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VII
Tables
Table 1.1 Definitions of policy and social policy 8
Table 2.1 Concepts, welfare and design principles 26
Table 2.2 Examples of different forms of welfare in Australia 37
Table 3.1 The scope of policy practice 42
Table 3.2 A simplified framework 54
Table 3.3 Different understandings of the problems of income support and
unemployment 55
Table 3.4 Examples of three different consultation processes 62
Table 3.5 Common implementation problems 68
Table 4.1 Australian independent think tanks involved in social policy 87
Table 4.2 Paradigms in public sector governance 95
Table 6.1 Indicators of economic and social difference across selected OECD
countries in the mid-2000s 129
Table 8.1 Newly arrived resident waiting periods 179
Table 8.2 Income support by immigrant category 179
Table 9.1 Employed people by industry (quarterly, trend), February 2019 210
Table 10.1 Summary of key milestones and changes in Australia’s social
security (and related) policies from early 1990s to present 215
Table 12.1 Key elements of the Australian health care system 266
Table 12.2 Health sector interest groups 272
Table 13.1 School funding and enrolment shares 293
Table 16.1 Individual marginal tax rate structure for residents of Australia 355
Table 16.2 Glossary of taxation terms 356
Table 16.3 Commonwealth, state and local government taxes, 2017–18 360
Figures
Figure 9.1 Unemployment rate in Australia, 1980–2019 197
Figure 9.2 Broad measures of unemployment in Australia, February 2019 199
Figure 9.3 Unemployment and underemployment 200
Figure 9.4 Underemployed by age bracket 201
Figure 9.5 Structure of the labour force 202
Figure 10.1 Number of participants with penalties by proportion of payments
lost before and after the CDP commenced 223
Figure 11.1 Tenure of low-income households (000s) 241
Figure 11.2 Lower-income households: housing costs as a proportion of gross
income, 2017–18 242
Figure 11.3 All households: housing costs as a proportion of gross income for
tenure groups by income quintiles 242
Figure 11.4 Melbourne house price distance gradients, 1994–2019 244
Figure 11.5 Tenure of occupied private dwellings (per cent), 1994–95
to 2017–18 247
Figure 12.1 Grattan Institute influence model 280
Figure 13.1 The compounding effects of concentration of disadvantage 291
Figure 13.2 Australian students’ achievement trends in the Programme for
International Student Assessment, 2000–18 299
Figure 16.1 Taxation as a proportion of GDP 351
Figure 16.2 Commonwealth government expenditure ($ billion), 2017–18 352
Figure 16.3 Comparative tax level (% of GDP), 2017 354
Figure 16.4 Commonwealth revenue ($ billion), 2017–18 361
Figure 16.5 Unequal benefit from the retirement tax system and the
Age Pension, 2019 364
Figure 16.6 EMTR chart: Newstart (single), 2018 367
Figure 16.7 EMTR chart: second earner goes to work one to five days
per week, 2018 368
Abbreviations
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Regulatory Authority
ACCI Australian Confederation of Commerce and Industry
ACECQA Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority
ACNC Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
ACOSS Australian Council of Social Service
ACTU Australian Council of Trade Unions
AHURI Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
AIHW Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
ALP Australian Labor Party
ANMF Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
ANTS A New Tax System
AoS Assurance of Support
ATO Australian Taxation Office
CDEP Community Development Employment Program
CES Commonwealth Employment Service
CGT capital gains tax
CLT community land trust model
COAG Council of Australian Governments
COSS council of social service
CPI consumer price index
CRA Commonwealth Rent Assistance
CWO community welfare organisation
DPC Department of Premier and Cabinet
DSP Disability Support Pension
DSS Department of Social Security
ECEC early childhood education and care
EMTR effective marginal tax rate
EPAC Economic Planning Advisory Council
EU European Union
FWC Fair Work Commission
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GDP gross domestic product
GHG greenhouse gas
GST goods and services tax
HACC Home and Community Care Program
HECS Higher Education Contribution Scheme
HIA Housing Industry Association
Preface
Social policy influences the lives of individual Australians and the nature of our
society. It affects whether we can get a job, obtain housing and health care, pay
for our everyday needs and have support when needed. It influences the extent of
poverty and inequality in our society. In this fourth edition of our social policy book,
we retain our original aim to give students, practitioners and researchers of social
policy an understanding of the potential of social policy to change society and how
it can operate to achieve this. The book is intended to help readers appreciate how
the social policy context affects individual lives, organisations, communities and
societies. It also introduces the reader to social policy as a discipline and an area of
practice by presenting information and knowledge about how to analyse the impacts
of social policy and how to develop and advocate for better social policy. As such, the
book generally aims to provide information for understanding, advocacy and action.
It is intended to be helpful for people with a general interest in appreciating the social
policy context of their lives and work, and for those who may be practitioners of social
policy at different levels and in different ways, inside and outside of government. To
assist the reader, more general and theoretical information is complemented with
case studies and examples from practice, and much of this material has been updated
to reflect the significant changes in Australian society since earlier editions, including
the election in 2019 of the Morrison government.
This fourth edition has more substantial changes than previous editions. In addition
to significant updates and new approaches in many chapters, based on the feedback
from readers it has more explicit material about advocacy, which we see as a form of
policy practice and exercised in different ways. Chapters also have more information
about Indigenous issues—the changing position of First Nation people and how this
position is influenced by socio-economic changes and different policies. There is
also now a more explicit focus on immigration given its much greater importance in
public discourse and on the changes affecting the welfare available to many in our
community. We have also benefited from the introduction of new authors.
