. Aboriginal community researchers designed and administered the survey. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling showed good fit statistics (χ/df = 2.69, CFI = 0.95 and RMSEA = 0.045) confirming the holistic nature of the Interplay Wellbeing Framework. The strongest direct impacts on wellbeing were 'social and emotional wellbeing' (r = 0.23; p < 0.001), 'English literacy and numeracy' (r = 0.15; p < 0.001), 'Aboriginal literacy' (r = 0.14; p < 0.001), 'substances' (lack thereof; r = 0.13; p = 0.003), 'work' (r = 0.12; p = 0.02) and 'community' (r = 0.08; p = 0.05). Correlation analyses suggested cultural factors have indirect impacts on wellbeing, such as through Aboriginal literacy. All cultural variables correlated highly with each other, and with empowerment and community. Empowerment also correlated highly with all education and work variables. 'Substances' (lack thereof) was linked with positive outcomes across culture, education and work. Specific interrelationships will be explored in detail separately. CONCLUSION: The Interplay Wellbeing Framework and Survey were statistically validated as a collaborative approach to assessing wellbeing that is inclusive of other cultural worldviews, values and practices. New community-derived social and cultural indicators were established, contributing valuable insight to psychometric assessment across cultures. These analyses confirm that culture, empowerment and community play key roles in the interplay with education, employment and health, as part of a holistic and quantifiable system of wellbeing. This research supports the holistic concept of wellbeing confirming that everything is interrelated and needs to be considered at the 'whole of system' level in policy approaches.

Men come together in cities in order to live, said Aristotle, but they remain there in order to live the good life. (Aristotle) Cities have always had a magnetic pull. Not long ago, the world click...

Abstract Field trials with various pesticide combinations were carried out on bulk wheat in commercial silos in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Laboratory bioassays on samples of treated grain at intervals over 8 months using malathion‐susceptible and malathion‐resistant strains established the following orders of efficacy: against Sitophilus oryzae (L.), chlorpyrifos‐methyl 10 mg kg −1 + bioresmethrin 1 mg kg −1 = methacrifos 15 mg kg −1 in aerated storage &gt; pirimiphos‐methyl 4 or 6 mg kg −1 + bioresmethrin 1 mg kg −1 = bioresmethrin 4 mg kg −1 + piperonyl butoxide 16 mg kg −1 ; against Rhyzopertha dominica (F.), bioresmethrin 4 mg kg −1 + piperonyl butoxide 16 mg kg −1 &gt; methacrifos 15 mg kg −1 &gt; chlorpyrifos‐methyl 10 mg kg −1 + bioresmethrin 1 mg kg −1 = pirimiphos‐methyl 4 or 6 mg kg −1 + bioresmethrin 1 mg kg −1 . All treatments completely prevented production of progeny in Sitophilus granarius (L.), Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), T. confusum Jackquelin du Val and Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.). The biological efficacy of methacrifos was greater and the rate of degradation lower in aerated than in non‐aerated storage. Residue levels of all compounds were determined chemically and were below proposed international residue levels to be considered by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

An increasingly frequent dilemma in restorative dentistry is the question of whether to retain a badly damaged tooth and restore it, or to remove and possibly replace it. Given the ethical difficulties inherent in testing this question, it is unlikely that we will ever see a properly designed clinical trial that will provide an answer. One of the most strongly debated components of this question is whether endodontic treatment and restoration can compete with a dental implant-borne prosthesis in terms of longevity and success. In the current paper, the authors will attempt to: (i) answer this question based on our current understanding of the dental literature; and (ii) provide practitioners with guidelines that might be applied to their daily practices.

Traditional approaches to security and safety are being challenged by ever-increasing complexity in today's socio-economic systems. New vulnerabilities are arising for many reasons: demographic shifts, trans-boundary networks, modern business practices, new systemic risks, and reliance on closely coupled infrastructure systems, among others. In such circumstances there needs to be greater allowance for uncertainty, and a different balance of proactive and reactive risk management. Decision-makers in both governments and the private sector require more comprehensive strategies that combine active management of specific risks with enhancement of generic resilience in society. Security will depend increasingly on community attributes such as social capital, informal communication networks, and organisational culture. As a general strategy for managing complex risks, this paper recommends a multilayered approach involving systems planning, risk management, resilience building, and adaptive responses.

Using firm‐level data, we analyse the patterns, innovation characteristics and determinants of turnover high‐growth firms (HGFs) in Australia. We find most HGFs do not stay in the high‐growth phase for long, and following the Global Financial Crisis the proportion of HGFs has declined. For HGFs, the results suggest that innovation in goods and services has a much greater impact on turnover growth than for the average firm. For all firms, innovations in goods and services and marketing, and business focus on innovation contribute to turnover growth. Finally, HGFs generate greater returns on investment in research and development than slower growing firms.

Governing carbon stored in natural and human-managed ecosystems is an emerging area in global climate politics. Many developed and developing countries are devising and implementing a range of reform programs that aim to reduce emissions and increase sequestration in the land use, land use change and forestry, and agricultural sectors. In developing countries, mitigation programs and projects on the ground have accelerated under the global program Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The article applies a governmentality framework to analyze these policies and programs as forms of administrative, economic, and deliberative rationalities and associated technologies. What emerges in the analysis is that governing is conducted through common technologies including policy instruments and rules, stakeholder engagement processes, and the application of the same technical monitoring and carbon accounting methodologies. In the case of REDD+, there has been strong emphasis on the introduction of market and incentive approaches, but the major reforms have focused on government regulatory programs and building technical and administrative capacity. Importantly, this is allowing national and sub-national governments to extend their authority across all aspects of the reform agenda, which poses significant challenges for reducing forest loss in developing countries.

