Austerity Research Articles

Bordering: Australia’s Policy to Border During COVID-19

Why did Australia border earlier than most other states in response to the outbreak of COVID-19? Between mid-January and March 2020, the Australian government adopted increasingly restrictive travel bans that led to the country closing its borders to all non-residents, adopting mandatory hotel quarantines for 14 days and a travel ban on Australians travelling overseas. These actions were in contravention of the World Health Organization advice to states on travel restrictions. Australia’s border closure was one of the strictest and, ultimately, longest in the world. In this article, we complement existing explanations on bordering that include critical border studies, securitization and bio/necropolitics with theoretical approaches from public policy literature to examine the domestic conditions that inform border closure policies and practices. We demonstrate that the decision to border, in this case, was not a rejection of World Health Organization advice but a turn towards the domestic pull factors – including domestic expert advice – to border.

Comparing the success and failure of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan's water recovery programs

AbstractThe Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) Plan is held up by some as an exemplar for world‐leading water policy, whilst others have called it a failure. Total proposed recovery was to return 3200 GL of consumptive (e.g. namely irrigation) water use to non‐consumptive (e.g. environmental) use in the MDB, making it one of the largest planned reallocations of water resources in the world. As of June 2023, over AUD$13 billion was committed financially from the Australian government to Basin water reform, with AUD$7.7 billion spent to date on water recovery programs. The implementation of the Plan has been mired in controversy, and it missed its first water recovery targets that had been set for 2024, requiring substantial legislation amendments. This study provides a qualitative policy overview comparison of the success and failure of the two main water recovery programs implemented—buyback of water entitlements from willing sellers and subsidising irrigation infrastructure (on and off‐farm) projects. It concludes that contrary to the popular view held by many, the buyback water recovery program has been a success—achieving the majority of the water recovered to date, at the least cost, with the least negative externalities—in comparison to infrastructure programs.Points for practitioners Assessing success and failure of MDB water recovery programs requires establishing effectiveness, efficiency and equity criteria. Greater work on the benefits of water reallocation downstream and cultural water is needed. A comparison of MDB buyback water recovery programs with irrigation infrastructure programs found higher net benefits for buyback programs. Use first‐best policy to address each water policy objective, not one policy aimed at addressing multi‐objectives. Overall, the Plan.s overall success is still to be determined, given the difficulty in judging environmental outcome success that is intrinsically linked with other external factors.

Forging support: when there is no alternative to ‘there is no alternative’

Abstract Whether fiscal austerity by governments is unpopular or not is much discussed in the literature. One line of research argues that consolidation has negative electoral effects, ranging from declines in politicians’ approval ratings to abstention by voters at elections. Another strand highlights that re-election chances are not harmed by the implementation of austerity and that some voters in fact support consolidation measures. Both sides are limited in at least two regards. First, they do not allow for the possibility that public opinion is shaped by the political discussion about government debts and budget deficits. Second, and relatedly, the literature is limited in its extent to which it considers heterogeneity in preference adaptation across income groups. This article contributes to these debates by bringing to bear insights from the literature on mass preference formation. In particular, I argue that a cross-party consensus on austerity leads voters to align their preferences with the consensus, increasingly demanding cuts to government spending. This adaptation is conditioned by income so that the preferences of those income groups that are the furthest away from the consensus adapt their fiscal preferences most. By including the discursive context of fiscal policy, this article helps explain how austerity can be made popular. Empirically, I test these expectations by matching citizen preferences with party positions on fiscal policy for 60 country years. The empirical results indeed demonstrate that even though low- and middle-income voters are least supportive of austerity, they adapt the most to the party consensus on austerity.

Government Health Expenditure and Maternal Mortality: The Moderating Role of External Debt.

The impact of government health spending and external debt on maternal mortality has been the subject of ongoing theoretical and empirical discussions. However, this relationship has remained controversial with no perspective on the moderating role of external debt on the government's health expenditure and maternal mortality link. This study examines the moderating effect of external debt on the government's health expenditure and maternal mortality relation using data from 13 Southern African economies spanning from 2000 to 2022. We employed the augmented mean group, the dynamic common correlation effect mean group, and the Driscoll-Kraay and Granger causality techniques to attain the study's objective. The outcome revealed that government health expenditure and external debt reduce maternal mortality in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Equally, the magnitude of government health spending is moderated by external debt. The results revealed a bidirectional relation amidst maternal mortality and government health expenditure, and maternal mortality and external debt. The study recommends that policymakers within the SADC zone should avoid austerity measures and encourage expansionary measures in terms of spending, and the contraction of debt for capital investment in the health sector. This will enhance the delivery of health services within the zone and equally reduce the rate of maternal mortality that is still a major health concern within the sub-region.

