Speaking for the people
Subtitle: representation in Australian politics
By: edited by Marian Sawer and Gianni Zappala.
Contributors: Sawer, Marian.; Zappalà, Gianni.
Publisher: Melbourne University Press
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Carlton South, Vic
Language: eng
Number of pages: 330
Subjects: Representative government and representation -- Australia.; Democracy -- Australia.; Minorities -- Australia.
Other titles: Representation in Australian politics
Description: "Without the belief that others can represent their interests, citizens will withdraw their trust from parliamentary institutions. Today this trust is fragile. Politicians appear to have a different set of policy priorities from those of the people they represent. We are now witnessing demands for citizen-initiated referenda, a popularly elected president and other means of bypassing the role of elected representatives. Speaking for the People explores for the first time the distinctive ways in which Australians have thought about and practised representation, incorporating a ground-breaking analysis of non-parliamentary institutions of representation. Whether and how meaningful a voice can be given to all groups within our society is one of the many questions this book addresses. Marian Sawer and Gianni Zappala bring together old and new concepts of political representation and highlight what is distinctively Australian in our practices of representation." -- BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Bibliography: p. 298-321.
Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: Representation in Australian Politics / Marian Sawer & Gianni Zappalà; title: Part One. Challenges to Traditional Concepts: 1. Representation Renewed / Anne Phillips; title: 2. Representing Trees, Acres, Voters and Non-voters: Concepts of Parliamentary Representation in Australia / Marian Sawer; title: 3. The Constitutional Principle of Representative Government / Anthony Mason; title: 4. Distrust of Representative Government: Australian Experiments with Direct Democracy / George Williams; title: Part Two. Diversity and Presence: 5. 'Democratic Systems Are an Alien Thing to Aboriginal Culture ...' / Tim Rowse; title: 6. The Political Representation of Ethnic Minorities: Moving Beyond the Mirror / Gianni Zappala; title: 7. A Matter of Simple Justice? Women and Parliamentary Representation / Marian Sawer; title: Part Three. Issues of Extra-parliamentary Representation; title: 8. The Challenges of Sexualities / Sue Wills; title: 9. Representation, Public Policy and AIDS / Dennis Altman; title: 10. The Politics of Recognition or the Politics of Presence: The Challenge of Disability / Helen Meekosha; title: 11. The Challenge of Poverty: The Case of ACOSS / John May; title: Conclusion: Representation - Problems and Prospects / Gianni Zappala & Marian Sawer.