Protection In Australia Research Articles

Environmental Enforceable Undertakings: An Innovative Tool to Repair and Prevent Environmental Harm

Abstract This article identifies an emerging form of sanction for addressing environmental harm: the environmental enforceable undertaking (EEU). Currently used for environmental protection in Australia and the UK, the EEU is a cooperative, timely, and accountable regulatory instrument targeted at encouraging offenders to voluntarily invest in repairing and preventing harm, frequently going beyond basic regulatory compliance. We identify four regulatory objectives met by EEUs (strategic; responsive; deterrent; and preventative) before discussing how EEUs might contribute to the environmental regulation landscape, exploring examples primarily from Australia, but also the UK. Finally, we discuss how EEUs can benefit not only the regulator and regulated but can also involve the community in environmental regulation. We then assert a fifth regulatory objective: they can serve as a restorative form of regulation.

Current extent and future opportunities for living shorelines in Australia

Living shorelines aim to enhance the resilience of coastlines to hazards while simultaneously delivering co-benefits such as carbon sequestration. Despite the potential ecological and socio-economic benefits of living shorelines over conventional engineered coastal protection structures, application is limited globally. Australia has a long and diverse coastline that provides prime opportunities for living shorelines using beaches and dunes, vegetation, and biogenic reefs, which may be either natural (‘soft’ approach) or with an engineered structural component (‘hybrid’ approach). Published scientific studies, however, have indicated limited use of living shorelines for coastal protection in Australia. In response, we combined a national survey and interviews of coastal practitioners and a grey and peer-reviewed literature search to (1) identify barriers to living shoreline implementation; and (2) create a database of living shoreline projects in Australia based on sources other than scientific literature. Projects included were those that had either a primary or secondary goal of protection of coastal assets from erosion and/or flooding. We identified 138 living shoreline projects in Australia through the means sampled starting in 1970; with the number of projects increasing through time particularly since 2000. Over half of the total projects (59 %) were considered to be successful according to their initial stated objective (i.e., reducing hazard risk) and 18 % of projects could not be assessed for their success based on the information available. Seventy percent of projects received formal or informal monitoring. Even in the absence of peer-reviewed support for living shoreline construction in Australia, we discovered local and regional increases in their use. This suggests that coastal practitioners are learning on-the-ground, however more generally it was stated that few examples of living shorelines are being made available, suggesting a barrier in information sharing among agencies at a broader scale. A database of living shoreline projects can increase knowledge among practitioners globally to develop best practice that informs technical guidelines for different approaches and helps focus attention on areas for further research.

Community engagement programs on radiation and health: addressing public concerns.

Due to the negative connotations around radiation, there is a great deal of angst in the community regarding radiation exposure and health; especially electromagnetic radiation (EMR) sources such as powerlines, mobile phone towers and the rollout of the 5G network. As such, it is important for health authorities to provide the public with information and assurances regarding radiation safety. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) set up community engagement programs to address community concerns. Type of program or service: From 2003 until April 2022, ARPANSA operated a Health Complaints Register, which collected reports of health complaints from members of the public related to possible EMR exposures. Collected data was used to produce annual statistical summaries on the nature and level of complaints received. Since 2016, ARPANSA has also run the Talk to a Scientist program, which allows the public to communicate directly with scientists on issues about radiation exposure, health and protection in Australia. Data is collected on the type of radiation and radiation source. There was a low level of interest in the Register, with only 180 reports received over the duration of its operation. Smart meters were the most common source of EMR exposure reported to be responsible for adverse health effects. The most common adverse health effect reported was headaches. The Register was closed in April 2022 due to a lack of interest. In contrast, the Talk to a Scientist program has responded to 6546 enquiries since 2016, most of which have been on EMR sources and the success of the Talk to a Scientist program, which rendered the Register obsolete. The EMR Health Complaints Register never received much interest from the public, potentially due to a perceived lack of engagement with authorities. The Talk to a Scientist program, which facilitated direct interaction with subject matter experts, has been much more successful in engaging with the public and addressing community concerns on radiation safety.

