Australia

Intelligence accountability in Australia balances compliance and bodies whose systematic focus is on efficacy and financial review with independent intelligence reviews, commissions, and inquiries that focus on efficacy. Australia differs insofar as it is not subject to a constitutionally or supranationally enshrined civil right regime. A diversity of mechanisms, ranging from parliamentary committees and executive bodies to periodic independent reviews, fashion an oversight system that drives innovation. From the three Royal Hope Commissions to regular inquiries into the National Intelligence Community, Australia’s independent in-depth periodic reviews, inquiries, and commissions have a track-record of shaping and spurring change and innovation in the scope and structure of accountability across its broader intelligence and security community. The Australian tradition of independent expert intelligence reviews, commissions, and inquiries offsets the lack of accountability bodies dedicated to reviewing for efficacy and innovation. The chapter reviews the member organizations of the Australia’s National Intelligence Community, the strategic environment that has informed intelligence and accountability in Australia, national security threats as seen by Australia, as well as Australia’s systematic approach to reviewing and innovating its intelligence accountability architecture. It consists of the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, and the Independent National Security Law Monitor. Although similar to the United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the United Kingdom’s Joint Intelligence Organization, Australia’s Office of National Intelligence is quite unique insofar as neither the US and UK equivalents nor comparable offices in Canada and the New Zealand have an analogous accountability function. These mechanisms balance existing independent review mechanisms with mandates to review legislation and compliance, propriety, administration.

The Short Story in Australia

This chapter examines the history of the short story in Australia. Australia's tradition of short fiction writing dates back to the mid-nineteenth century. In the days when Australian novels were mainly published in England, the short story was a source of income for many authors. By the 1950s, the type of realist story favoured by Henry Lawson — using a colloquial, usually male, voice and featuring working-class characters and bush settings — had been established as the Australian tradition. The chapter first considers short stories written in the 1950s and 1960s, which reflect versions of realism and modernism, before discussing works published in the 1970s and 1980s that deal with postmodernism and feminism. It also looks at short stories published since the 1990s, such as Gail Jones' The House of Breathing, Tony Birch's Father's Day (2009), and Cate Kennedy's Like a House on Fire (2012).

Mateship and egalitarianism in Henry Lawson’s short stories

Mateship is an important element of the so-called “Australian Tradition” in literature. It consists of a particular bond between men who travel the rural areas known as “the bush” or “the outback”. This article examines some of Henry Lawson’s mateship stories, with a focus on the different connotations that the term can assume for the author, especially regarding the theme of egalitarianism. It considers how the Bulletin Magazine, which “discovered” Lawson and published many of his stories, had a role in fostering a special model of Australian democracy and a peculiar style for Australian literature. It also reflects on how the dissemination of Lawson’s stories through periodicals in the last decades of the 19th century helped create a feeling of what Benedict Anderson calls “nation-ness”.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MATESHIP E IGUALITARISMO NOS CONTOS DE HENRY LAWSONMateship é um elemento importante da chamada “Tradição Australiana” na literatura. Refere-se a um vínculo especial entre homens que percorrem as áreas rurais conhecidas na Austrália como “the bush” ou “the outback”. Este artigo examina alguns dos contos de Henry Lawson que trazem esse elemento, com ênfase especial nas diferentes conotações que o termo pode assumir para o autor, especialmente com relação à temática do igualitarismo. O artigo considera como o periódico Bulletin, o qual “descobriu” Lawson e publicou vários de seus contos, foi relevante para a promoção de um modelo particular de democracia na Austrália e um estilo característico para a literatura local. O artigo também reflete sobre como a disseminação dos contos de Lawson por meio de periódicos na última década do século XIX contribuiu para a criação do que Benedict Anderson chama de “nation-ness”.---Artigo em inglês.

Mateship and egalitarianism in Henry Lawson’s short stories

Mateship is an important element of the so-called “Australian Tradition” in literature. It consists of a particular bond between men who travel the rural areas known as “the bush” or “the outback”. This article examines some of Henry Lawson’s mateship stories, with a focus on the different connotations that the term can assume for the author, especially regarding the theme of egalitarianism. It considers how the Bulletin Magazine, which “discovered” Lawson and published many of his stories, had a role in fostering a special model of Australian democracy and a peculiar style for Australian literature. It also reflects on how the dissemination of Lawson’s stories through periodicals in the last decades of the 19th century helped create a feeling of what Benedict Anderson calls “nation-ness”.---Original in English. ---DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22409/gragoata.2018n45a1057.

Home Grown: The Strange and Savage Times of the Australasian Weed

The 1970s newspaper Australasian Weed remains a remarkable chronicle of a very different time when a flourishing counter-culture created the space for a regular pro-drug publication at the edge of legality. Content analysis of the Weed and associated publications reveals an expected preoccupation with legalisation campaigns, instructional material and zany antics but a more surprising interest in detailed investigations of the legal process, the history and literature of drugs and health and safety issues. While influenced by the US underground press and drug writers like Hunter S. Thompson, the Weed was nevertheless in the Australian tradition of larrikin, alternative press with a crusading agenda and a confrontational approach to authority. The Weed's stormy career and eventual demise point clearly to the limits of a free press in Australia and raise questions about the efficacy of government drug education programs.

The roots of applied linguistics in Australia

In this paper an attempt is made to identify the origins and distinctive character of Applied Linguistics in Australia, which differ significantly from those in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the field developed in the context of the English language education of international students. The Australian tradition differs in two main respects: (1) the strong influence and representation of the applied linguistics of modern languages, manifest in the work of university teachers of French and other modern languages, and in research on language in immigrant communities; and (2) the distinctive role of the applied linguistics of English, both as a mother tongue in schools, and as a language of immigrants. Using information from a series of interviews with leading figures in the development of Australian applied linguistics, the unique character of Australian Applied Linguistics is revealed.

Koories in the Classroom

Despite growing initiatives in Aboriginal-designed educational facilities, most Aboriginal children still undertake their schooling in mainstream classrooms where methodology and organisation have evolved according to a white Australian tradition.The school system is an institution relentlessly perpetuating the stereotypes and social order that have been Australia’s since the British occupation. Aboriginal children are seen to ‘underachieve’ in terms of a system designed to meet the needs of the dominant society. While ‘underachievement’ may be slightly diminished by adjustments in teaching styles, these changes should be part of an overall classroom strategy that is based on an understanding of Aboriginal characteristics and cultural traditions, and a realisation that Aboriginal children’s behaviour reflects their experience of a largely racist society.