Parliamentary Inquiry Research Articles

The entanglement of employers and political elites in migration policymaking: the case of Brexit and the revival of UK horticulture’s guestworker scheme

Background:Following Brexit, and the ending of freedom of movement, labour supply crises have emerged in the UK. The paper focuses on the horticultural sector, where these crises have been particularly pronounced, with fears of crops being left to rot in the fields now commonplace. Aims and objectives:To examine the scale and nature of employer pressure on government with respect to UK low-wage migration policymaking in the period (2016–2020) following the Brexit vote. Methods:Thematic analysis of five parliamentary inquiries over the 2016–2020 Brexit period covering 515 documents and amounting to a total of 4,227 pages of evidence. Findings:Numerous political inquiries emerged after the 2016 Brexit referendum that opened up the opportunity for employers to publicly press government for more liberal low-wage migration policies. Employers responded with concerted, weighty and consistent pressure that revolved around: emphasising a labour supply crisis; underlining the lack of suitable local labour; presenting government with a range of unsavoury alternatives to low-wage immigration; and championing a new seasonal guestworker scheme to avoid these unsavoury alternatives. Discussion and conclusions:The Brexit period (2016–2020) saw a willingness within UK government to listen to employers with respect to migration policy. In the food production industry, employers responded with a strong and consistent voice and they got what they wanted: a new horticultural guestworker scheme. We cannot say for certain though that correlation equals causation, and more research is now needed into the intimate entanglement of employers and political elites in the migration policy process.

Anti-Death Penalty Advocacy: A Lawyer’s View From Australia

This article reviews the executions of Australians in the region and the Australian responses over the past two decades. Informed by the author’s legal defence role in death penalty cases in Singapore and Indonesia, the article explores developments in anti–death penalty advocacy since 2015: the parliamentary enquiry, the ‘whole of government’ strategy led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the efforts made by Australia and Australians in Asia.

Co‐design or top‐down welfare conditionality? An analysis of the impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander submissions to six parliamentary inquiries into the Cashless Debit Card

AbstractThe former Coalition Commonwealth Government consistently asserted that representative Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter Indigenous) organisations supported the introduction of the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) in multiple trial sites. Consequently, they depicted the CDC policy as an alleged exemplar of a co‐designed policy model based on partnership with Indigenous community groups. This article examines the validity of this argument by analysing the views expressed by Indigenous organisations via written and oral submissions to the six parliamentary inquiries into the CDC from 2015 to 2020. Our findings suggest that with the exception of the first inquiry, most Indigenous submissions opposed the introduction or the expansion of the CDC. Yet, these critical views received only limited acknowledgement in the inquiry reports, and seem to have little or no impact on government policy concerning the CDC. It appears that the CDC policy is more accurately identified as a top‐down policy imposed by government on local Aboriginal communities which, with some exceptions, neither requested nor consented to the policy.

Accountability mechanisms of inquiries and investigations into Australian governments’ responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic

Objective:Australian federal, state and territory government responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic have been subject to public oversight by various domestic inquiries and investigations, despite little analysis about what accountability these processes deliver in the context of public health emergencies (PHEs) involving communicable disease. This article identifies and describes recent inquiries and investigations. It examines their ability to promote accountability through mechanisms of answerability (information and justification) and enforceability (sanctions). Methods:A systematic scoping review was used to identify inquiries and investigations initiated by May 2021 and to examine the answerability and enforceability mechanisms present. Three diverse case studies were chosen for further description and examination. Results:Seven parliamentary inquiries, two commissions/boards of inquiry and one Ombudsman investigation were identified. All had numerous mechanisms of answerability. All but two embedded enforceability mechanisms; these were limited, however, to basic reporting. Conclusion:While inquiries and investigations can promote accountability through various mechanisms of answerability, external enforceability mechanisms may be beneficial to strengthen accountability and ensure learning. Implications for public health:Consideration of the kind of accountability that public inquiries and investigations should provide in the context of communicable disease PHEs, and how accountability mechanisms can be strengthened, may improve future public health responses.

