Retrieving the Record: the White Australia policy, citizenship education and new applications for archival research. This project will develop models for making more effective use of the resources of the National Archives of Australia within civics and citizenship education. Using the resources of the Archives, the team will produce a new history of the White Australia policy, which will be developed into a public display and forum, showing how archival materials can illuminate the complexities ....Retrieving the Record: the White Australia policy, citizenship education and new applications for archival research. This project will develop models for making more effective use of the resources of the National Archives of Australia within civics and citizenship education. Using the resources of the Archives, the team will produce a new history of the White Australia policy, which will be developed into a public display and forum, showing how archival materials can illuminate the complexities of the democratic process. Supplementary research will investigate prospects for making stronger institutional connections between the Archives, citizenship education and teachers' professional formation. Benefits include increased understanding of immigration, Australian political history, educational strategies and the Archives' role and resources. Read moreRead less
An Empirical Study of Agenda Setting in the High Court of Australia. This project aims to undertake the first comprehensive study of institutional and individual factors that facilitate and constrain access to judicial power via the High Court’s agenda setting process, special leave. Using quantitative methods, the project expects to generate new and advanced knowledge about the High Court’s role as the gatekeeper of judicial power. Expected outcomes include foundational knowledge on the nature ....An Empirical Study of Agenda Setting in the High Court of Australia. This project aims to undertake the first comprehensive study of institutional and individual factors that facilitate and constrain access to judicial power via the High Court’s agenda setting process, special leave. Using quantitative methods, the project expects to generate new and advanced knowledge about the High Court’s role as the gatekeeper of judicial power. Expected outcomes include foundational knowledge on the nature and scope of access to judicial power in Australia via policy reports, scholarly articles and datasets. This should provide significant benefits such as important insights on the impact and influence of justices, litigants, lawyers, and governments on High Court’s decisions to grant or deny special leave to appeal.Read moreRead less
'Political' public servants: challenges, risks and rewards. The current ministerial and parliamentary staff system in Australia, established by the Member of Parliament Staff Act 1984, created a mechanism by which public servants can disengage from the public service while working as ministerial and parliamentary staffers, and later re-engage with the public service. This project will explore the phenomenon of the so-called 'political public servant' and the nature of impartiality and partisansh ....'Political' public servants: challenges, risks and rewards. The current ministerial and parliamentary staff system in Australia, established by the Member of Parliament Staff Act 1984, created a mechanism by which public servants can disengage from the public service while working as ministerial and parliamentary staffers, and later re-engage with the public service. This project will explore the phenomenon of the so-called 'political public servant' and the nature of impartiality and partisanship, asking whether these attributes are easily adopted and discarded or whether in fact they coexist within a subset of 'hybrid' public servants.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200385
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$262,359.00
Summary
Transforming Democracy in the Bush: A Study of Politics in Rural Australia. This project aims to examine changing patterns of political participation and representation in rural Australia. Almost one third of our population lives outside major cities yet little is known about the democratic dynamics unfolding in rural Australia as it faces major demographic, economic and environmental change. Through in-depth case research this project will analyse how rural Australians participate in politics, ....Transforming Democracy in the Bush: A Study of Politics in Rural Australia. This project aims to examine changing patterns of political participation and representation in rural Australia. Almost one third of our population lives outside major cities yet little is known about the democratic dynamics unfolding in rural Australia as it faces major demographic, economic and environmental change. Through in-depth case research this project will analyse how rural Australians participate in politics, the interests they seek to advance and the efficacy of their political and civic activities. Expected outcomes include strengthened research capacity in rural politics, new frameworks for assessing how democracy is transforming, and reform pathways to enhance the engagement of diverse constituencies in our political system.Read moreRead less
Democratic Audit of Australia. The Democratic Audit of Australia is an assessment of Australia's strengths and weaknesses as a democratic society. It will examine five key areas: (i) citizenship, law and rights; (2) representative and accountable government; (3) participation and government responsiveness; (4) democracy beyond the state; and (5) democracy and federalism. The audit process was pioneered in Britain and has now been applied in ten countries including New Zealand.
The Audit aim ....Democratic Audit of Australia. The Democratic Audit of Australia is an assessment of Australia's strengths and weaknesses as a democratic society. It will examine five key areas: (i) citizenship, law and rights; (2) representative and accountable government; (3) participation and government responsiveness; (4) democracy beyond the state; and (5) democracy and federalism. The audit process was pioneered in Britain and has now been applied in ten countries including New Zealand.
