Governmenf Publications Review, Vol. 13, pp. 731-742, 1986 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.

0277-9390/86 $3.00 + .OO Copyright * 1986 Pergamon Journals Ltd

AUSTRALIA

IAN DUNCAN Government Publications Librarian, Fisher Library, University of Sydney, Australia, 2006

All remaining residual constitutional powers of the British government to make laws having effect as part of Australian law were removed with the enactment by the British Parliament of the Australia Bill 1986 at the request of all state legislatures and the Federal Parliament. The Australia Act 1986 was brought into operation in Australia and the United Kingdom on 2 March 1986 when Queen Elizabeth signed the proclamations. The legislation removed the remaining avenues of appeal from Australian

courts to the Privy Council, thus making the High Court of Australia the final Court of Appeal for all Australian federal and state courts. In addition, the residual executive powers of the United Kingdom government with respect to the Australian states were terminated with the repeal of the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865.

The financial and operational practices of the Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS) were the subject of parliamentary debate following the presentation of Report No. 204 of the Public Accounts Committee in October 1983. This report examined the financial and operationai practices of the Government Printer and found weaknesses in accountability and inefficiencies in administration. The 235th Report of the Public Accounts Committee, tabled in the House of Representatives on 23 Au- gust 1985, presents the Committee’s reactions to the government’s responses to its 204th report and commends the remedial action taken. The government’s initiatives included improvements to account- ing systems, and the drafting of a printing and publishing manual to replace the set of AGPS circulars setting out procedures. The manual is being prepared for publication in late 1986.

Most of the publications listed below were deposited by AGPS in the depository libraries during the period June 1985-May 1986. Subjects covered include animal health, biology, education, environment and earth sciences, human rights, occupational health and safety, taxation, warfare, and wildlife. The preponderence of reports of Royal Commissions and other inquiries reflects an increasing emphasis in

this area of government activity. The budget papers for 1985-86 reveal that identifiable costs of such in- quiries continuing or completed in 1984-85 totalled $A40 million.

No attempt has been made to cover the publications of the state governments or local government authorities. Unless otherwise stated, all items are available from AGPS bookshops in Canberra and each state capita1 city. Mail orders must be sent to:

Mail Order Sales, Australian Government Publishing Service, G.P.O. Box 84, Canberra, A.C.T. 2601, Austraha

Unless a credit account has been established, the total cost including postage must be sent with the or- der, and remittances made payable to: “Collector of Public Monies-AGPS.” Orders from overseas clients who are not credit account holders should be accompanied by a bank draft in Australian cur- rency.

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370. Aboriginal Education: Report of the House of Representatives Seiect CommIttee on Aboriginal Education, September, 1985. 1986. 231~. (Cat. No. 8.5-1668-O) ISBN O- 644-04452-7; $A1 1.80.

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This report recommends that Aboriginal culture and values be recognized and used within educational institutions to assist in the education of Aborigines. The need to achieve greater Aboriginal involvement in all aspects of the education of Aboriginal peo- ple is also discussed.

Aboriginal Social Indicators 1984. 16Op. With graphs, map. (Cat. No. 82-2470-X) ISBN 0-644-02325X; $A9.90.

This report released in May 1985 was de- scribed by the permanent head of the De- partment of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Charles Perkins, as “the most comprehensive over- view we have ever had of the disadvantaged position Aboriginal Australians hold in this society.” Aborigines had been specifically excluded from census counts of the Austra- lian population by Section 127 of the Con- stitution: “In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth [of Australia], or of a state or other part of the Common- wealth, Aboriginal natives shall not be counted.” This section was removed by ref- erendum in 1967, and the Aboriginal popu- lation was included in tabulations of the total population for the first time in the 1971 census. It is generally agreed that the Abori- ginal population at the time of European set- tlement in 1788 was at least 300,000 and that it declined to about 70,000 in the 1930s due to disease and killings. It has since increased to 159,897 at the 1981 census. This report shows that Aborigines are disadvantaged compared with the total Australian popula- tion in the areas of health, education, in- come, employment, life expectancy, and im- prisonment. Examples include: 26.2 percent : 10 percent infant mortality, 55 years : 75 years life expectancy, 24.6 percent : 5.9 per- cent unemployment, and 775 per 100,000 : 67 per 100,000 prisoners.