The industrial dimension of Australia’s claims for reparations from Japan after World War II

The literature documenting Australia’s claims for reparations from Japan after World War II has focussed on high policy and diplomacy, mainly at the Far Eastern Commission (FEC), and on compensation for former prisoners of war and civilian internees. However, nothing has been published on the considerable industrial dimension, an inherently technological subject. This article examines that aspect and provides answers to some important historical questions. Which Commonwealth Government departments were interested in identifying and claiming Japanese plant and equipment as reparations? What types of plant and equipment did the Commonwealth Government and Australian industries require? What impressions did Japanese technology make on an Australian Reparations Mission sent to Japan to claim machinery on behalf of the Australian Government? And what did Australia derive from a reparations-related FEC scheme that allowed FEC and non-FEC countries access to Japanese intellectual property, ultimately the only success in an otherwise failed endeavour to acquire reparations from Japanese industry?

Anxieties about a Porous Border: Australian Government Responses to Melanesian ‘Boat People’

Starting in 1969, small groups of West Papuans have occasionally crossed the Torres Strait to Australia and sought its protection. In public discourse, these arrivals have figured as part of a narrative about Australia’s relationship with Indonesia. By contrast, in the public discourse about border control, which focuses on attempted travel across the Indian Ocean and distinct ‘waves’, they have been treated as a footnote, at most. In this article, we closely examine the Australian government’s response to West Papuan ‘boat people’ over time to demonstrate that, unlike in public discourse, border control considerations have loomed large in the government’s response. We argue that, in order to understand Australia’s approach to border control, we should see West Papuan asylum seekers in the context of border control policy and not only as a problem in Australia’s relationship with Indonesia.

Communities of practice as an effective ECB approach for nonevaluation specialists: A case study in an Australian state government department

AbstractAmong the various evaluation capacity building strategies, there is an important opportunity to enhance the evidence on the effectiveness of communities of practice (CoPs). We argue that evaluation CoPs have great potential to develop evaluative thinking among nonevaluation specialists and build the foundations of a sustainable organizational evaluation culture. This article presents a case study of an evaluation community of practice in an Australian state government agency, with evidence collected over 4 years against a comprehensive evaluation framework. It outlines in detail an empirically tested evaluation‐CoP good practice from the initial design and logic model to implementation and measurement against individual, group, and organizational outcomes.

Post-pandemic positions: new perspectives on international education and public diplomacy in Australia

PurposeIn an era of internationalism, higher education and vocational training have been core to Australia’s nation-building, regional co-operation and public diplomacy. This essay examines what has become of the people-to-people aspect of Australia’s engagements in the Indo-Pacific region, as discussed in the Australian government’s influential White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century (2012). More recently, established patterns of international educational exchange, and their economic, social and cultural benefits, have been disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, shifting international relations and domestic politics, with consequences for international education and public diplomacy.Design/methodology/approachThis essay introduces the scholarly context for a reappraisal of Australian histories of international education within the Indo-Pacific region since the mid-20th century, and the role of NGOs, academia and government in educational schemes and scholarships. It draws on an approach informed by international history, the history of education and diplomatic studies, to provide an overview of key themes and the past and present case studies discussed in the seven articles of this special journal issue.FindingsThe little-known histories of international education in Australia, and associated scholarship schemes, are important aspects of soft power or public diplomacy and the nation’s relations with the Indo-Pacific region. We argue that there needs to be greater acknowledgement of the vital role of these interpersonal interactions and the international organisations that facilitated such exchanges in histories of Australia’s internationalism and diplomacy. While Australian governments have initiated scholarship programmes, what is becoming clear is that understanding their significance for Australian–regional relationships demands a research focus on student expectations and experiences that often lay beyond government control.Originality/valueThis essay and the articles in this special issue offer new historic and current insights on international education policy and programmes and Australia’s diplomatic relations. Many of the highlighted case studies have not previously been analysed within this context, and fresh analysis makes an intervention into the field, revealing the complexities and limitations of international education and people-to-people relationships for Australia’s past and present connections with the Indo-Pacific region.

