Women and leadership in a century of Australian democracy. This examination of Australian women leaders addresses the National Research Priority area, frontier technologies. Six Partner Organisations benefit through the use of new technologies that enrich their resources and disseminate new knowledge through websites, exhibitions and conferences. The returns to the broader Australian community include increased awareness of women's record of active organisational contribution including leadershi ....Women and leadership in a century of Australian democracy. This examination of Australian women leaders addresses the National Research Priority area, frontier technologies. Six Partner Organisations benefit through the use of new technologies that enrich their resources and disseminate new knowledge through websites, exhibitions and conferences. The returns to the broader Australian community include increased awareness of women's record of active organisational contribution including leadership in Indigenous, rural and migrant community organisations, in NGOs, social movements and unions. By identifying the contribution of women's leadership, nationally and internationally, the project offers Australian girls and women of diverse backgrounds encouragement to exercise their own capacities for agency and change.Read moreRead less
Confronting the devolution paradox: constitutional values, federal political culture and governance reform. Australia, like many countries, depends in part on devolutionary reform if its federal system of government is to adapt effectively to change. This project confronts a key barrier to reform; the ‘devolution paradox’, in which popular demands for decentralisation and diversity are confounded by conflicting political pressures for national policy uniformity and control. By mapping and compar ....Confronting the devolution paradox: constitutional values, federal political culture and governance reform. Australia, like many countries, depends in part on devolutionary reform if its federal system of government is to adapt effectively to change. This project confronts a key barrier to reform; the ‘devolution paradox’, in which popular demands for decentralisation and diversity are confounded by conflicting political pressures for national policy uniformity and control. By mapping and comparing the constitutional values and federal political culture of Australian citizens, citizens in Canada, USA and UK, and Australian reform policymakers, in more detail than ever before, it will give insights into how this key paradox might be resolved, helping unlock reform potential and restore adaptive capacity to our political system.Read moreRead less
The law of deliberative democracy: theory and reform. Deliberation is essential to the health of electoral and representative democracy. This project will evaluate and recommend the reform of the law underpinning democratic politics in Australia, to enhance its deliberative quality.
The institutional structure of e-government: a cross-policy, cross-country comparison. Governments have expended vast resources on building websites, yet how government is structured on the internet is unknown. This project will map Australia's online government for the first time and assess to how websites are supporting improved government service. The study will support government innovation in web design and service delivery.
Sparking a National Conversation. This project aims to understand why some promises of a ‘national conversation’ on a policy issue seem to be mere hyperbole, while others seem more authentic. Using an evaluative framework based on the latest democratic theory, and the aims and understandings of key actors in each case, the project plans to compare three cases that claimed to spark a national conversation: the Scottish National Conversation 2007–14; debates around the Affordable Care Act in the U ....Sparking a National Conversation. This project aims to understand why some promises of a ‘national conversation’ on a policy issue seem to be mere hyperbole, while others seem more authentic. Using an evaluative framework based on the latest democratic theory, and the aims and understandings of key actors in each case, the project plans to compare three cases that claimed to spark a national conversation: the Scottish National Conversation 2007–14; debates around the Affordable Care Act in the United States, 2009; and the ongoing issue of Indigenous constitutional recognition in Australia. The project aims to identify why some real-world efforts work better than others, and draw lessons for replicating best practice in Australia. Project outcomes may provide advice to policy-makers on how to engage citizens better in the major issues of the day.Read moreRead less
Australian political rhetoric: the role of public speech by elected representatives in contemporary Australian politics. What is the public benefit of the endless rituals of rhetorical claim and counter-claim performed by members of parliament? This project demonstrates that rhetoric is central to politics, through detailed case analysis of the performative side of Australian parliamentary politics. Good rhetoric, when we have it, makes for good politics.