A Bill of Rights for Australia?: an Exposure Report for the Consideration of Senators, by the Senate Standing Committee on Con- stitutional and Legal Affairs. 1985. 128~. With bibliog., ind. (Cat No. 85-1778-8) ISBN 0-~4-0~74-8; $A7.60.

The Human Rights Commission Act 1981 conferred on the Human Rights Commission the executive power to secure observance of

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various fundament~ rights and freedoms for a trial period of five years until the end of 1986. Political controversy surrounded government proposals to replace this model with a judicially enforceable Bill of Rights. The question of the “desirability, feasibility and the possible content” of the Bill was referred to the all-party Senate Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Af- fairs. Many submissions to the Committee raised the possibility of constitutional chal- lenge to the Bill, and referred to the com- ment attributed to the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Sir Harry Gibbs: “If society is tolerant and rational, it does not need a Bill of Rights. If it is not, no Bill of Rights will preserve it.” This report out- lines examples of rights and freedoms that have been breached or threatened in Australia and acknowledges the powerful and symbolic value of a statement of rights and freedoms in a Bill of Rights.

Children in Institutional and Other Forms of Care: a National Perspective, by the Senate Standing Committee on Social Welfare. 1985. 121~. With bibliog. (Parliamentary Paper 1985, No. 324; Cat. No. 85-0613-3) ISBN O-~-04095-5; $A7.60.

Although a number of studies in these areas have been carried out at state level, this report is the first national study of adoption and foster care, institutional care, the effec- tiveness of present substitute care ar- rangements, and the role and responsibility of the federal government. In evidence re- ceived by the Committee, the most frequently mentioned reasons for the placement of chil- dren in substitute care were parental con- flict, family poverty, parental neglect, and child abuse. Many witnesses were critical of the differences among the states in adoption laws and practices. The Committee recom- mended in this report that the federal gov- ernment should establish a national authority to be known as the Australian Children and Families Commission to advise on policies concerning the development and co-ordina- tion of welfare programs for children.

Creating Children: a Uniform Approach to the Law and Practice of Reproductive Tech- nology in Australia: Report of the Family Law Council, Incorporating and Adopting the Report of the Asche Committee on issues Relating to AID, IVF, Embryo Transfer and Related Matters. 1985. 127~. With bibliog. (ParIiamentary Paper 1985, No. 333; Cat. No. 85-l 163-8) ISBN o-644-04238-9; $A6.50.

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The report of Mr. Justice Asche was an at- tempt to address the wider legal, social, and ethical issues arising from the new medical technologies of artificial insemination by donor, in-vitro fertilization, embryo trans- fer, etc. This report by the Family Law Coun- cil endorses the recommendations of the Asche Committee, which would prohibit the production of human embryos for the sole purpose of research or experimentation or the use of spare human embryos for that purpose. By inference, the Council is refer- ring to the establishment by Monash Uni- versity of the company IVF Australia Lim- ited to market reproductive technology in the United States, where the government had placed a ban on federal funds for human em- bryo experimentation.

375. Dolphins and Whales in Captivity: Report by the Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare. 1985. 117~. (Parliamentary Paper 1985, No. 498; Cat. No. 84-2413-5) ISBN o-644-04503-5; $A6.60.

The Select Committee on Animal Welfare was first appointed by the Senate in 1983 to inquire into animal welfare in Australia, par- ticularly in relation to interstate and inter- national commerce, wildlife protection, ani- mal experimentation, animal husbandry, and the use of animals in sport. The Com- mittee decided to give priority to captive cetacea in response to controversy surround- ing proposals for permits to capture cetacea for a new oceanarium. This report traces the history of the keeping of captive cetacea from the 186Os, when dolphins were dis- played at Westminster Aquarium in London and a porpoise was kept at Brighton Aquar- ium in England. After studying documented evidence and receiving submissions, the Com- mittee recommended that the establishment of facilities for keeping cetacea should not be permitted in the future, that permits for capturing cetacea in Australian waters should not be granted, and that the impor- tation of cetacea into Australia should be banned. Other recommendations concerned more stringent regulation of existing facili- ties and improved standards for their op- eration.

376. A History of British Atomic Tests in Aus- tralia, by Dr. J.L. Symonds, Consultant, Ni- jelo Pty Ltd. 1985. 593~. With gloss., ill., maps. (Cat. No. 85-0581-9) ISBN 0-644- 041 18-8; $A28.00.