Part 1 of the book, Introduction to Social Policy, introduces readers to the idea
of social policy, its scope and terrain, how it can be analysed and influenced, and
the institutional context for decisions and actions in Australia. All chapters have
been updated to reflect key changes since the third edition and to reflect recent
literature, and for Chapters 1 and 3 to have a greater focus on advocacy. Chapter 4
has been substantially rewritten but still covers the institutional framework for
decision-making, and the roles and relationships of the key players and institutions.
New material highlights the growing role of business in social policy, both in terms
of implementation, as for-profit organisations (and individuals) are increasingly
contracted to provide human services, and in terms of power to influence the
adoption of certain policy approaches. New material also highlights the role of think
tanks in advocacy for certain policies and approaches.
Part 2, The Historical, International and Changing Context for Action, deals
with the historical development of Australia’s social policy and welfare state, places
Australia’s social policy in a comparative context, and concludes with a chapter
about its changing nature, including emerging issues and critical debates. Without
understanding our history, we cannot appreciate the nature of our unique social
policy arrangements, nor can we identify the choices that we are free to make. While
it is often said that globalisation brought an end to Australia’s unique ‘wage earners’
welfare regime, our reading challenges us to renew the tradition of economic
and social egalitarianism, and to do so in ways compatible with environmental
sustainability. Chapter 5 has been substantially rewritten to emphasise the key
themes in our history relevant to social policy and has a new section on history and
Indigenous Australians. Other countries have made some similar and some different
choices, and Chapter 6 analyses the different understandings of the critical factors
affecting these choices, the development of welfare states, and how these have been
translated into different welfare ‘regimes’. Chapter 7 identifies our future choices and
challenges in the context of globalisation and the emergence of concepts like the
‘social investment state’, ‘inclusive growth’ and ‘sustainable prosperity’ as markers of
a new post-neoliberal order in global social policy.
Part 3, Areas for Social Policy Action, contains an analysis of the key policy
areas that contribute to the welfare of different groups. We cover the intersection
between immigration and welfare policy in Australia, employment and wages, income
support, housing, health, education, community services, financing and taxation,
and climate change. Policies in these areas are central to the level and distribution
of material well-being in Australia and impact, either directly or indirectly, on
people’s relationships, capacity to participate and quality of life. In this regard the
book especially highlights problems due to the intersection between the increased
precariousness of the labour market and limited wage increases, the more punitive
approach to social security (including for immigrants), the lack of action on housing
affordability, and the inequalities in educational and health. These all increase the
vulnerabilities experienced by many and are intensified by changes such as global
warming and increased economic and political insecurity.
However, we are very conscious that, as we go to press, Australia is in the midst
of an unprecedented event—the unfolding of COVID-19 in Australia and around the
world. It is as yet too soon to predict the final impacts of the virus and the required
economic and social shutdown, but the changes could be profound and wide ranging
for Australia’s social policy direction and the individual areas of social policy covered
in this book. And while we are unable to cover these in any detail or certainty at
this time, we are sure that the contents of this book will enable readers to have the
background knowledge and skills to understand and respond.
Acknowledgments
We are very grateful to Stephen Bell, Anna Boucher, Deborah Brennan, Peter John
Chen, Natasha Cortis, Tony Dalton, Stephen Duckett, Bronwyn Hinz, Richard Krever,
Megan Nethercote, John Quiggin, Janet Stanley, Zoe Staines and Miranda Stewart
for their contribution to this book. Many thanks to the readers of earlier editions and
for the feedback you gave, which was so useful in the development of this fourth
edition.
We have benefited enormously from the assistance of the Oxford University Press
at all phases of the development of our manuscript, including Debra James’ original
encouragement for us to undertake a fourth edition. We especially acknowledge
Sarah Fay.
We also mention the inspiration and learnings derived from working with our
colleagues and students in our respective workplaces. Our emphasis on researching
for action no doubt reflects the enormous influence of Alison and Paul having directed
research and policy at the Brotherhood of St Laurence, all of our experiences in the
community sector and as researchers, academics, policy advocates and teachers, and
Alison’s more recent experience in government and at the Productivity Commission.
Contributors
Stephen Bell is Professor of Political Economy and former Head of the School of
Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. He is a
Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. He is the author or editor
of eleven books and has published widely in national and international journals.
His most recent co-authored books include The Rise of the People’s Bank of China,
Harvard University Press; Masters of the Universe, Slaves of the Market, Harvard
University Press; and Fair Share: Competing Claims and Australia’s Economic Future,
Melbourne University Press.
Anna Boucher is Associate Professor in Political Science and Public Policy at the
University of Sydney. She holds degrees in politics and law, from Sydney University
and the London School of Economics. Her research focuses upon immigration
policy and its intersection with the welfare state, gender equality, industrial relations
and employment law as it impacts upon immigration. Her work has been published
in international journals and books and presented before intergovernmental and
government agencies. She is a regular commentator in the news and to government
inquiries on immigration issues.
Deborah Brennan is an Emeritus Professor and a leading researcher in comparative
welfare, family policy and gender and politics. She is the author of numerous scholarly
publications in the areas of gender, politics and family policy. Professor Brennan
contributes to national and international debates and has advised Australian and UK
governments on the development of policies for families and children. She was the
Inaugural Convenor of the National Association of Community Based Children’s
Services (NABCBS) and is a former President of the Australian Political Science
Association.