Evaluating Age-Friendly Health Care Approaches in Rural Primary Care Settings: A Multi-Case, Mixed-Methods Hybrid Type 2 Effectiveness-Implementation Study.

Maintaining and improving the health and well-being of older people in rural communities through integrated care is essential to address this cohort's frailty risk. The Indigo 4Ms Tool for health workers is a rural-specific approach to providing care that addresses the common conditions of ageing. With Australian government funding, five small rural health services are implementing the tool. This paper describes the protocol for a hybrid type 2 implementation-effectiveness study to evaluate the tool's impact on multidisciplinary comprehensive care planning and the implementation strategies that enhance the adoption and sustainability of the tool across diverse rural health settings.

Towards Net-Zero Emissions from Urban Transport: Ex Post Policy Evaluation in Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory

The achievement of net-zero emissions is a major governmental challenge to ameliorate the adverse impacts of climate change, and to reduce the health risks associated with poor air quality. In Australia, the transport sector is a major contributor to particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions, especially in urban areas. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government recognises that one of the greatest sustainability challenges to achieving a carbon-neutral society with net-zero emissions is the transport sector because it contributes 60 percent of all emissions under its jurisdiction. The ACT is a suitable case study on climate change, energy policy, and transport emissions because its electricity is powered by renewable energy; its governance has included a continuous planning philosophy of integrating transport with land use. The methodology is based on identifying and summarising the international literature on net-zero emissions policy (n = 50), the relevant policy documents and reports by the Australian Government (n = 8) and by the ACT Government (n = 32). An appraisal of policy outcomes in the ACT is based on an analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. In a car-dependent city (77% of trips by private transport), the most realistic policies for achieving net-zero emissions are to encourage, through fiscal incentives and regulations, the adoption of electric vehicles for buses and private cars, electric or hydrogen vehicles for the commercial fleet, and regulations to phase out petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles.

Austerity Measures and the Resilience of Zimbabwe's Healthcare System: Challenges and Solutions.

Austerity measures have become a contentious topic, shaping the landscape of health care systems around the world. As governments grapple with economic challenges, the impact of austerity on health care has emerged as a critical concern. This study focuses on the consequences of austerity actions adopted by the Zimbabwean government under the Transitional Stabilization Program (TSP) from August 2018 to December 2025. This research examines the impact of austerity measures on Zimbabwe's health care sector, exploring its connections with health infrastructure and resources, accessibility and affordability of health care, health funding, health care inequalities, and the health care workforce. Using a quantitative approach and data from 970 participants, including the general populace, health care providers, and government officials, significant positive correlations between austerity measures and these health care variables were identified. The findings indicated a noteworthy positive correlation between the independent variable "austerity measures" and five dependent variables: health care accessibility and affordability, health care inequalities, infrastructure and resources, health care funding, and health care workforce. The t-statistics values exceeded the threshold of 1.96, with values of 5.085, 3.120, 6.459, 8.517, and 3.830, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of considering the effects of austerity on health care access, health funding, health care inequalities, health workforce, health infrastructure and resources development. Policymakers should prioritize equitable resource allocation and targeted investments to strengthen the resilience of the health care system during economic challenges. Understanding these associations is crucial for evidence-based policy decisions and fostering a more equitable and resilient health care system in Zimbabwe.

Voluntary versus mandatory food labels, Australia.

To compare uptake of the voluntary Health Star Rating front-of-pack nutrition labelling system with uptake of a mostly mandatory country-of-origin label in Australia over a similar period. We used data on numbers and proportions of products carrying health stars and country-of-origin labelling recorded annually between 2015 and 2023 through surveys of four large Australian food retailers. We determined the proportion of products with health stars and country-of-origin labels for each year by dividing the number of products carrying each label by the total number eligible to carry that label. The uptake of the voluntary Health Star Rating increased steadily between 2014 and 2018, reaching a maximum of 42% (8587/20 286) of products in 2021 before decreasing to 39% (8572/22 147) in 2023. Mandatory country-of-origin labelling uptake rose rapidly and was found on 93% (17 567/18 923) of products in 2023. In categories where country-of-origin labelling was voluntary, uptake by 2023 was 48% (3313/6925). In our 2023 sample of 22 147 products, 11 055 (50%) carried country-of-origin labelling only, 7466 (35%) carried both health star and country-of-origin labelling, 1106 (5%) carried health star labels only and 2520 (11%) carried neither label. The experience with country-of-origin labelling shows that widespread and rapid food labelling change can be achieved when required by law. The Australian government should mandate the Health Star Rating without delay. Australia's experience supports other jurisdictions in implementing mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling as well as updates to global guidance to recognize mandatory labelling as best-practice in delivering benefits to consumers.