Against the background of the current controversy surrounding the French atomic

tests in the Pacific Ocean being conducted at a great distance from France, this chronol- ogy of the British atomic tests in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s makes interesting read- ing indeed. The history begins with the ap- proach in 1950 by British Prime Minister Att- lee to Australian Prime Minister Menzies seeking agreement to a survey of the Monte Bello Islands off the northwest coast of AUS- tralia as a potential site for atomic weapons tests. There follows a narrative description of the atomic weapons tests conducted in Australia and the offshore islands, con- cluding with the Maralinga Experimental Programmes of 1963, and a description of the attempt in 1967 to reduce radiation levels and contamination at the test sites. The prep- aration of this report involved a study of the large collections of files of the British Min- istry of Defence and other British and Aus- tralian authorities, most of which had hitherto been highly classified. The report provides useful background information for the Royal Commission into Nuclear Tests in Australia. (See No. 381)

377. Kakadu: A World Heritage of Unsurpassed Beauty, by Derrick Ovington. 1986. 116~. With bibliog., ill., ind. (Cat. No. 85-0450-o) ISBN 0-644-04064-S; sA28.00

Kakadu National Park is the first Austra- lian area to be inscribed on the List of World Heritage Properties by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The area is also in- cluded on the United Nations List of Wetlands of International Importance. The descrip- tive and easily readable text is supple- mented by numerous colour photographs conveying the immensity and splendour of Kakadu and the diversity of its plants and animals. Six major landscape types are de- scribed: coastal swamps, tidal flats, flood- plains, lowland hills, escarpment, and pla- teau. Scientists have recorded 50 mammal, 275 bird, 75 reptile, 25 frog, 55 fish, and 4500 insect species that are native to the area. Examples of the variety of these are fruit-eating flying foxes, carnivorous ghost bats, crocodiles, and chameleon dragon liz- ards. Carbon-dating techniques have shown that some camp sites have been used by Aboriginal peoples for 23,000 years, and it is estimated that the area was first inhabited over 40,000 years ago. The profusion of Aboriginal rock art sites makes Kakadu Na- tional Park a major international cultural re- source.

378. Quality and Equality: Commonwealth Spe-

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IAN DUNCAN

cific Purpose Programs for Australian Schools: a Report by the Commonwealth Schools Commission. Canberra, Common- wealth Schools Commission, 1985. 212~. With ill. ISBN O-642-87343-7; $A4.00 plus postage. [Available from Prentice-Hall of Australia, P.O. Box 1.51, Brookvale. Syd- ney, N.S.W.].

In Australia each state government ad- ministers a system of public primary and secondary schools, and regulates the activi- ties of religious and secular private schools. In 1973 the federal government began to take a major role in school education with the establishment of the Schools Commis- sion and the introduciion of various funding programs. Quality and Equality serves as a blueprint for major changes in the national approach to schools and builds on the gains of the 1973 reforms. The report recommends that the federal government’s educational priorities should include the development of the professional skills of teachers, support for schools in their respomes to technologi- cal and cultural change, and the encourage- ment of increased participation in secondary schooling. Specific purpose programs rec- ommended include Aboriginal education, dis- advantaged schools, computer education, parental participation in schooling, and rural schooling development.

Quality of Education in Australia: Report of the Review Committee. 1985. 208~. With bibliog. (Cat No. 85-0761-5) ISBN O-644- 14131-5; $A14.00.

The Review Committee was appointed to recommend priorities for spending federal government funds for primary and second- ary education. Although its recommenda- tions are confined to that question, this re- port presents the Committee’s views on a wide range of issues including means of rais- ing the standards attained by students in communication, literacy, and numeracy and methods of improving the relationship be- tween secondary education and subsequent employment and education.

Repetition Strain Injury in the Australian Public Service: Task Force Report, July 1985. 443~. With ill. (Cat. No, 85-0583-2) ISBN O-644-04289-5; $A30.80.

The Task Force was established to exam- ine the problem of the increasing incidence of repetition strain injury (RSI) in the Aus- tralian pubIic service, especially among key- board staff. No successful model for action

could be discovered in Australia or other countries where RSI is a known disability: Japan, Sweden, or Switzerland, or in others, notably the United Kingdom and the United States, where the problem was receiving little attention. Although a conservative estimate of the cost of RSI within the public service for the year 1984185 was $A23-25 million, the Task Force encountered a lack of ind- dence statistics and information about the pathology of the condition. This report pro- vides a good general survey of existing knowl- edge of this mysterious phenomenon and recommends an urgent review of occupa- tional health and safety services as a first step towards the development of preventive measures.

