Elite Localism and Inequality: Understanding affluent community opposition to rail network expansion within the political economy of Sydney.

Sydney is a global city experiencing a surge in the expansion of public transport infrastructure. It is an unequal city, with a greater ratio of inequality between suburbs than any other major city in Australia. This state of inequality has a long history. From its historic origins to the present day, the presence and absence of public transport has served to entrench inequality in the city. Those areas with greater access to employment and education tend to be wealthier than those without, and public transportation is a key provider of accessibility and mobility in the city Residents of some of Sydney’s most affluent areas, have fiercely resisted government attempts to extend rail links into these suburbs. These successful actions have led to serious consequences extending beyond the affluent suburbs in question to the city as a whole. This thesis will seek to investigate, identify and understand the phenomena of affluent local opposition to the expansion of rail networks

Would a Job Guarantee Guarantee Jobs? An Analysis of the Employer of Last Resort Proposal

Unemployment is a chronic feature of capitalist economies, with a host of related ills such as poverty, personal and economic insecurity and social stigma. In much of the developed world, unemployment has never returned to the low levels present before the mid-1970s, and increasingly insecure and part-time work has replaced permanent, full-time employment. Over two million Australians are either officially unemployed, marginally connected to the labour market but desiring work or are underemployed.The policy referred to here as the Job Guarantee (JG), also known as the Employer of Last Resort and Buffer Stock Employment, is a proposal to address unemployment and underemployment directly, through the provision of a blanket offer of employment at the minimum wage for anyone willing and able to work. This thesis seeks to examine in detail the practicality and desirability of the JG as a solution to the problem of scarce and insecure employment

Radical theories of capitalism in Australia: Towards a historiography of the Australian New Left

It has recently been remarked that people are increasingly disinterested in the study of Australia. Perhaps, as some authors have argued, this is the result of an internationalisation of Australian society, creating a set of global priorities for modern Australians quite different from those of preceding generations. In a world still reeling from the fallout of a Great Recession, making sense of Australia’s place in the world requires some serious reflection. A rapidly changing global context forces us to question the way Australia has been understood and look towards alternative explanations. I suggest that how we think about Australia, and how we apply this knowledge to our reality has significant implications for political action. It is with this impasse in mind that I turn my theoretical focus to the study of the Australian New Left. As I argue, they offer a radical theoretical approach that forces us to reevaluate our understanding of capitalism in Australia and can beneficially contribute to producing alternatives in a contemporary context

The Political Economy of Australian Housing Policy : Beyond the Vaunted History of Ideas

Given the growing presence and multidimensional nature of housing problems in Australia, it is important to critically reflect upon the ways in which scholars have analysed the origins of housing problems and the policies designed to tackle them. In mainstream debates, housing is viewed as a technical problem potentially solved through isolated measures such as better construction technology, fewer planning laws or different zoning regulations. This thesis argues that this view overlooks the systemic character of housing problems, and the forces that shape the state’s policy responses. The thesis combines a number of state-theoretical insights with historical and contemporary investigations of housing policy development, and highlights the importance of using theory to improve strategies for housing reform