The Howard government, through the use of the tools of neoliberalism and public sector reform, has established a politicised public service whereby ‘frank and fearless’ advice is no longer valued and there is zero tolerance for bureaucrats presenting perspectives that may be considered critical of government policy. Within this context, the government’s hostility towards feminism, and belief that feminist agendas are in conflict with government priorities, is presented. It is shown that under the Howard government femocrat structures have been disbanded, while their remit has been discredited. This has had a dire impact on women’ s policy machinery; government funding and support for women’s movement initiatives and organisations; the consideration of women’ s issues as mainstream issues; and a valuing of gender analysis expertise in policy discourse. In this article these impacts are discussed and policy examples are given outlining the detrimental impact of these developments on Australian women’ s rights, representation,and choices.
Death of the Australian Femocrat – South Australian Policy Online
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