Peter John Chen is a senior lecturer in the Department of Government and
International Relations at the University of Sydney, where he teaches Australian and
regional politics, media politics and public policy. His work includes an interest in
the political content of film, the movement of political and policy ideas, and the
role of networks in collective action. He is a member of the editorial boards of the
Journal of Information Technology & Politics and the International Journal of Electronic
Governance. Peter is currently working on a new book on the politics of animal welfare
in Australia.
Natasha Cortis is Senior Research Fellow at the Social Policy Research Centre,
University of New South Wales. Her research focuses on the ways community services
are financed, regulated, delivered and evaluated, and the impacts community service
systems have on inequalities and social well-being. Her particular interests relate to
issues of organisational capacity and workforce issues in the community sector, and
women’s employment and economic security. Natasha contributes evidence on a
range of community services issues to inform policy development and advocacy and
is Associate Editor of the Australian Journal of Social Issues.
Tony Dalton is Emeritus Professor in the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT
University. He has taught housing, urban studies, policy studies and research and
has published widely on many aspects of housing and policy. His research and
publication in the area of housing studies is closely connected to his participation in
non-government sector policy and advocacy work. Previously he has held a number
of senior management positions at RMIT University.
Stephen Duckett is Director of the Health Program at Grattan Institute. He has
a reputation for creativity, evidence-based innovation and reform in areas ranging
from the introduction of activity-based funding for hospitals, to new systems of
accountability for the safety of hospital care. An economist, he is a Fellow of the
Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and of the Australian Academy of
Health and Medical Sciences.
Bronwyn Hinz is a Director at Nous Group and Honorary Fellow of Melbourne
Graduate School of Education. She has previously worked for the Education
Foundation, the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria and two federal politicians;
taught public policy and Australian politics courses at the University of Melbourne;
and was a Visiting Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City.
Her research has won national and international awards and her analysis frequently
appears in print and broadcast media.
Richard Krever AM is a Professor in the Law School at the University of Western
Australia. He has previously been seconded to the Australian Taxation Office and
Australian Treasury to assist with the implementation of several tax reforms and
has served on a number of government reviews of taxation. Richard has also been
seconded to international agencies including the International Monetary Fund
and World Bank to assist with tax reform projects in developing countries and has
contributed to similar projects for five international development agencies.
Greg Marston is Professor of Social Policy in the School of Social Science and
Deputy Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the
University of Queensland. He has previously held positions at Queensland University
of Technology and RMIT University and visiting appointments in Sweden and the
United States. Prior to entering academia he worked in the community sector at
the local, state and national level. His main research interests are unemployment,
poverty, welfare governance, work and emerging technologies and the politics of
policy-making.
Alison McClelland AM has previously held senior positions in government,
academia and the community sector. She has been a Commissioner with the
Productivity Commission and participated in government boards and advisory
committees, held several honorary positions with the Australian Council of Social
Service (ACOSS), was made a member of the Order of Australia and awarded a
Centenary Medal for her contribution to social policy and social research in Australia.
Her main work has focused on the impact of social and economic policies on the
distribution of material well-being in Australia.
Megan Nethercote is a Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at RMIT University
and is based in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies. Her research
investigates the impacts of urban intensification—and of capitalist political economy,
in particular—on households and cities. She was awarded the Malcolm Moore Award
in April 2017 to research the political economy of apartment development, and
specifically attempts to interrupt or contest ongoing housing commodification and
financialisation. She has worked on a number of ARC grants including HOME, a large
empirical study of infill apartment development across four cities (Melbourne, Perth,
London and Barcelona).
John Quiggin is an Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow and Federation
Fellow and a Professor in the School of Economics and the School of Political
Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. He was an Adjunct
Professor at the ANU from 2003 to 2006 and was the Hinkley Visiting Professor
at Johns Hopkins University in 2011. From 1996 to 1999 he was a Professor of
Economics and Australian Research Council Senior Fellow at James Cook University.
From 2000 to 2002 he was a Senior Fellow at the ANU and the Inaugural Don
Dunstan Visiting Professor at the University of Adelaide.
Paul Smyth is Honorary Professor of Social Policy at the University of Melbourne
where he was previously founding Coordinator of the Master of Social Policy; and,
conjointly, General Manager of the Research and Policy Centre at the Brotherhood
of St Laurence. He was earlier Director of Social Policy in the School of Social Work
and Social Policy at the University of Queensland; and senior researcher at Uniya,
the Jesuit social research and action centre at Kings Cross, Sydney. His books include
Inclusive Growth in Australia, Allen & Unwin with John Buchanan (2013) and Reframing
Global Social Policy: Social Investment for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth (Policy Press)
with Christopher Deeming (2018).
Zoe Staines is a Research Fellow with the School of Social Science, University of
Queensland. She previously held research and policy positions in the Queensland
public sector and, most recently, in the not-for-profit sector, as a Senior Policy Officer
and Manager of Research for an Indigenous organisation. She has published in the
areas of policing, social policy, and rural/remote crime and governance. She was
recently awarded an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award to further her
work into remote community experiences of social policy and is also an Associate
Editor of the Australian Journal of Social Issues.
Janet Stanley is an Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the
Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, Faculty of Architecture and Planning,
University of Melbourne and Visiting Professor at Hiroshima University, Japan.