Providing patient-centred care as Medical Radiation Practitioners to children and young persons in out of home care.

Modern healthcare focuses on patient-centred care where patients' needs, beliefs, choices and preferences are valued and lead to better health outcomes. Children and young persons in out of home care (OOHC) require more health care services compared with children from similar social and economic backgrounds. Each state and territory government are responsible for statutory child protection in Australia. If a child is unsafe in their current environment, they may be removed and placed into OOHC where they have ongoing case management with either a government or non-government agency. Complex trauma is the prolonged and uncontrolled exposure to traumatic events, like those experienced by maltreated children. Complex trauma can create a toxic stress response that produces biological alteration to the developing brain and affects the lives of the child, other family members and their descendants. Children with complex trauma often do not have the ability to regulate their responses to stimuli, reacting to minor triggers with disproportionate reactions. Many of these children will present with challenging behaviours. Trauma-informed care is a method of service delivery that seeks to actively minimise re-traumatisation. Creating a safe space is an essential element of trauma-informed care. Children with a history of complex trauma have life experiences that may be re-lived in a healthcare setting. There are ethical and legal considerations like privacy, consent and mandatory reporting when dealing with children in OOHC. By practising trauma-informed care Medical Radiation Practitioners can minimise further trauma to one of the most vulnerable population groups in Australia.

Climate Change and Health: Local Government Capacity for Health Protection in Australia.

Climate change is the greatest global health threat of the 21st century, with numerous direct and indirect human health consequences. Local governments play a critical role in communities' response to climate change, both through strategies to reduce emissions and adaption plans to respond to changing climate and extreme weather events. Australian local government environmental health officers (EHOs) have the relevant skills and expertise to inform and develop adaptation plans for health protection in the context of climate change. This study used an online survey followed by phone interviews of local government management to determine the extent to which EHOs are involved in adaptation planning in health protection climate change plans. Questions were also asked to determine whether local councils are aware of EHOs' capability to contribute and to gauge the willingness of management to provide EHOs with the workload capacity to do so. The findings demonstrated that although climate adaptation and mitigation planning is occurring in local government, it is not including or considering the public health impacts on the community. Primarily, it was found that this oversight was due to a lack of awareness of the health impacts of climate change outside of a disaster or emergency scenario. Currently, EHOs are an untapped source of knowledge and skills that can contribute to climate change adaption planning. To support this, a framework of local environmental health practice was developed to assist the reconceptualization of the scope of practice required for the planning and response to climate change.

‘Time’ in Refugee Status Determination in Australia and the United Kingdom: A Clear and Present Danger from Armed Conflict?

Abstract ‘Time’ plays an important role in refugee status determination (RSD) because whilst fear must be current, the fear relates to present or future risk. This article examines the role of time in RSD and how time impacts upon the granting of refugee protection. Thus it concentrates on the test of a ‘well-founded fear’ in article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention. Claims from persons fleeing armed conflict raise particular challenges because of the fluidity, unstable conditions, and protracted character of conflicts. Furthermore, the unpredictable nature of conflict means that people are, at times, already fleeing from harm that might well eventuate in the future but that is not yet current. Drawing on jurisprudence of the senior courts and appeal tribunals in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK), the article shows how these have long engaged with considerations of time in refugee matters. In determining who qualifies for refugee protection, courts and tribunals look backwards and forwards. Hidden within this process are assumptions about time that lie – almost invisibly – at the heart of the protection regime. When assessing whether a person has a ‘well-founded fear’ of being persecuted, the courts in Australia and the UK embrace a future-looking approach; a ‘clear and present danger’ is not required. The timeframe is that of the ‘reasonably foreseeable future’, situated somewhere between the ‘not too remote’ and the ‘present or immediate future’. This necessarily contains a degree of predictive speculation, understood to mean an exercise in prediction falling short of fact-finding. To be sure, foreseeability and certainty of risk are not to be conflated. Yet, at times, conflation between the two has occurred (by courts and tribunals), leading to exclusionary practices and outcomes. This has been the case, for example, where the situation in the country of origin was relatively stable but nevertheless fluid, meaning that while there could be a significant risk in the future, the risk was low at the time the decision was made. Considering that armed conflict continues to be the main driver for people claiming refugee protection in Australia and the UK, how senior courts and appeal tribunals understand and apply the timeframe of reasonable foreseeability in fluid situations (between peace and conflict) is key. This article highlights some best practices in that regard, including ensuring that this timeframe does not expand and contract with the apparent certainty or uncertainty of a situation.