The Audit aims to make a major methodological contribution to democracy assessment, as well as providing benchmark data for purposes of monitoring and international comparison. It will also promote public debate over democracy issues.Read moreRead less
Democratic Audit of Australia: The Second Wave. The Democratic Audit asks "How democratic is our country and its government?" This project will give the community a comprehensive survey of the strengths and weaknesses of Australian democracy, tracking changes since the 2004 report. It will also provide more detailed findings on major questions that confront Australian governments now like the regulation of political financing and the impact on politics of new technologies like the internet. Usin ....Democratic Audit of Australia: The Second Wave. The Democratic Audit asks "How democratic is our country and its government?" This project will give the community a comprehensive survey of the strengths and weaknesses of Australian democracy, tracking changes since the 2004 report. It will also provide more detailed findings on major questions that confront Australian governments now like the regulation of political financing and the impact on politics of new technologies like the internet. Using audit data, the project will produce a major scholarly analysis of the relationship between democratic values and the institutional choices made in Australia. Because a central objective of the Audit is to promote public debate, all Audit findings are published and placed on the Audit website.Read moreRead less
Democratic Choices: Ideas and Outcomes. Democratic Choices will provide important evidence for policy actors and policy makers on Australian democratic beliefs and on current performance of institutions relative to those beliefs. It will stimulate debate and inform strategies for democratic renewal, particularly in relation to youth disengagement and the crisis of confidence in representative institutions. It will sustain Australia's capacity for democracy assessment and contribute to internatio ....Democratic Choices: Ideas and Outcomes. Democratic Choices will provide important evidence for policy actors and policy makers on Australian democratic beliefs and on current performance of institutions relative to those beliefs. It will stimulate debate and inform strategies for democratic renewal, particularly in relation to youth disengagement and the crisis of confidence in representative institutions. It will sustain Australia's capacity for democracy assessment and contribute to international best practice in this field. In improving capacity for critical self-assessment it will enhance the credibility of our democracy assistance programs and promote regional and international understanding of our democratic institutions.Read moreRead less
The 2012/13 Australian Election Study: volatility and electoral change. The 2012/13 Australian Election Study will provide both an in-depth understanding of general patterns of voting behaviour and a detailed, objective account of how and why voters made up their minds in this federal election. The study adds to the unbroken series of national surveys conducted after each Australian federal election since 1987.
The 2004 Australian Election Study Survey: The Decline of Political Parties? Long renowned for the stability of its political party system, Australia is finally experiencing a sustained challenge to the dominance of the major parties, which is reflected in an increasing preference by voters for minor parties and independent candidates. This project will examine the implications of these developments by conducting a public-use, national sample survey of voters at the next federal election, likely ....The 2004 Australian Election Study Survey: The Decline of Political Parties? Long renowned for the stability of its political party system, Australia is finally experiencing a sustained challenge to the dominance of the major parties, which is reflected in an increasing preference by voters for minor parties and independent candidates. This project will examine the implications of these developments by conducting a public-use, national sample survey of voters at the next federal election, likely to be held in 2004. The outcomes generated by the project will enhance academic and community understanding of the nature of the changing partisan climate within the Australian electorate.Read moreRead less
Political Engagement Among the Young: The 2016-19 Australian Election Study. This project seeks to understand the declining level of political engagement among the young, with a view to developing measures that will help to re-invigorate their political participation. One of the greatest challenges to democracy in Australia and internationally is to understand the lack of political engagement among the young. Young people today are less likely to vote, to join a political party, or to engage in ....Political Engagement Among the Young: The 2016-19 Australian Election Study. This project seeks to understand the declining level of political engagement among the young, with a view to developing measures that will help to re-invigorate their political participation. One of the greatest challenges to democracy in Australia and internationally is to understand the lack of political engagement among the young. Young people today are less likely to vote, to join a political party, or to engage in interest groups than at any time since democratisation. The 2016–19 Australian Election Study is designed to address this question by surveying a representative sample of voters in the 2016 and 2019 elections. The project is also designed to add to an unbroken series of post-election national opinion surveys which have monitored trends in Australian political behaviour since 1987.Read moreRead less