Janet’s work focuses on the interface between social, environmental and economic
issues across policy, system design, and at community levels. Janet particularly
specialises in social inclusion and equity, child and adolescent welfare, transport and
urban planning, and climate change impacts. Janet has six authored and edited books,
the latest: Stanley, J.R., March, A., Ogloff, J. & Thompson, J. (2020) The Prevention of
Wildfire: International Best Practice, Vernon Press, Delaware, USA.
Miranda Stewart is Professor of Law at the University of Melbourne Law School
where she is Director of the Tax Group. Miranda is a Fellow at the Tax and Transfer
Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy, at the Australian National
University, where she was the inaugural Director from 2014 to 2017. Miranda engages
in research, teaching and consulting on a wide range of tax law and policy topics
including taxation of large and small business entities, not-for-profits and individuals;
international taxation; tax reform processes and budget institutions; and gender
equality. Miranda has an enduring interest in the resilience, legitimacy and fairness of
tax systems to support good government.
Part one
Introduction to Social Policy
This first part of the book introduces readers to the idea of social policy, its scope
and terrain, how it can be analysed and influenced, and the institutional context for
decisions and actions in Australia. Chapter 1 covers the importance of social policy;
its contested nature, purpose and forms; the broad scope of social policy; and its
relationship to other policy areas, including economic, environmental and public
policy. It shows how social policy has changed the nature of Australian life and the
choices available to individual Australians.
Policy is the expression of intent or purpose. This expression may be in the form
of a very detailed policy statement, a series of related statements, a very general
statement of values or an informal agreement. Social policy is also reflected in the
institutional arrangements that promote people’s welfare and in the impact of those
arrangements on people’s lives. It is also an area of study involving knowledge and
analysis that helps us understand social policy’s aims, context and impacts, as well
as its process: how we develop policies and persuade the relevant decision-makers
to adopt them.
Some questions to consider throughout this chapter are: How could social policy
make a difference to Australian society? What are the current issues that are relevant
to social policy today? Why is social policy important and what makes it different
from other areas of policy?
Ideas and values have a critical influence on policy; these, and the associated
concepts such as need, rights, equity and efficiency, are discussed in some detail
in Chapter 2. However, these concepts are not straightforward, and how they are
understood and given priority varies according to different assumptions about how
people behave and societies develop, as well as different values about what constitutes
the ‘good’ individual or society. These differences are reflected in different ideologies
and philosophical traditions, which are also covered in Chapter 2.
The final section of the chapter deals with some of the enduring design principles
of social policy and the choices between them. Should we provide services to all
(universal provision) or should we target assistance to the most needy? How should
we provide welfare: through employers (such as superannuation), through the tax
system (through rebates and concessions) or through direct services and payments?
Such decisions are important as they influence who is able to benefit most from our
social policy decisions.
Some questions to consider throughout this chapter are: What is the dominant
ideological framework affecting decisions on social policy in Australia today? What
are the most important values within this framework? How is welfare being provided
in Australia today and is it changing?
Chapter 3 looks at how policy decisions are made and how to analyse policies to
better understand their influences and impacts. These issues are central for people
who wish to make a contribution to the development of better policies, who wish to
be effective policy practitioners and advocates. Chapter 3 responds to these questions
by providing a framework for policy analysis, advocacy and action, after considering
different views about how policy change occurs. Some questions to consider through
this chapter are: Is policy-making rational in Australia or is social policy mainly a
political process? How can we understand the impact of a policy on a group of
people? How can we be effective advocates for policy change in Australia?
In Chapter 4, we cover the institutional context for decision-making. The
institutional context affects how change occurs, including the power relationships
between different key actors and institutions in the policy process, and what is
achievable at any point of time. Some questions to consider are: Which groups in
Australia today have most influence on social policy? How does Australia’s system of
government affect social policy in Australia? In a particular area of social policy who
are the decision-makers and who has influence on them?
Introduction
Social policy aims to improve people’s well-being, and is especially concerned with
the welfare of those who experience some form of disadvantage. This book is about
social policy in Australia: its purpose and meaning, how it operates now, how it has
operated in the past, and the social policy challenges for the future. We show how
social policy has affected the lives and choices of Australians over time. We cover
how social policy is made, so readers can understand the policy process and become
informed and skilled policy activists in their work to improve social conditions
through action and advocacy. In this first chapter the idea and scope of social policy
is explored: why it is important, what it means, where it is made and how it relates to
other policy areas and to broader institutional arrangements, often referred to as the
welfare state.
then introduced Medicare in 1983, but changes by the Howard Coalition government
from 1996 to 2007, through the introduction of the Private Health Insurance Rebate and
then Medicare Plus (see Chapter 12 on health policy), alongside developing financing
pressures, watered down its universal and public nature. The Rudd and Gillard Labor
governments subsequently modified some of the Howard government changes; for
example, by income-testing access to the Private Health Insurance Rebate. The Abbott
Coalition government elected in 2013 reduced funding to the state governments
for health and continued to rely heavily on private health insurance even though the
premiums were out of reach of an increasing number of Australians and also associated
with large out-of-pocket health costs (Duckett & Nemet 2019; and Chapter 12).
These changes to Medicare point to the contested nature of social policy. People
have different views about what is good social policy and these views vary according
to differences in values about what is desirable and in assumptions about what
will work. Social policy therefore involves debates about values, and in the case of
Medicare the continuing central debate is about the values of public and private
financing and provision of health care.