Still unseen and ignored: Tracking community knowledge and attitudes about child abuse and child protection in Australia.

In September 2003, we released the first results of a national community attitude tracking study about child abuse and child protection. At that time, we concluded that as a community, violence against children was tolerated. The community did not understand or appreciate the seriousness, size and cost of child abuse in Australia. There was evidence that child abuse was not viewed as an important challenge facing children in Australia. A second study conducted in 2006 found that nothing much had changed, indeed community engagement with the issue of child abuse may have even deteriorated. A third study in 2010 found that the community actively avoids the problem of child abuse rating it less concerning than high petrol prices. In 2021, 18 years after the first report was published, we have concluded again that child abuse remains out of sight and out of mind as a community concern. This article describes the findings of this fourth iteration of our survey and analyses the implications for ensuring that individuals are more engaged and committed to taking action to preventing child abuse and/or protecting children from violation.

Australia's Refugee Resettlement Agreement with the United States: The Diplomacy and Uncertainty of a “Very Big Deal”

In September 2016, the United States government agreed to consider resettling up to 1250 refugees who had sought protection in Australia but who were detained offshore under the Australian government's hard‐line asylum policy. This paper charts the story of this resettlement agreement, noting that for many refugees and asylum seekers that story remains unfinished. For an agreement signed to create certainty, there has been considerable uncertainty since 2016. The paper will consider what the agreement with the United States says about Australia's asylum policy. That the Obama administration agreed to resettle refugees who had sought protection in Australia, at a time of heightened global resettlement needs, is because US diplomats were aware of the plight of the refugees held offshore and because the two countries have a long record of cooperation in refugee resettlement. That the deal was begrudgingly maintained under President Trump is testament to the importance of the bilateral relationship. That resettlement in the United States has been so uncertain — and may not be available to everyone — only underscores the deeply flawed and unsustainable nature of the Australian government's insistence on refusing entry to these refugees.

Shortcomings in the Operation and Coordination of Witness Protection in Australia. Where to from Here?

Witness protection in Australia has, to date, been less than successful in implementation and execution. An ad hoc system of Commonwealth and state/territory witness protection programs have co-existed with often substandard outcomes for participants, law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Although in accordance with Australia’s federal system of government, the framework of witness protection that has emerged has resulted in numerous witness protection programs in operation across states and territories with little in the way of consistency, cooperation and coordination. Reform in Australia’s witness protection system is needed to improve and streamline programs for the benefit of witnesses, communities and the criminal justice system. This article addresses shortcomings and draws attention to worthwhile changes that would benefit and enhance domestic witness protection.

Effectiveness, compliance and application of sunscreen for solar ultraviolet radiation protection in Australia.

Narrative review. We reviewed evidence relating to the benefits and risks of sunscreens, sunscreen manufacturing compliance, consumer usage of sunscreen and how sunscreen should be used to be most effective. There is strong evidence that sunscreen is safe to use and, when applied correctly, reduces the risk of skin cancer. There is a need to address questions about the impact of sunscreen on vitamin D and its risk to the environment, as well as a need to develop sun protection factor (SPF) sunscreen testing methods that are more reproducible and ethically based. The amount of sunscreen and the way it is applied varies considerably between individuals, and this in turn markedly affects the degree and duration of protection received. Sunscreen should be used in combination with other sun protection measures that include clothing, hats, sunglasses and seeking shade. Regulation is essential to ensure high-quality, safe and effective sunscreen products are available to the Australian population. There is an important role for governments to put in place skin cancer prevention policies and long-term funding arrangements to build on our successful sunscreen programs so that future generations are afforded the highest level of topical protection against solar UVR.