Assembling Imperceptibility: The Material, Financial and Policy Dimensions of Combustible Cladding in Residential High-Rise

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the predicament of owner-occupiers and small investors presently liable for the removal of combustible cladding on build-to-sell residential high-rise. We argue that while the proliferation of combustible materials has been shaped by cost-cutting and risk-shifting by construction firms, these practices did not on their own transfer the responsibility of remediation to consumers. Examining the attempts of one densifying nation, Australia, to locate responsibility for combustible cladding through two parliamentary inquiries, we analyse witness testimonies to show how public policies encouraged materials substitution, removed on-site inspection and protected corporations from litigation. Moving beyond neoliberalism, these policy reforms leveraged information asymmetries and the material complexity of residential high-rise to create a climate of “imperceptibility” towards unsafe materials. Together, material, financial and policy dimensions intersected to enable capital accumulation through the expansion of consumer harm in high-rise housing markets. We conclude that construction materials and processes are an overlooked, yet critical domain of governance in financialised housing regimes.

Parliamentary Inquiries: an Underestimated Anticorruption Tool

Abstract In countries with high levels of corruption, ruling elites rarely have an interest in meaningful anticorruption reforms. Thus, within state structures, the opposition is often key in controlling the government. At the same time, no state body has wider jurisdiction than parliament. Therefore, empowering the opposition to inquire into corruption (and other) scandals is a key factor in an integrity system. The German system of strong opposition rights in collecting evidence through parliamentary inquiry committees has been a unique selling point by global comparison until 2014, when it was emulated by Austria. An analysis of the 63 inquiry committees of the Bundestag since 1949 shows that a significant share concerned corruption cases. Had it not been for parliamentary inquiries, most of these cases would have remained without any follow-up by a state institution. In stark contrast to this finding, international anticorruption guidance more or less entirely ignores inquiry committees.

An unethical trial and the politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil: The case of Prevent Senior.

The Brazilian Federal Senate created a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) to investigate the Bolsonaro government's irregularities in the management of the COVID‐19 pandemic. One of the cases that drew attention was the research conducted by Prevent Senior, a private health insurance company, on the early treatment of COVID‐19. The article analyzes the scientific validity of the research and the ethical problems related to its implementation. It is based on analysis of Prevent Senior's report of the clinical study, the Brazilian and USA clinical trial registries, the Senate's CPI report, and on the information reported by the media. This case of scientific fraud and political‐ideological bias exemplifies how Prevent Senior, using a questionable protocol to enhance its reputation and gain government support, was instrumental in building the “early treatment” narrative for COVID‐19, and shows how it served as a basis for a government public policy that promoted the use of ineffective drugs.

“No Alcohol, No Risk. #FASD”– Twitter Activity on Alcohol and Pregnancy among Australian Organizations

Objective: Research has suggested that information communicated by public health and industry-funded organizations differ, as organizations linked to industry have tended to downplay risks with alcohol more broadly and pregnancy specifically. There is limited knowledge of how alcohol use in pregnancy and associated risks are communicated on social media in Australia. This study set out to describe communication of health risks associated with alcohol use during pregnancy on Twitter by Australian-based organizations and stakeholders. Methods: We searched for “alcohol” and “pregnancy”, “pregnant”, or “FASD” on Twitter accounts belonging to potentially relevant organizations, of which 17 had tweeted on the topic. Content analysis was undertaken on all tweets and summarized under eight themes. Results: A total of 347 tweets were identified, posted between 2010 and 2019 mainly by public health and disability nongovernmental organizations. Tweets generally focused on FASD, but other potential consequences of maternal alcohol use were infrequently mentioned and tended to be generic. We found infrequent mentions of direct advice around alcohol use during pregnancy and official guidelines. Overall, tweets reflected ongoing policy debates in Australia – including alcohol warning labeling, disability policy and increased activity was seen particularly before the second parliamentary inquiry into FASD. Conclusions: The limited number of tweets from relevant organizations over a nine-year period suggests focus has been on FASD while less discussion of alcohol use during pregnancy was evident. We identified an opportunity for more and consistent communication of trusted national health guidance.

Cottages for farm labouring families: plans, exhortations and realities (1825–50)

AbstractLoudon’s 1825 Encyclopedia of Agriculture set out why and how ‘comfortable’ family cottages should be built for the farm labouring workforce. Over the next quarter-century, published ‘prize essays’ on cottage-design appeared alongside articles advocating ‘high farming’. Low labourer wages and insecure farm tenancies handicapped investment in both, though a parliamentary inquiry showed improvement projects could enhance labourer employment. The 1834 ‘new’ Poor Law – an ‘administrative’ law – restricted ‘poor relief’, but left many ‘settlement’ issues to continue as perceived obstacles to building cottages (the occupants might become a burden on the poor rates). This paper illustrates ideal contemporary cottage designs – relative to contrasting exposures of poor people’s home lives. Landowners, patchily, promoted some cottage-building, but labouring families mostly remained poorly housed. Along with recent scholarship on families’ work, income, possessions (often very few) and survival strategies, this work augments ideas of real housing conditions in rural areas.

