Are You Being Served?: State, Citizens and GovernanceGlyn Davis, Patrick Moray Weller Even while democracy triumphs around the world, there is a growing distrust of governments and a suspicion of politicians. Social capital is in decline, citizens want to be less involved and to pay fewer taxes, but they still want governments to meet their needs and solve many of society's problems. What implications do these often contradictory aspirations have for the process of governance in Australia? This book seeks to answer this question. |
Contents
| 7 | |
the citizens in action Elim Papadakis | 36 |
Womens policy activism and changing relations | 58 |
Rethinking governments roles and operations | 73 |
Reshaping service delivery Michael Keating 98 2 | 98 |
Challenges to Indigenous service deliveryMichele Ivanitz | 126 |
Accountability and governanceRichard Mulgan and John Uhr | 152 |
consultation participation | 175 |
crisis or mere transition? | 196 |
List of other participants | 220 |
Common terms and phrases
Aboriginal achieve activities Administrative Review Council agencies agenda approach areas argues assistance ATSIC Australian governance budget bureaucracy campaigns capacity cent Centrelink challenge choice citizens clients Commonwealth competition concern considered consultation contracts coordination culture decision-making decisions decline deliver demands democratic direct democracy economic effective efficacy election electoral employment ensure environment environmental established example expectations federal feminist forms funding government's Griffith University implementation important improved increase Indigenous Australians individual institutions involved issues Job Network legitimacy liberal democracy mainstream Michael Keating ministerial ministers organisations outcomes Papadakis parliament parliamentary participation performance political action political parties political process political system politicians practice problems programs public accountability public sector Queensland reform relations representative requirements responsibility role service delivery service providers shift social capital social movements society survey Torres Strait Islander traditional trust voters voting women's movement
Popular passages
Page 34 - How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right — just about always, most of the time, or only some of the time?
Page 33 - Australian democracy has come to look upon the State as a vast public utility, whose duty it is to provide the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
Page 34 - Voting is the only way that people like me can have any say about how the government runs things. 1. AGREE J3. Sometimes politics and government seem so complicated that a person like me can't really understand what's going on.
Page 34 - How much do you feel that political parties help to make the government pay attention to what the people think: a good deal, some, or not much? 29 And how much do you feel that having elections makes the government pay attention to what the people think: a good deal, some, or not much?
Page 190 - For men's natural abilities are too dull to see through everything at once ; but by consulting, listening, and debating, they grow more acute, and while they are trying all means, they at last discover those which they want, which all approve, but no one would have thought of in the first instance.
Page 3 - I mean features of social life — networks, norms, and trust — that enable participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared objectives....
Page xi - He was elected a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 1996.
Page 67 - Violence against women is a manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of women's full advancement.
Page x - Director of the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University.