Future Social Service Institute

This chapter focuses on debates around the privatization of public services using globalization as a pivot point. It is argued that the privatisation of public services has encouraged globalisation by enabling multi national companies to invest in services that were previously provided by governments directly. The effects have been rather mixed, primarily benefiting the private owners rather than the end users of the services. Public transport, electricity and private financing of infrastructure are used as case studies. The Chapter is published in, A. Farazmand (ed.), 'Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance', Springer International Publishing.

1. Introduction This paper explores the expectations associated with the establishment of a wired community initiative in a low income, multiethnic public housing estate in inner Melbourne. Reach for the Clouds will give approximately two thousand low income residents of this housing ...

The paper describes the development, construction and consequences to date of a'wired community'being created at Atherton Gardens, a low-income inner city public housing estate in Melbourne. This wired community, which will comprise almost 800 ...

This report was commissioned by the Interchurch Gambling Taskforce in November 2001.It became clear to us that the Victorian government was so financially dependent on gambling to balance the state budget that it was not able to attack the very serious social issue that people with gambling problems now represent in our society, without falling victim to the equally serious charge of being financially irresponsible. The opposition are equally captive to the gambling dollar, and only independents with their limited political clout recognise the dilemma.

This paper critically analyses performance Indicators as used in the social housing system of Australia. The use of performance indicators emerged in the mid nineties and grew out of the new managerialist and economic rationalist ideas that shaped public sector reform in this decade. This context gave a particular form and direction to performance indicators and in hindsight limited their capacity as useful indicators. The paper outlines the specific forms of indicators used in the social housing system (mainly in public housing), the assumptions that underpinned them, and the conceptual and methodological problems with the indicators. We our now entering what could be called a second phase of performance indicators and there is some promise that they could be more effective performance measures in the future. However given, as the paper argues, such indicators are as much creatures of political ideology as good management tools any use of indicators has to be placed under critical ...