Social policy also includes debates about the assumptions of the way individuals
and societies behave. In the case of Medicare, there are ongoing debates about
how people respond to free health care (for example, whether bulk billing leads to
unnecessary visits and if there is a need for a co-payment to limit such visits) and how
important it is to maintain private provision. Policies are therefore rarely completely
settled, but are frequently disputed and revisited.
Access to income support as a right is frequently contested. While the right to
support was progressively extended to different groups over the past century, as
detailed in Chapter 10, the welfare-to-work policies of respective governments from
the mid-1980s to the present time have frequently eroded that right, particularly for
people of working age. Policies often now aim to support ‘work not welfare’ and
expect a broader range of people to be in paid work, including women with caring
responsibilities and people with disabilities. Changes in the 2000s have therefore
often been accompanied by reductions in eligibility for income support or in the
level of support provided, as happened to many single parents under the Gillard
Labor government, when they were expected to be available for full-time work after
their child turned a certain age and were transferred to a different form of income
support. People with a disability have been similarly affected and working-age people
on income support payment are now expected to comply with a range of strict and
often onerous conditions to retain their payments. Indigenous people have been
particularly affected. Hunter and Venn found that
Indigenous social security recipients are more likely than non-Indigenous recipients
to receive payments that have conditionality or activation requirements such as
looking for work or participating in Work for the Dole, so face higher ongoing efforts
to maintain eligibility and greater risk of having benefits suspended or cancelled
(2019, p. 289).
Much policy activism and advocacy is therefore about improving what is regarded
by some as poor policy, but again, such an assessment will be contested and will differ
according to people’s values and beliefs, and to changing ideas about what works.
The Howard government’s Northern Territory Emergency Response intervention
into Indigenous communities is a very good example of a highly contested policy
(see Chapter 10 and Hunter & Venn 2019). Introduced in 2007 in the lead-up to
the federal election, in response to a report about the extent of child abuse in
Indigenous communities, it contained very contentious elements, including the
removal of the permit system (through which Indigenous communities controlled
entry to their communities), the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act and
the compulsory quarantining of a proportion of welfare payments on a debit card
that limits expenditure on certain items (income management). These policy changes
were seen by many people as necessary to protect children and improve community
functioning. However, others disagreed with these policy decisions on the basis that
they denied the rights and autonomy of Indigenous peoples. These debates have
continued under successive governments and have involved the extension of income
management under the guise of the Cashless Welfare Card to other areas in Western
and South Australia and Queensland (Koslowski 2019) despite evidence about its
limited effectiveness.
Chapter 2 provides more detail about how differences in values and assumptions
can influence the design of social policy in particular countries; for example, the
use of income and assets tests, plus conditional requirements in Australia’s income
support system. As a result of these differences in values and assumptions, social
policy can have a dark side and is not necessarily about the improvement of personal
welfare (Hill 2003) but may also be aimed at social control. One telling example of
this in Australia is how we have responded to refugees who arrive in boats. Since
2001 and the much-published incident of the Tampa, which rescued asylum seekers
attempting to seek refuge in Australia, this has been an extremely contested area of
public policy, which has influenced the election of different governments (Manne
2013). The then Howard government responded to the Tampa affair by increasing
mandatory detention and offshore processing to discourage asylum seekers
attempting to come to Australia without explicit permission. While the refugee policy
was initially softened by the Rudd/Gillard governments, the media focused on an
increase in boat arrivals and in the context of a federal election, it was subsequently
hardened with the introduction of a policy that people arriving by boat could never
settle in Australia. This policy continues to this day. For some in the community, these
policies are appropriate. For others they are socially unjust and very damaging to
the affected refugees. These differences reflect different values and understandings
about the reasons for people seeking refugee status and the problems they present.
These different understandings and values and the way they are influenced by media
portrayal and by politicians and other public figures can all have a strong influence
on social policy.
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LES ESCAMOTEURS
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Les escamoteurs ont donc beau nuire et détruire, aucune pénalité ne les
atteint jamais. Il n’y a pas de recours contre eux; leurs procédés sont pour
ainsi dire impalpables. On ne peut les saisir sur le fait ni les convaincre, car
ils manipulent le néant. Matériellement, ils vendent des marchandises
frelatées; moralement, ils escamotent les situations, les obligations, les
promesses faites, les engagements pris, les serments échangés. Avec un
admirable sang-froid, ils opposent à tout reproche des fins de non-recevoir
qui déconcertent les plus intelligents et les plus habiles. Si, devant leur
évidente mauvaise foi dans les grandes comme dans les petites choses,
quelqu’un s’émeut et, emporté par l’indignation, essaye de frapper leur
conscience, ils échappent avec une dextérité surprenante à toute
responsabilité.
Par leur escamotage des faits, des choses et des paroles, ils ont ruiné les
uns, perdu la réputation des autres, empêché la réussite d’un troisième, en
s’attribuant, ou en attribuant à d’indignes protégés, les mérites qui auraient
pu le mettre en valeur. Mais naturellement ils nient avoir eu une part
quelconque à ces désastres. Leurs mains sont si habituées à brouiller les
cartes qu’ils ne s’aperçoivent même plus de la besogne que leurs doigts
accomplissent. A force de jouer toujours avec des dés pipés, quelques-uns
trichent presque de bonne foi.