There are numerous examples illustrating the integration of Aboriginal knowledge and participation in rangelands management. At the 2019 Australian Rangelands Conference we aimed to explore how Aboriginal culture and its core values have something deeper to contribute to rangelands management. We explore this through a Yungadhu (Malleefowl) cultural depiction and story. The depiction and story explain the often cited, but not well understood, concepts of Kinship, Country, Lore, and Dreaming. The story provides insight into Aboriginal people’s world view and is used in this paper to illustrate how well it aligns with current thinking about resilience in rangelands landscapes and communities. Significantly, we explain how the deep wisdom that resides in Aboriginal cultures has something meaningful to contribute to achieving the conditions for resilience.

Summary Misunderstandings have arisen in the Comprehensive Regional Assessments (CRA) leading up to the Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) on the utilisation and management of Australian native forests, due to different perceptions held by stakeholder groups on what constitutes forest sustainability. In the CRA process, terms such as ‘sustained yield’, ‘sustainable yield’, ‘sustainable forest management’, ‘multiple-use forestry’, ‘ecologically sustainable forest management’ and ‘adaptive forest management’ have been used indiscriminately, adding to the confusion. This paper attempts to define forest sustainability in the contemporary usage. It is hoped that the paper will help clarify related policy issues and the processes required to plan and monitor forest sustainability. These processes address goals over a long time horizon, and these goals in turn provide a framework for guiding and constraining detailed short-term planning.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Injuries lead to more hospitalisations and lost years of healthy life for Aboriginal people than any other cause. However, they are often overlooked in discussion of relieving Aboriginal disadvantage. METHODS: Four Aboriginal communities with diverse geography, culture and service arrangements participated in the Interplay Wellbeing project. In each community, Aboriginal researchers conducted focus groups and interviews arranged through Aboriginal organisations to explore wellbeing. A total of 84 participants contributed to 14 focus groups and eight interviews, which were recorded, transcribed and coded. This article reports on injury and possibilities for prevention, unanticipated themes raised in discussions of wellbeing. RESULTS: Interpersonal violence, injury and imprisonment emerged as themes that were linked with employment and wellbeing. Employment in Aboriginal ranger programs provides meaningful activity, which strengthens people's identity and cultural integrity. This can avert interpersonal violence through empowering women and reducing alcohol access and consumption. CONCLUSION: Ranger programs may provide a much-needed opportunity to control escalating rates of injury for Aboriginal people in remote communities. SO WHAT?: The manifold benefits of Aboriginal ranger programs include reducing violence and its injury and criminal justice consequences.

Abstract This article documents the considerable economic support provided to businesses by the Australian Government in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic. We find that measures were associated with higher levels of business profitability and savings, a strong recovery in payroll jobs and wages, and mixed effects with respect to business dynamism. We formally evaluate the SME Cashflow Boost, finding costs per job‐year saved in the vicinity of $72–83,000 ($US51–59,000) over its first year, implying between 400 and 500,000 job‐years saved over this period. Combined with results from previous studies, this suggests between 1.1 and 1.3 million job‐years were saved by the SME Cashflow Boost and JobKeeper Payment over their respective first years post‐announcement.

Conservation must be set in a context in which it is recognized that: (i) Overall human impact on The Biosphere is the product of the number of people on Earth multiplied by the average impact per person. Both of these factors are continuing to increase although there is already compelling evidence that the present level of impact is exceeding the carrying capacity of the planet. (ii) The ability of the Earth's natural systems to tolerate different types of impacts varies from place to place. Not surprisingly it is in the world's tropical and arid regions, where rapid population-growth often coincides with ecological systems which are less able than most others elsewhere to tolerate intensive utilization, that many of the world's most intractable ecological problems are found. (iii) All countries must endeavour to minimize population growth and reduce the environmental impact per person until the overall global impact is reduced to a level at which all peoples can expect to be able to have a comparable but ecologically sustainable level of impact. (iv) Achieving sustainable levels of impact will require an unprecedented degree of international cooperation. This will involve at its core due recognition that ecologically sustainable development can best be achieved in conjunction with continued economic and social development. It will also require due recognition of how new, ecologically sustainable, technologies will often be the key to ensuring that such continued development is indeed ecologically sustainable. (v) There is at present insufficient recognition in the industrialized, i.e. ‘developed’, countries that their failure to pay ecologically realistic prices makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for commodity producers to follow ecologically sustainable practices. The consequence is land degradation in countries that are dependent on commodity exports, and a diminished or degraded global environment overall. (vi) There is a strong case for preserving Antarctica from development because of its importance in influencing global weather and climate, and because of its ecological fragility and biological uniqueness. To preserve it as a wilderness will be an important test of international resolve to manage such resources as are still accessible in the rest of the world in an ecologically sustainable manner .

The paper was originally given at a function arranged by the Australian Library Promotion Council, and held in the Galleries of the State Library of New South Wales on Wednesday November 13, 1985 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Munn-Pitt Report. It reviews the circumstances surrounding the commissioning of the Report, and its consequences, and touches on developments since then, including the setting-up, in 1975 of a further inquiry into public library services in Australia, under the chairmanship of Allan Horton. It notes that the findings of that inquiry were shelved by the Fraser Government, and that the Hawke Government has not seen fit to reverse this decision. The Editor is grateful to the paper's distinguished author, and to the ALPC and its President, Mrs. Dulcie Stretton, CBE, for permission to republish it herein.

It’s often said that “relationships matter”. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders dealing with the Commonwealth’s public sector bureaucrats to develop Indigenous policies, relationships certainly do matter. And not just any sort of sort of relationship. High quality ones that engender a sense of trust and mutual respect.