The personal cost of repetitive mental health inquiries that fail to result in change

<h2>ABSTRACT</h2><h3>Background</h3> Nurses and other professionals working in mental health care, and those utilising it, will likely be aware that the sector has been the subject of scrutiny through numerous public inquiries and Royal Commissions over the years. <h3>Aim</h3> The aim of this paper is to understand the total number of high-profile public inquiries undertaken in relation to mental health in Australia over the last 30 years. Importantly, we then seek to quantify the likely contributions by the community, including by people with experience of mental illness and their supporters, to those inquiries and to consider the personal impacts and outcomes of those contributions. <h3>Methods</h3> Information available in the public domain (online) on Royal Commissions, parliamentary inquiries, and federal Commission inquiries held in Australia between 1991 and August 2021, relating to mental health, is drawn on, collated, and compared. <h3>Findings</h3> No less than 55 high-profile public inquiries relevant to mental health have been held over the last 30 years, involving more than 55,000 public submissions and 9,000 witnesses, among other contributions made by the community. A significant proportion of these include contributions made by people who use mental health services, who share their personal stories in a process that is acknowledged as being potentially traumatic. <h3>Discussion</h3> Despite this enormous effort by the community generally, and by people with experience of mental health care specifically, to effect change in the mental health sector through formal inquiry processes, analysis shows that key recommendation themes identified for mental health care 30 years ago remain current issues today. <h3>Conclusion</h3> We see a role for mental health nurses together – to call on the Federal and State Governments to fund and implement the meaningful change required to improve the mental health system, as identified in the long-line of inquiries to date. With major budget announcements for mental health care recently made in Australia, now is the time to influence policy direction and implementation into the future.

Work in the Gig-Economy: The Role of the State and Non-State Actors Ceding and Seizing Regulatory Space

Using the concept of regulatory space, this article asks how both the state and non-state actors influence employment regulations particular to the gig-economy. To address this question a mixed method approach is used, including interviews with strategically placed informants involved in policy formation at national and international levels, content analysis of legal cases, parliamentary inquiry transcripts and policy reports. The analysis contributes to an understanding of employment regulation by the state in two ways. First, it reports distinct ‘levers’, which lead to a particular state role of ‘ceding and seizing’ regulatory power. Second, it argues that these levers ultimately serve the accumulation interests of capital over the legitimacy of employment rights for labour. The findings have wider societal implications for issues of equity, justice and employment regulation applicable to the gig-economy.

The tension between national consistency and jurisdictional professional expansion: The case of pharmacist-administered vaccinations.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of coordinating policies on vaccinations at the national level. In Australia, the regulation and management of pharmacist-administered vaccination programs are the responsibility of each of the eight jurisdictions (six states and two territories), and have been developed independently of each other, leading to substantial variation. Consequently, there are variations regarding which vaccines pharmacists can administer, the minimum age, and whether these vaccines are publicly funded.Objective(s)To identify opportunities for a nationally consistent approach to pharmacist-administered vaccinations in Australia.MethodsThis policy analysis used the Multiple Streams Framework to identify barriers and enablers within the three “streams” of problem, policy, and politics, and how they affected the development of a national approach. Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with 13 key policy actors and documents (pre-budget submissions and parliamentary inquiry reports). Themes were generated around actor interests, current and proposed pharmacist vaccination programs, and policymaking processes.ResultsFrom the pharmacy sector, there was little clarity around the need for a nationally consistent approach. This issue was linked to their ultimate goal of expanding pharmacist vaccination programs; it was seen as a means for states/territories with smaller programs to ‘catch up’ to other jurisdictions. There was also no unified policy approach from this sector; additionally, decision-makers within jurisdictional health departments faced different service delivery models, policy priorities, agendas, and policy actor relationships. Lastly, there was no federal body that had the capacity to coordinate a national approach. Possible enablers include refining the problem definition and re-framing it to a patient-centric model.ConclusionsCoordination of vaccination policies is an ongoing policy issue with implications for pharmacist vaccination programs and other health policy areas in which a national approach is being considered. This analysis provides insight into how this may be developed in the future.

How patient centric is health policy development? The case of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia.

