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Inside the welfare lobby : a history of the Australian Council of Social Service

Philip Mendes
Sussex Academic Press, 2006

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Book description
The Australian welfare lobby group – the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) – has played a central role in the welfare politics debate as the foremost defender of the Australian welfare state. ACOSS is widely recognized as one of the most important lobby groups in Australia, and enjoys regular access to the media and key policy makers in government and the bureaucracy. Relevant case studies and source material are used to draw attention to:

The role that interest groups play in the formation of government policy agendas

The lobbying strategies used by welfare advocacy groups to influence welfare state outcomes

The relationship between the welfare sector and other key lobby groups and political parties

The impact of key contemporary influences such as neo-liberalism and economic globalization which have arguably transformed the political context within which welfare advocacy groups operate.
  [Publisher's website]

About the author
Dr Philip Mendes is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Monash University.  Dr Mendes is a member of many committees including the Editorial Committee of Victorian Social Work, the Children’s Welfare Association of Victoria Leaving Care Reference Group, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria Social Justice Committee and is a reviewer for a number of local and international academic journals. He is author or co-author of four books including Australia’s Welfare Wars (2003), and Harm Minimisation, Zero Tolerance and Beyond: The Politics of Illicit Drugs in Australia (2004).

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