Hands Across Australia’s Land Border

Drawing on Indonesian and Dutch newspapers, this article describes how the Australian people and their political leaders were presented in contradictory ways to readers during the West New Guinea dispute. Particularly from 1949 to 1967, at the height of the dispute between the Netherlands and Indonesia over West New Guinea/Irian Barat, Dutch newspapers focused on the nature of Australian colonialism in an increasingly critical manner. The Indonesian press expected Australia – a supporter of its independence struggle and donor of education aid – to sympathise with its claim to the territory of Irian Barat. Sensitive to any signs that Australia sided with the Dutch or that it feared Indonesian ambitions in the region, the Indonesian press was at first displeased by Australia’s policy of ‘neutrality’ and then satisfied that the Australian government would not interfere.

Impacts of Climate Change on Rainfall ‘Seasonality Index’ and Its Potential Implications on Water Savings and Reliability through Household Rainwater Tanks

This study depicts potential climate change impacts on annual rainwater savings from household rainwater harvesting using two different climate projection models; ACCESS 1.0 and CSIRO-Mk3.6. This paper also investigates potential changes in the relationships of ‘water saving efficiency’ and reliability with rainfall ‘seasonality index’ under the mentioned climate change scenarios. The annual water savings were calculated for three weather conditions: dry, average, and wet. Historical daily rainfall amounts provided by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology were used for three locations within the city of Brisbane (Australia). For the same locations, projected future daily rainfall amounts were collected from an online data portal facilitated by the Australian government. Potential annual water savings, water saving efficiency, and reliability values for the selected locations were calculated through a widely used tool, eTank, developed on water balance methodology at a daily scale. It was found that for the coastal location, Manly, the future water savings are not likely to change significantly. However, for the inland location, Sunnybank, the future water savings are expected to decrease under all the weather conditions through both the considered climate projections. For the far inner location, Oxley, the water savings are likely to decrease in the dry year, whereas in wet year, they are likely to increase. Also, it was found that the overall average relationship of SI–water saving efficiency is steeper for ACCESS 1.0 projected data compared to that produced through CSIRO-Mk3.6 data, and that significant differences exist among individual relationships for each location. The overall reliabilities calculated through the model projected data show lower values compared to the reliabilities calculated using historical data.

Prostate cancer survivorship of Australian men living with prostate cancer: Patient support programs in Australia.

Treatment for prostate cancer (PC) is associated with adverse effects, especially in patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). The Australian Government, non-governmental organisations and pharmaceutical companies responsible for marketing ADT have initiated and sponsored various strategic support programs for patients diagnosed with PC. This professional article provides an overview of available PC patient support programs in Australia to assist general practitioners (GPs) to direct patient referrals and optimise clinical care. These PC support programs provide useful assistance on educational materials, decision support, clinical care management and referral to specialised services (eg continence advice, sexual health counselling and psychological support). More concerted efforts and smarter investment in PC survivorship programs are necessary to engage, educate and improve the lives of men living with PC more effectively.

Australia as the Destination for Study Abroad: International Students’ Mobility

International students have become one of the main populations in Australian universities. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many international students decided to go to other countries and regions for their higher education due to the border control policies in Australia. Based on the social cognitive career and motivation theory, this study explored the motivations and reasons why Chinese postgraduate international students decided to return to Australia after the Australian government officially re-opened the border for on-campus and face-to-face education and why Chinese postgraduate international students decided to study in Australia instead of other countries, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the general inductive approach with semi-structured interviews, focus group activities, and member-checking interviews, 20 Chinese postgraduate international students’ stories were captured. The findings indicated that financial, academic, and personal considerations are significant in the participants’ decision-making processes. The results will fill the research gaps and become a reference in international student mobilities, decisions, and decision-making processes of international students, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Australian university environment.