A Modern History of Child Protection in Australia: Queensland 1965–1980

ABSTRACT This article examines child protection policy and practice in Queensland in the 1960s and 1970s, which was a period of major social change affecting relations between children, families, and the state. Using government annual reports from the period, the article traces developments in policy and service delivery. It discusses changes in two interlinked areas: the use of preventative family support approaches and the expansion of the professional knowledge base. Understanding the history of a policy field can facilitate critical reflection on current debates. The child protection field continues to revisit long-standing tensions about the best ways to safeguard children from abuse and neglect in their families, albeit in different ways. IMPLICATIONS It is important to recognise and value the social work profession’s strong contribution to building the child protection knowledge base. Many current debates in child protection are not new: since the child protection field developed in the 1960s, it has continually revisited tensions about how best to intervene to address the individual and social causes of child abuse and neglect. Documenting the history of a social policy field can facilitate critical reflection on current developments.

Discussion of the Knowns and Unknowns of Child Protection During Pregnancy in Australia

ABSTRACT Legislative provisions for accepting unborn child reports into the child protection system in Australia have coincided with a noticeable rise in the number of infants entering care. This article collates information on the child protection process during pregnancy based on a desk review of relevant public primary sources. The effectiveness of child protection during pregnancy in reducing statutory intervention at or following birth and avoiding unintended consequences is also explored through an examination of relevant child protection data, reviews, and research. The summary revealed some differences in the process of making, accepting, and responding to an unborn child report across Australia. The knowns about child protection during pregnancy include a high rate of unborn child reporting, a high proportion of children involved in unborn child reports who are subsequently admitted to care, and a disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in these statistics. The knowledge gaps include the circumstances of parents involved in unborn child reports who are approached by child protection and when; parents who refuse to engage; parents who are provided advice and support; and the outcome of these cases. Some aspects of child protection practice during pregnancy, including information sharing, risk assessment and case planning, and parental engagement and partnership throughout the process represent further knowledge gaps. IMPLICATIONS Attention to the high rate of unborn child reporting to child protection in Australia and to the differences in procedures for responding across the states and territories is needed. The high proportion of children involved in unborn child reports who are subsequently admitted to care, and the disproportionate number of Indigenous children who are represented in unborn child reports, substantiations, and care entries during infancy need to be addressed. There is a need for further research on child protection practices during pregnancy and case outcomes to maximise safe pregnancy journeys.

Democratic and Judicial Review of Enacted Laws in Australia: A Case Study of the Rights Scrutiny Work of Australian Parliamentary Committees

This article explores the relationship between different forms of review of enacted legislation in Australia and provides fresh perspective from which other parliamentary democracies may consider the role of parliamentary committees play in rights protection. Using three case study examples from Australia, this article explores the concept of democratic post-legislative scrutiny and its relationship with other forms of review of enacted laws, including judicial review. The article challenges the conventional view that parliamentary models of legislative scrutiny are inherently vulnerable to executive dominance, and argues that democratic review of enacted laws, particularly that conducted by parliamentary committees, has distinct advantages over judicial or tribunal-based review of enacted laws, and provides beneficial supplement to other forms of rights protection in Australia. The article argues that the flexibility and responsiveness of Australian forms of parliamentary post-legislative scrutiny, that are decidedly lacking in structured procedural frameworks, make the case studies particularly interesting to Canadian scholars and practitioners as they underscore the benefits of direct engagement with citizens and experts in the process of post-legislative scrutiny, when compared to other more tightly controlled forms of legislative review. In this way, this article responds to the long-standing scholarship in Canada relating to the increasingly deteriorating capacity of members of Parliament to act as legislators rather than government cheerleaders when it comes to parliamentary scrutiny of proposed and existing laws.

