Date of Award
2002
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Schools and Centres
Education
First Supervisor
Dr Tony Ryan
Abstract
Towards the end of the Twentieth Century there were a number of examples of change to public policy that were not the product of political debate and public consideration. Rather, they appear to have originated in another less visible, and therefore less open to critique manner. It is argued that it is changes to the general thrust of public opinion that have given validity to these policy changes. The ways in which changes to public opinion are caused to change and by whom are investigated and a theory of 'Australian Public Opinion Change' is developed. This theory is applied to three examples of undebated policy change, leading to an analysis of how the changes came about and the political ideologies that drive them. This information is then used to identify, through the use of Critical Theory analysis, which social groups are the greatest beneficiaries of the changes and which are the losers.
Publication Details
Roguszka, P. M. (2002). The Potential for Public Opinion to Generate Change in Policy Formation (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)). University of Notre Dame Australia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theses/23