Colectiva Feminista en Construcción

Abstract Colectiva Feminista en Construcción (La Cole) is a Black feminist political organization that emerged in 2014 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This article discusses the ways La Cole’s public discourse around sexism, racism, and homophobia in the archipelago is articulated through the collective’s presence at marches, demonstrations, and on social media. While core membership is small, La Cole has been able to convene collaborators and supporters to organize against the imposition of neoliberal economic and public policies that negatively impact the most dispossessed populations in Puerto Rico, namely Black, poor, queer, and trans women. La Cole has constructed a transnational intersectional feminist pedagogy as a means of political education both within the organization itself and more broadly in Puerto Rico’s public sphere. The organization’s pedagogical strategies include the rewriting of Christmas songs and plenas, an Afro Puerto Rican musical genre, and their Radical Feminist School, a political education space open to nonmembers. Through these pedagogical interventions La Cole simultaneously calls attention to the ways state and structural gender-based violence and femicides, housing precarity, and austerity measures affect the most marginalized sectors of the archipelago while carving out their identity as a decolonial Black feminist political organization.

Effect of Public Wages on External Debt in Kenya

Most developing Africa countries have a high need for capital projects that requires a lot of government spending and attention. However, it is unfortunate that in Kenya, borrowed cash intended for capital projects is diverted to recurrent requirements putting a damper on national investment in viable projects. This poses a significant threat to the economy's growth. The following goal served as a guideline for the study; to determine the influence of public wages on external borrowing debt in Kenya using both cointegration and error correction model. Causal research design was adopted to explain the influence of public wages on external borrowing in Kenya. The study period was from 1970 and 2019 from which a 50-year time series data was employed for analysis. The research relied on secondary data which was collected with the aid of a structured data collection checklist from Central Bank of Kenya, and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, and World Bank websites. Data analysis was done with an aid of stata, E-views and Ox-Metrics statistical software. Stationarity of variables was tested using PP unit root test where public wages was reported to be stationary at level form. The study employed the use of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) technique in the analysis. There was a significant negative association between public wages and external debt whereby a rise in public wage by 100% indicated decrease in external debt by 101.92%. The overall model was found to be significant since the F-statistic value generated in the analysis was 124.664 with a p-value of 0.000 < 0.05. Model was a good predictor of external borrowing, with an adjusted R<sup>2</sup> of 0.946 for public wages explaining foreign debt. This research recommends the study recommends that SRC should free up resources using the austerity measures which include wage reductions for government employees. Secondly, the government through the ministry of treasury should raise tax base to increase revenues. Finally, the results of this study may be valuable to government stakeholders who are charged with the responsibility of ensuring economic development through public sector financing, also it is expected to provide important information to policymakers in order to maintain external debt at manageable levels.

Raising post‐secondary education participation of young people transitioning from care: The effects of extended legislative support

AbstractOut‐of‐home care is associated with a range of negative social outcomes for the young people who experience it. The most promising path to improved life chances for care‐experienced young people is arguably through education, especially post‐secondary education. Currently, no national data are collected on the post‐secondary education participation of care‐experienced young people. However, the evidence that exists suggests their participation rate is likely very low. Historically, one reason for post‐secondary participation gaps has been the fact that care ended abruptly at 18 years, forcing care‐experienced young people into independence much faster and earlier than the vast majority of their same‐age peers. The recent extension to care to 21 years for most young people in care across all Australian jurisdictions has changed the out‐of‐home care landscape considerably. A central question is whether the extension of care will, in itself, result in increased post‐secondary education access and success for care‐experienced young people. We address this question through an examination of the current out‐of‐home care and education landscape, including state and territory legislation, Australian Government policy and current post‐secondary settings and outcomes.

Financial development and environmental quality: Does the financial environmental Kuznets Curve Prevail in Australia?

It is crucial to evaluate the link between financial development and environmental quality in order to meet the environmental sustainability goals. Therefore, this scholarly work seeks to validate the of an inverted U-shaped relationship between financial development and environmental quality in Australia, which modifies the conventional theory of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. For the purposes of empirical analysis, we utilized the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bound test over the period from 1980 to 2021 for empirical investigation. Our findings confirm the existence of a Financial Environmental Kuznets Curve (FEKC) in the long-run, while the short-run results do not support its establishment. This means that achieving a financial development level of 0.0458 could help attain the environmental wellbeing in Australia. Similarly, the estimation outcomes affirm that the conventional Environmental Kuznets Curve exists in the long-run but not in the short-run. Our results also indicate that energy usage negatively impacts environmental quality, while foreign direct investments support the pollution halo effect in the long-run but do not exhibit this effect in the short-run. The roles of urbanization and trade openness are positive in enhancing quality of environment in the short-run. However, the effect of the carbon tax on determining environmental quality in Australia is deemed insignificant. In conclusion, this study offers vital policy recommendations to help achieve the Australian government's commitment to climate change.