Objective Parliamentary inquiries into health-related issues empower everyday Australians to contribute to the development and reform of health policy. We explored how patient and family/carers concerns are translated by this process, using a less well-known disease, narcolepsy, as an example. Methods Written submissions made to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia 2018 by self-identified patients or family/carers with narcolepsy (n = 13) were extracted and thematically analysed using the Framework Approach. Each submission was systematically coded and abstracted into emergent themes before being evaluated against the final policy recommendations. Results Although patients and their family/carers prioritised issues that affected their daily lives (i.e. mental health sequela, workplace accommodations), the policy recommendations in the report focused mainly on issues of healthcare infrastructure, funding and engagement. Our analysis highlighted several barriers that patients and their family/carers face when contributing to this part of healthcare policy formation. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the parliamentary inquiry process in its current form is not an ideal vehicle by which patients and family/carers can contribute or influence healthcare policy. Despite calling for submissions from patients and their family/carers, the final report and subsequent health policy recommendations made by the inquiry do not appear to be patient-centric or reflective of the submissions written by these stakeholders. Increased transparency, development of processes to balance stakeholder priorities and improved accessibility for stakeholders to participate are needed if health-related parliamentary inquiries are to produce healthcare policy that ultimately meets the needs of patients and family/carers.

Framing the nanny (state): an analysis of public submissions to a parliamentary inquiry on personal choice and community safety

ObjectiveTo examine public submissions to a parliamentary inquiry on personal choice and community safety, exploring framing used to support or oppose current public health regulatory approaches. MethodsDescriptive content analysis summarised the characteristics of electronic submissions. Framing analysis examined submissions according to the devices: problem and causes; principles and values; recommendations; data and evidence; and salience. ResultsWe categorised one hundred and five (n=105) submissions by source as Individual, Industry, Public Health and Other. Individuals made more than half the submissions. Overarching frames were choice and rights (Individuals); progress and freedom (Industry); protection and responsibility (Public Health). Most submissions opposed current regulations. Cycling, including mandatory helmet legislation, was most cited, with three‐quarters of submissions opposing current legislation. ConclusionsFraming analysis provided insights into policy actor agendas concerning government regulation. We found a high degree of resistance to public health regulation that curtails individual autonomy across various health issues. Investigating the influence of different frames on community perception of public health regulation is warranted. Implications for public healthAction is required to counteract ‘nanny state’ framing by industry and to problematise community understanding of the ‘nanny state’ in the context of balancing the public's liberties and the public's health.

Animal research is saving lives, but funding is needed to improve welfare: Submission to the New South Wales parliamentary inquiry

Many kinds of animal research are occurring in New South Wales (NSW), with biomedical research among the most prominent. As behavioural neuroscientists, we study the neural mechanisms of motivation and cognition in rodents, which is important for developing new treatments for a range of psychological disorders, such as substance use disorder, as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The welfare and wellbeing of the animals we study is of critical importance, not only to ensure the quality of our data but to our sense of morality as compassionate human beings. Biomedical animal research is highly regulated and the pharmacological and biological tools we use pose negligible risks to the public. Meanwhile, our research brings enormous benefits to NSW by building expertise and supporting biotechnology companies. Although research on complex behaviours cannot be replaced by non-animal procedures, we believe that there is much scope for refinement and improvement in animal welfare in NSW. For example, investing in a local breeding facility to produce animals used in NSW research projects would significantly reduce the stress associated with importing animals from interstate or overseas. Additionally, standard animal housing could be improved through targeted and ongoing investment to refit animal facilities and support additional caretaker and veterinary staff to provide higher degrees of welfare.

Untersuchungsausschüsse live im Fernsehen – ein Beitrag zur Aufklärung?

Demands for allowing audio and visual recordings during sessions of parliamentary inquiry committees to ensure better public information have been brought forward not only since the introduction of legislation on these commission some 20 years ago . While the law— with high legal hurdles—introduced the possibility during these sessions, actual recordings have only been allowed in very few cases . In the previous parliamentary term of the Bundestag, media reports stressed the demand for visual and audio recordings during the “Wirecard” inquiry . Making use of such recordings raises three fundamental issues with the conformity of inquiry proceedings: complying with important procedural principles, balancing competing rights of relevant parties as well as avoiding possible contradictions of the inquiry committee´s mandate . None of these three questions can be answered in a way that would support the general authorization of audio and visual documentation . Findings in psychology even suggest that there is an insolvable conflict between the unwanted influence of the mere knowledge about of television coverage on witnesses and the facts based mandate of the committee .