Current Status of Persimmon Industry and Prospect of the Korea-bred new Persimmon Varieties in Australia

The market of persimmon fruits in Australia is expanding in line with consumer's strong interest in functional healthy foods, increased immigrants from Asian countries and its exporting market expansion. However, it is hard to expect the Australia’s main sweet persimmon varieties, ‘Fuyu’ and ‘Jiro’, to meet the expanding market needs, due to their limited harvest period. Therefore, the Australia's persimmon growers want the new varieties with various harvest times, and are trying to introduce Korea-bred new sweet persimmon varieties, such as ‘Fantasy’, ‘Gampung’, ‘Wonmi’ and ‘Wonchu’. Presently, ‘Fantasy’ and ‘Gampung’ have obtained patents for cultivar protection in Australia, and their local adaptability test is underway. ‘Wonmi’ and ‘Wonchu’ have also been applied for cultivar protection patent in Australia. In future, all these, due to their early and medium-maturity fruits and excellent quality, are expected to be the new key persimmon varieties in Australia.

The value of coastal wetlands for storm protection in Australia

Cyclones cause significant damage, particularly to coastal areas. In the 50 years between 1967 and 2016, 54 cyclones struck Australia with total damages of approximately AUD 3 billion. Wetlands diminish cyclone impacts by absorbing storm surges and slowing winds. We examine the effects of wetlands on cyclone damage by creating a Bayesian regression model for storm damage as a function of wind speed, economic development in the storm swath, and the area of wetlands in the coastal plain in the storm swath using data from all 54 storms. Our results show that wind speed has a strong positive effect on cyclone damage and that wetland area has a strong negative effect. We estimate a total of AUD 29.6 billion of damage was averted during the 54 storms because of the presence of wetlands with a median of AUD 236 million per storm. This equates to an average of AUD 4203 per year per hectare of wetland, consistent with previous studies. Our results suggest that preserving wetlands is a cost-effective way to minimize cyclone damage while providing numerous other valuable ecosystem services. We estimate that maintaining at least 1.5% of coastal area as wetlands maximizes the averted damage.

Competition and Consumer Watchdog Spurs Australian Privacy Changes

Competition and consumer laws are becoming a major element of data privacy protection in Australia, particularly in relation to digital platforms, often in advance of similar developments in other parts of the world. The country’s competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), has been at the centre of these developments for the last three years. This article discusses four related developments: (i) The ACCC is suing Google for misleading conduct in respect of its location data practices, alleging that certain Google account settings made the misleading representation that users had opted out of location data retention. (ii) The ACCC is also suing Google for misleading conduct in respect of its communications to consumers about its aggregation of personal information from its various services (Google search engine, YouTube etc) with data collected via third-party websites, for commercial purposes including advertising. (iii) The ACCC has raised preliminary concerns about Google’s acquisition of Fitbit, because of the potential anticompetitive effects of merging personal information collected by the two businesses. (iv) The Australian government is proposing to enact a raft of reforms to Australia’s out-of-date privacy laws (an Issues Paper has been released), and to consider further reforms, resulting from ACCC recommendations in 2019, reforms which will give the ACCC an ongoing role in regulating privacy and digital platforms. The ACCC is also the key player in another challenge to the predominance of Google and Facebook in the Australian digital landscape, because it is implementing a government-supported mandatory code which will require the platforms to pay for displaying Australian commercial news content on their platforms. (Legislation is now before the Australian Parliament.) What is the potential cumulative effect of these developments on surveillance capitalism in Australia?

