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Australian Policy & History works to link historians with policy-makers, the media and the Australian public. We aim to inform public debate and promote better public policy-making through an understanding of history. See what we do and who we are.

On this site you can find a wide variety of papers which provide historical perspectives on current events and issues. Click on the links below to:

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News

UPDATE: We have extended the application deadline for this exciting workshop until 14 September, 2016!

Upcoming Australian Policy and History Network Event

How Australians Should Live: Historical perspectives on current policy challenges

A workshop convened by the Museum of Australian Democracy, the Australian Policy History Network and the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University.

Date: 1 November 2016

Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Hedley Bull Building, ANU

Are you working on a research project that deals with the history of public policy and also seeks to contribute to contemporary debates?

Are you seeking ways of increasing the visibility of your research among those currently engaged in policy formation and analysis?

If so, this day long workshop will be of interest to you

We will focus on assisting graduate students and early career researchers in refining historically-informed research projects that address current public policy issues. Discussion will be guided by senior researchers who have worked in or advised governments, and historians who have studied governance, public administration and the intersection of social change and policy. Our aim is to support participants in framing and presenting research projects that demonstrate the importance of an historical perspective on enduring policy debates. Among the themes we are interested in exploring are (not exclusively):

-       determinants of public trust in the political system/politicians/policy processes

-       inclusion and exclusion

-       innovation and resistance

-       the generation and distribution of wealth

This workshop is open to applications from around Australia. Your application should take the form of a 300 word statement of your research topic and its relationship to current policy debates and a short curriculum vitae. As we are seeking to develop an intensive, focussed discussion, the selection of participants will in part be guided by shared themes and complementary perspectives. Participants will be encouraged to develop presentations for possible publication on the Australian Policy History website.

A small contribution might be made on application to support travelling costs for participants from outside Canberra. For enquires and applications please contact admin@aph.org.au

Applications close on 30 August 2016.

Organisers: Frank Bongiorno and Nicholas Brown (ANU); David Lowe (Deakin); Sean Scalmer (University of Melbourne); Libby Stewart (MOAD).

Permanent link to this article: http://aph.org.au/

Mining History for the 2013 election

by Sarah Burnside

Sarah Burnside is a Perth-based freelance writer with experience in law and policy. She tweets at @saraheburnside

 

Questions around the mineral sector and the taxes it pays are not as prominent in this election campaign as they were in 2010, but they have not disappeared.

The Read more »

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AIH399 Making History

The Right to Bear Arms: Why this Constitutional Entitlement has become little more than a Dangerous Anachronism in the Twenty-First Century

AIH399 MAKING HISTORY DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

by Elizabeth Guarino

 

Executive Summary

  • Popularised contemporary interpretations of the right to bear arms outlined in the Second Amendment of the US Constitution have become decontextualised.
  • The prevalent understanding of the Second Amendment is that it confers a right on individual American citizens to Read more »
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AIH399 Making History

A proverbial Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? The Dangers for Democracies in hurriedly introducing Emergency Powers

AIH399 MAKING HISTORY DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

by Xavier Fowler

 

Executive Summary

  • Crisis in a democracy can persuade its citizens to (temporarily) sacrifice civil liberties and democratic traditions in order to achieve security and stability.
  • The 1933 ‘Reichstag Fire Decree’ and the 2001 USA Patriot Act are both incidences of governments Read more »
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AIH399 Making History

Reconciling (with) the Past: The Black Armband and White Blindfold Histories in and of Australia

AIH399 MAKING HISTORY DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

by Tamara McGuire

 

Executive Summary

  • This article examines the role that an apology can have in the process of reconciling with historical injustices and how official apologies can help in the healing process.
  • Official apologies are controversial, at times tirelessly resisted and their purpose Read more »
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AIH399 Making History

Our Sick Society: Curing the Stigma attached to Mental Illness through Public Awareness and Education

AIH399 MAKING HISTORY DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

by Shelise Robertson

 

Executive Summary

  • This article argues for the creation of well-defined social and institutional guidelines encouraging diversity and equality to accompany Australia’s current Mental Health Reform.
  • Terminology used will be appropriate to the historical context and ‘mental illnesses’ will be used as Read more »
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Mining History for the 2013 election The Right to Bear Arms: Why this Constitutional Entitlement has become little more than a Dangerous Anachronism in the Twenty-First Century A proverbial Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? The Dangers for Democracies in hurriedly introducing Emergency Powers Reconciling (with) the Past: The Black Armband and White Blindfold Histories in and of Australia Our Sick Society: Curing the Stigma attached to Mental Illness through Public Awareness and Education