*
**
Ils volent tout ce qui leur tombe sous la main: les bons mots des uns, les
pensées des autres. Dans l’ordre des sentiments, ils ont également sur la
conscience plus d’un crime. Et le pire est qu’ils font école. On décore
poliment du nom d’«habileté» et d’«adresse» leur façon d’escamoter les
réalités, et de leur substituer le mensonge et le néant. Comme l’on va chez
la tireuse de cartes, combien de gens vont demander conseil à ces vendeurs
de fumée! Ils enseignent à brouiller les cartes dans la vie privée ou
publique, ils finissent par tenir boutique ouverte de fraudes.
Ce sont des gens, en général, de médiocre intelligence et de plus
médiocre culture, et comme ils sont dépourvus de passion, ils mènent
souvent une vie respectable. Quelques-uns sont des escamoteurs de
naissance, et je ne sais quelle maladie ou quelle tare de leur esprit les rend
incapables d’accepter la responsabilité de leurs actes et de leurs paroles. Ils
sont les moins dangereux de leur classe; les pires sont au contraire les
escamoteurs qui se sont engagés dans la triste phalange par opportunisme,
par envie ou par un besoin âcre et violent de diminuer les mérites d’autrui,
afin de donner plus de lustre aux leurs propres. Des plagiaires naissent des
escamoteurs, et les uns et les autres se nourrissent de fumée!
*
**
*
**
CHAPITRE III
Eux aussi sont des marchands de fumée et tiennent boutique à côté des
escamoteurs et des brouilleurs de cartes. Sous le prétexte fallacieux de
chercher la vérité, ils lui substituent le mensonge et le néant.
Leurs magasins sont fort achalandés comme ceux de leurs confrères,
mais on n’y trouve aucune marchandise de bon aloi, solide et intégrale!
Ils ont un étalage de pure apparence; au lieu de réalités, ils offrent sans
scrupules les créations de leur fantaisie. On les achète tout de même,
tellement le faux et l’artificiel satisfont cette antipathie de la vérité dont tant
de gens souffrent! Certains naissent avec l’esprit fait de telle sorte qu’ils
éprouvent le besoin d’embrouiller les choses les plus claires et de voir des
pièges derrière tout ce qui frappe leur regard ou leur ouïe.
Si un homme se jette à la rivière pour sauver un enfant qui se noie, vite
les faux interprètes cherchent à son acte généreux un motif secret et parfois
honteux. Et quand on applaudit devant eux à cette action courageuse, ils
ricanent ou prennent un air profond comme s’ils étaient au courant de
mystérieuses menées que les autres ignorent, alors qu’au fond ils ne savent
absolument rien de spécial! Mais ils sont gens d’imagination, et ceux qui
manquent de cette faculté,—et combien de personnes ne possèdent même
pas une étincelle de ce don divin!—les recherchent pour se renseigner, pour
apprendre à leur école l’art de tout dénigrer et de trouver aux faits les plus
simples une explication tortueuse. Cela devient vite un système que l’on
applique ensuite à toutes les grandes et les petites choses de l’existence
humaine, causant ainsi d’infinies souffrances.
Sans l’intervention des faux interprètes, ces souffrances spéciales que
nous allons examiner existeraient quand même, car nous sommes tous
momentanément capables de nous tromper dans nos jugements, mais elles
demeureraient exceptionnelles, tandis qu’avec les boutiques ouvertes des
faux interprètes, il n’est guère de fait ou de sentiment qui soit accepté
aujourd’hui avec simplicité et bonne foi.
Pour les hommes sincères et généreux, le fait d’être méconnu représente
une douleur intolérable qui obscurcit pour eux la beauté des jours clairs et
qui les blesse dans leur intimité profonde.
Aucun état social, pour merveilleusement organisé qu’il soit, ne
protégera jamais l’homme contre les jugements de son frère ou de son
voisin. Ce sont là des désagréments inévitables; mais en interdisant les
pratiques auxquelles se livrent les faux interprètes, empêchant ceux-ci de
faire métier de médisance, en frappant leur commerce de taxes morales
considérables, on mettra peut-être un frein à la détestable propagande qu’ils
font par leurs perfides et insinuantes manœuvres.
*
**
*
**
Certains esprits soutiennent qu’il est préférable de protester
immédiatement contre les insinuations médisantes: ils ont pour théorie que
les légendes une fois formées, il est excessivement difficile de les détruire;
il faut donc, d’après eux, avoir toujours l’oreille tendue, et, au plus petit
indice suspect, arborer son drapeau et mettre flamberge au vent. Cette
méthode rend la vie très fatigante, et, la plupart du temps, ne sert à rien.
Il faudrait pouvoir remonter à la source secrète d’où proviennent les
fausses interprétations. Sans parler des professionnels qui les répandent et
que nous avons dénoncés, elles prennent naissance dans tous les milieux, et,
si l’on cherche bien, on voit qu’un sentiment de rancune, d’envie, ou
d’ambition frustrée les inspire presque toujours. Elles naissent aussi d’un
manque de clairvoyance et sont souvent filles de l’ignorance. Rien n’est
plus rare, du reste, que la perspicacité, dans notre société moderne. C’est
même là un point sur lequel je devrai revenir fréquemment dans cette étude,
car il mérite d’attirer l’attention, étant donné le développement que le
besoin d’analyse a pris dans tous les esprits modernes. Cette singulière
lacune est-elle imputable à la vie tumultueuse du XXᵉ siècle, où le temps
d’observer, de réfléchir et de raisonner manque absolument? Quelle qu’en
soit l’origine, le fait existe et doit être étudié, car il désarme l’homme
devant les événements et les péripéties de la vie.