Gender Differences in Adherence to Nonpharmacologic Recommendations after Heart Transplant: A Secondary Analysis from the International BRIGHT Study

The aim of this study was to describe and compare gender differences in adherence and nonadherence to nonpharmacologic recommendations after heart transplant (HTx) globally; in Europe, North America, South America and Australia. This a sub-analysis of self-reported data of 1397 adult HTx recipients from the 36- HTx-center, 11-country, 4-continent, cross- sectional BRIGHT study (ClinicalTrials. gov ID: NCT01608477). The analysis included descriptive statistics. Two-sample t-tests were used to compare the mean gender differences in health behaviors post-HTx, such as sun protection, diet keeping, physical activity, and appointment keeping; and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the relationship between female and male adherence and nonadherence to alcohol use and to smoking. Females were more adherent to sun protection in Australia (p=0.03), and in the total of all continents, compared to males (p=0.00). Females were more adherent to 30-minute moderate physical activity 5 days-a-week, in each continent, and in the total of all continents (p-values=0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.03, and 0.00 respectively). Complying with 20-minutes of vigorous physical activity 3 days-a-week, females were more adherent in every continent, except for Australia, and in the total of all continents (p-values=0.00, 0.00, 0.00, and 0.00 respectively). Finally, females were more adherent than males in abstaining from smoking in Europe, and in the total of all continents (p=0.01, 009 respectively). The findings support the hypothesis that females are, in general, more adherent than males to post-HTx recommendations. This study bridges a gap in the literature, by providing evidence about female and male health behaviors after HTx. This gender-specific information should be used in designing behavioral health gender-specific interventions to improve adherence in transplantation.

Artificial Intelligence Painting The Bigger Picture For Copyright Ownership

To receive copyright protection in Australia works must be original, amongst other requirements. The originality standard involves ‘independent intellectual effort’ that originates from an actual person. The reality of today’s creativity domain is that works are not always originating from actual persons. Due to impressive advancements in technology, some works are being created by artificial intelligence and without the involvement of an actual person. These works cannot meet copyright requirements under current law and subsequently do not receive copyright protection. This paper endeavours to answer a two-tiered question posed by the challenges artificial intelligence works have on traditional concepts of copyright. Firstly, should copyright subsist in works created by AI? Secondly, who would possibly be the copyright owner for such works? Answering these questions involves a discussion of utilitarian and natural rights theories and references to US and UK discussions on the conversation around copyright and artificial intelligence.

Evaluating perceptions of marine protection in Australia: Does policy match public expectation?

A key conservation strategy to protect and manage marine biodiversity is the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs). The level of protection from human activities offered to biodiversity by MPAs is not uniform but varies according to the type of MPA, as well as by jurisdiction. This diversity in the activities permitted within MPAs means that reporting total area of marine protection does not reflect the level of protection offered to biodiversity. As such, there is the potential for public confusion surrounding what is permitted or prevented within any one MPA. Therefore, it is critical to determine the degree to which the public understands the activities permitted within MPAs, and how this accords with the actual protection offered to biodiversity. To do this, an anonymous survey was conducted to assess the general knowledge about the protection offered by Australian MPAs and, specifically, the activities permitted or prohibited within MPA boundaries. The overwhelming majority of respondents (63%) believe that Australia's MPA system restricts fishing, when this is only true for 25% of the total area protected. While the activities permitted within MPAs vary, the broad pattern remains that respondents overestimate the degree to which MPAs within their state of origin prevent extractive uses. This study suggests that there is a significant gap in the public understanding of marine conservation issues in Australia, highlighting the need for an explicit conversation between policymakers, scientists and the public about whether current levels of marine protection align with public expectations.

Constitutional Change: Towards Better Human Rights Protection in Australia

Many legal scholars contend that Australia does not have a charter of rights in its Constitution. The legal scholar Rosalind Dixon, however, suggests that the Constitution does include some provisions that could be viewed as resembling a (partial) bill of rights. This constitutional framework might cause one to ponder whether human rights are adequately protected in the Australian constitutional system. This paper attempts to consider this question. It is argued that the protection of human rights under the Constitution, federal and state laws is not fully capable of responding to at least three human rights crises presented. Accordingly, the paper suggests that Australia should consider the idea of amending the Constitution in order to better human rights protection in the country. It offers suggestion that the Canadian model protection of human rights could be considered as one of the primary sources for reforms in the future.