Pandemic response credit-claiming and blame-avoidance in France

Abstract Credit claiming led in France during the first wave to centralization and during the summer to decentralization. During the second wave, blame-avoidance led again to centralization. First wave: In the spring, the French government attempted to take credit by centralizing the crisis governance but soon faced mounting criticism from the population, health care professionals and members of the political opposition. These initial missteps prompted legislators to set up two parliamentary inquiry commissions. Complaints were filed against several members of government, including former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and former Health Minister Agnès Buzyn. In July, Phillipe was replaced by Jean Castex, who was tasked with designing France's reopening strategy with greater attention to regional needs. Summer: The government's response to Covid-19 significantly changed during the summer. The government's failure to put in place a critical triptych of testing, tracing and isolation and to contain the spread of the virus led to a recentralization of the crisis governance and a second national lockdown in late October. Second wave: Although the first lockdown was deemed “necessary” by most French people, implementation of stringent measures was less accepted by the population after a resurgence of cases at the end of the summer. As France entered a third lockdown in late March 2021, Macron's popularity rate fell 4 percentage point from a month earlier. According to an IFOP poll, 37% people said they were satisfied with the president's management of the pandemic.

Justificatory Narratives: The Collapse of Greensill Capital

The collapse of Greensill Capital, a company whose self-styled owner experimented with innovative supply-chain finance, led to parliamentary inquiries in the UK during the course of 2021. This paper tells the story of the collapse and analyses the justifications mobilised by the company’s owner, Lex Greensill, in defence of his acts. His exculpatory narratives contain classical components that characterise white-collar and financial crime, but also some innovative aspects that may prefigure the future development of these types of crimes.

P127 Parliamentary Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia: How patient-centric is the process?

Abstract Introduction The parliamentary inquiry into sleep health represents one of few platforms accessible to patients and their family/carers to contribute to the development of healthcare policy alongside other key stakeholder groups (i.e. healthcare professionals, organisations). Balancing diverse and sometimes divergent views of various stakeholder groups can be challenging, thus we set out to explore how patients and family/carer submissions were interpreted by the inquiry and translated into health policy recommendations. Methods Written submissions made to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia 2018 by self-identified patients or family/carers with narcolepsy (n=13) were extracted and thematically analysed using the Framework Approach. Each submission was systematically coded, with emergent themes evaluated against the final policy recommendations made by the inquiry. Results We identified three major themes: 1) ‘Pathways to Treatment &amp; Care’ regarding concerns around lack of healthcare and research resource allocation for narcolepsy; 2) ‘Help-seeking Experience’ related to barriers to help-seeking and accessing care; 3) ‘Patient and Family/Carers’ Lived Experience of Disease’ which encompassed the tangible effects narcolepsy has on the daily lives of patients and family/carers. Discussion While patients and their family/carers prioritised issues that affected their daily lives (i.e. mental health sequela, workplace accommodations), policy recommendations focused on healthcare infrastructure, funding and engagement. Increased transparency, developing processes to balance stakeholder priorities and improving accessibility to stakeholder engagement are needed if patient and family/carer needs are to be met, and for healthcare policy to remain targeted and trusted by the public.

Building the UK vision of a driverless future: A Parliamentary Inquiry case study

The UK Government has endorsed the case for autonomous vehicle (AV) technology and its economic benefits in its industrial strategies since 2013. In late 2016 the Science and Technology Committee in the House of Lords (the legislature’s upper chamber) conducted an Inquiry into the policy. We conduct a content analysis of the text corpus of the Inquiry. Drawing from theories of sociotechnical change we explore how it contributes to building a vision of a future AV world embedded in a national economic and technological project. The technology is framed as a solution to societal grand challenges and the Inquiry corpus is dominated by actors committed to the project. Alternative visions, including sceptical interpretations, are present in the corpus, but rare, reflecting the selection process for contributions to the Inquiry. Predominantly, the corpus represents the public as deficient: dangerous drivers, unaware of promised benefits and unduly anxious about the unfamiliar. Their views are marginal in this Parliamentary Inquiry’s findings. AV technology is one of several possible means to pursue wider mobility policy goals of greater safety, affordability, access and sustainability. Our analysis suggests that the pursuit of an AV future risks becoming a goal in itself instead of a means to these broader societal goals.