On peut remplacer la perspicacité par l’intuition, mais c’est un don rare
et personnel et non une vraie science, mise à la portée de tous et qu’on
puisse acquérir. Lorsqu’on possède ce don, on peut le développer par une
constante communion avec les forces qui dirigent l’univers. Et nous voyons
toujours le même mystérieux phénomène se répéter: c’est à celui qui a
beaucoup reçu, qu’il est donné davantage. Cette promesse sent le privilège,
et beaucoup d’esprits étroits se rebellent contre elle. Or, l’étroitesse de
l’esprit est une forteresse inexpugnable, une montagne toute en saillie, une
paroi unie et lisse qu’aucun pied, pour agile qu’il soit, ne parvient à gravir.
*
**
L’obstination des sots est irréductible et, contre les gens bornés, il n’y a
pas de recours possible; c’est pour cela que, si souvent, on voit ces derniers
occuper de hautes situations, à l’étonnement et à l’indignation générales. Il
faut aborder ici un point délicat, car il soulève un grave problème: jusqu’à
quel point les gens inintelligents, ou qui manquent de perspicacité peuvent-
ils être tenus pour responsables du mal qu’ils font et des douleurs qu’ils
causent? On peut affirmer, en tout cas, qu’il n’y a pas de «bonnes bêtes»,
comme on le prétend quelquefois, la bonté, sous toutes ses formes, étant
toujours une preuve d’intelligence.
Dans le cas spécial de la propagation des fausses interprétations, les sots
tiennent le record, d’abord parce que, manquant de bon sens et ayant des
capacités limitées, il leur arrive souvent de ne pas comprendre et de ne pas
savoir discerner la réalité des sentiments et des intentions; ils se trompent,
par conséquent, plus souvent que d’autres; et de plus, étant dépourvus
d’idées personnelles, ils se laissent facilement égarer par les faux
interprètes.
On peut donc affirmer sans démenti possible, que les cerveaux étroits
sont d’émérites faiseurs de peines. On me répondra qu’on ne devrait
attacher aucune valeur à leurs fausses interprétations. C’est vrai, et, en effet,
s’ils nous sont indifférents, nous parvenons aisément à ne pas sentir
l’écharde qu’ils ont plantée dans notre chair. Nous haussons les épaules, et
nous en remettons au temps et à la justice finale des choses. Mais lorsque
des jugements hasardés, blessants et faux, sortent de bouches aimées,—car
nous aimons les gens pour une foule de raisons complexes où l’intelligence
n’entre souvent pour rien,—toute parole prend une valeur, tout jugement
erroné blesse nos sentiments intimes, et est créateur de griefs. Nous ne
pouvons hausser les épaules, ni répondre par un fier silence, ou un frivole
«je m’en moque» à leurs paroles malencontreuses, puisque ces fausses
interprétations, partant de lèvres chéries, mettent en péril nos pauvres
bonheurs.
*
**
*
**
Parfois, c’est l’amitié qui nous réserve cette épreuve. Les amis qui
devraient nous connaître le mieux, qui nous sont unis par des liens de choix,
interprètent mal nos actions ou acceptent sans hésiter les intentions que nos
adversaires nous attribuent. On n’a pas toujours d’ennemis au sens le plus
grave du mot, mais chacun a des adversaires disposés à défigurer les motifs
qui guident nos actes.
Les amis qui se montrent prêts à accepter les fausses interprétations
suggérées par nos adversaires, commettent déjà une déloyauté; mais quand
c’est d’eux-mêmes et spontanément qu’ils nous méconnaissent, le mot
trahison vient tout naturellement à nos lèvres. Pour nou, le paysage se
décolore, la lumière s’éteint, la joie de l’amitié disparaît: nous les aimerons
encore, peut-être, les amis infidèles, mais ce ne sera plus que d’une façon
grise et banale.
Une félure s’est produite au plus profond du cœur.
*
**
En amour, les blessures sont plus irrémédiables encore;—et, par amour,
je n’entends pas seulement celui qui lie les hommes aux femmes, mais aussi
ces affections de famille ou d’amitié, si étroites et profondes qu’elles ont
toute l’ardeur de l’amour. En de pareils liens, la fausse interprétation fait
l’effet d’un coup de couteau en plein cœur. Elle crée des griefs qui élèvent
peu à peu, entre ceux qui s’aimaient, des barrières, qui ne semblent d’abord
rien et dont les effets sont formidables. Le seul fait de voir leurs motifs
méconnus par l’un de ces êtres chéris, suffit à ternir, chez les natures
délicates, l’image de celui ou de celle qu’elles avaient, dans leur âme, placé
sur un autel.
Les époux, les amants croient avoir droit sous ce rapport à un traitement
spécial, et ils sont singulièrement stricts sur ce point particulier. Trop
indulgents aux mensonges, à la duplicité, à la ruse quand elles sont
appliquées à autrui, ils ne consentent pas à les excuser vis-à-vis d’eux-
mêmes. Que la coupable soit mère, sœur, épouse, fille, amante, amie, ils ne
lui pardonnent jamais une fausse interprétation de leurs actes.
Je connais le cas d’un fils qui, adorant sa mère, s’aperçut un jour qu’elle
avait attribué des motifs erronés à quelques-uns de ses actes. Leur intimité
se rompit, et il fallut des années pour la rétablir. Et ce triste phénomène
s’est reproduit souvent dans d’autres relations. Que de bonheurs ont été
détruits par de fausses interprétations non pardonnées et qui entraînaient à
leur suite beaucoup de douleurs inutiles, puisqu’elles étaient basées sur de
la fumée, c’est-à-dire sur l’inexistant.
C’est là une source de souffrance dont l’humanité doit être délivrée. Le
remède est dans l’homme lui-même. Quand il aura refait son éducation, il
réussira à maîtriser cette sensibilité spéciale. C’est une science nouvelle
qu’il doit apprendre et qui représentera une partie essentielle de sa
reconstruction morale.
Pour lui faciliter sa tâche, il faut que tous les hommes de bonne volonté
dénoncent les faux interprètes partout où ils les découvrent, afin de ne plus
permettre à leur ombre de s’étendre sous les portiques du temple, ni à leurs
mains de lâcher l’essaim pestilentiel des insectes venimeux que leurs
bocaux contiennent, et qui ont nom: défiances, doutes, soupçons,
calomnies, brouillards, vapeurs, fumée, poussière et cendres!
CHAPITRE IV
*
**
Les faux juges des deux sexes, hors de leur boutique du temple,
travaillent séparément. Ils se divisent la besogne: ce sont, en général, des
gens prétentieux et bornés d’esprit, qui se prennent au sérieux et se croient
eux-mêmes infiniment intelligents. Parfois, ces francs-tireurs éprouvent le
désir de se réunir. Quel aréopage! Malheur aux Phrynés, même très vêtues,
qui oseraient s’y présenter! Les sentences qu’on y rend sont de celles que le
tribunal des Animaux, qui condamnèrent l’Ane dans la fable de La
Fontaine, n’aurait pas désavouées!
J’ai toujours estimé que la profession de juge était l’une des plus lourdes
pour la conscience, et il m’a toujours paru inouï que, sans y être forcé par
serment, quelqu’un veuille de son plein gré, assumer cette tâche, usurper
cette place... Ces juges improvisés ne regardent donc jamais en eux-mêmes?
C’est un phénomène assez curieux de l’âme humaine que cet auto-
aveuglement. Plus on jette les yeux autour de soi, plus on se rend compte
que le vrai est ce dont l’homme se soucie le moins! Ceux même qui
auraient voulu décrocher les étoiles du ciel et arrêter sur les lèvres la vieille
chanson qu’on chantait auprès des berceaux et des tombes, ne sont pas plus
réalistes que les autres! Eux aussi sont des acheteurs et des vendeurs de
fumée.
*
**
Pour en revenir aux faux juges, dont les sentences courent le monde,
détruisent la confiance et empêchent le développement des meilleures
initiatives, comment leur donner la chasse et les anéantir? Les mitrailleuses
elles-mêmes seraient impuissantes, contre leurs décisions, car elles ne
frappent pas dans le vide... Seul un geste divin pourrait les faire disparaître
dans ces cavernes de sable mouvant et sans fond, où l’enlisement éternel
attend tout ce qui, en ce monde, a été mensonge et fumée.
CHAPITRE V
LES BLUFFEURS
Il est impossible de quitter les marchands de fumée, sans dire un mot des
bluffeurs, malgré la vulgarité rebutante du mot et de la chose. Aujourd’hui
leur dégradant moyen d’action s’est tellement répandu que le nom «bluff» a
été adopté dans toutes les langues et qu’il est compris et appliqué dans tous
les pays. Fils du Nouveau Monde, il a acquis maintenant droit de cité
partout. On se sert couramment du mot et de la chose. «Quel infect
bluffeur», nous écrierons-nous, si celui auquel l’adjectif s’applique a lésé
nos intérêts. Et d’autre part, nous rions en disant à un ami: «Avez-vous fini
de bluffer?» Cette façon éclectique d’employer le vocable est
symptômatique.
Le bluff peut mener en cour d’assises, mais, quand il ne s’applique
qu’aux petits intérêts de la vie, on en plaisante agréablement, ce qui est un
tort, car le fond de la chose est le même. Le fait de reconnaître, dans une
mesure quelconque, qu’on a le droit de «bluffer» est la condamnation de
toute société bien organisée. Les escamoteurs, les brouilleurs de cartes, les
faux interprètes et les faux juges empêchent la reconstruction morale du
monde, mais le bluff permis, reconnu, protégé, jette un tel désarroi dans les
consciences, que, l’admettre, équivaut à sonner le glas de la société
humaine.
Si le Fils de l’homme et de Dieu a chassé, il y a presque vingt siècles, les
trafiquants du temple, qu’aurait-il dit de cette plaie du bluff qui, semblable à
une lèpre hideuse s’étend aujourd’hui sur le monde? Pour la laver il n’y a
que les étangs de feu dont le vieillard de Patmos parle dans l’Apocalypse.
Né des plus basses passions et synonyme d’un esprit de tromperie froide
et calculée, le bluff n’est pas simplement de la fumée, mais une vapeur
délétère qui empoisonne toutes les sources de l’activité humaine. Que n’a-t-
on pas dit des poisons des Borgia! Certes, leur emploi avait des
inconvénients et ceux qui les ingurgitaient passaient un mauvais quart
d’heure, mais à Sinigaglia même les victimes ne furent que trente ou
quarante. Les grandes plaies sociales actuelles font un nombre bien plus
considérable de victimes.
CHAPITRE VI