381. The Report of the Royal Commission into British Nuclear Tests in Australia. 1985. 3~. With bibliog., charts, maps. (Parliamentary Papers 1985, Nos. 482, 483, 484; Cat. Nos. 86-0128-7, 86-0129-9, 86-0130-7) ISBN O- 644-04434-g (set); $A45.00.

The Royal Commission was established in 1984 to inquire into the British nuclear tests that were conducted in Australia for 12 years from 1952. Hearings were conducted at the site of the nuclear tests in central Auctralia, in various Australian cities, and in London. All hearings were conducted in open session, and all evidence was taken under oath. Par- ties given leave to appear before the Royal Commission included the Australian and United Kingdom governments, the Australialj Aboriginal people, and the Australian Ion.. ising Radiation Advisory Council. The sub- poena power was used in relation to Au+ tralian government documents; however, no subpoena power was available to the Royal Commission in the United Kingdom. The ~ommission’s expectation of gaining access to relevant British government doc~~rnenrc was received with some consternation by the government. However, after eloquent hec- toring by the Royal Comrnissi~~rler~ Mr. Jus- tice McClelland, voluminous documenta~i~)n was made available by the British govcrn- ment. The report recommends that compen- sation already available to government employees should be extended to civilians who were at the test sites, and EO Aborigines and other civilians who may have been ex- posed to the Black Mist, and that the onus of proof should be shifted from the claimant to the Australian government. Other recom- mendations involve cleaning up the test sites with all costs being borne by the British gov- ernment .

Australia

382. Royal Commi~ion on Australia’s Security and Intelligence Agencies. General Report, December, 1984. 1985. 51~. (Parliamentary Paper, 1985, No. 231; Cat. No. 85-0496-X) ISBN o-644-04094-7; $A3.20.

383. Report on the Australian Security Intelli- gence Organizaton, December, 1984. 1985. 398p. (Parliamentary Paper 1985, NO. 232; Cat. No. 85-0497-l) ISBN 0-644-~~2-4; $A16.50.

384. Report on the Office of National Assess- ments and the Joint Intelligence Organ- ization, December, 1984. 1985. 137~. (Par- liamentary Paper 1985, No. 230; Cat. No. 85-0495-8) ISBN o-644-04043-3; $A7.50.

The Royal Commissioner, Mr. Justice Hope, presented his final reports to the gov- ernment in December 1984: a general report, and individual reports on the Australian Se- curity and Intelligence Organization (ASIO), the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and the Defence Signals Directorate @SD), and a combined report on the Office of National Assessments (ONA) and the Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIG). In accor- dance with the recommendations of Mr. Jus- tice Hope, the government tabled edited ver- sions of the general, ASIO, and ONA-JIO reports, but not the reports on ASIS and DSD. When tabling the three edited reports in the House of Representatives on 22 May 1985, the Prime Minister commented on the major findings and recommendations of both the published and unpublished reports as summarised below.

The General Report: The government ac- cepted the principal recommendation of the general report: the creation of an office of Inspector-General of Intelligence and Secur- ity to perform the role of independent watch- dog. The government also decided to estab- lish a statutory parliamentary committee to oversee prescribed activities of ASIO, de- spite a contrary recommendation of the Royal Commissioner. Legislation creating these two bodies was introduced into Par- liament by the Attorney-General one year later, on 22 May 1986.

The government also disagreed with the General Report’s recommendations in rela- tion to removing operational records of the agencies from the provisions of the Archives Act whereby these records are deposited in the Australian Archives and made publicly accessible after 30 years.

The AS10 Report: ASIO, with a staff of 700 and an annual budget of $A33 million

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had conducted its domestic intelligence op- erations without any requirement of ac- countability to the government. The govern- ment accepted recommendations that the Director-General of AS10 be subject to the direction of the Attorney-General, and that AS10 be permitted to collect foreign intelli- gence in Australia.

The ONA-JIO Report: The main recom- mendations concern proposed improvements in consultation processes between the agen- cies and their customers.

The ASIS Report (secret): The govern- ment accepted and acted upon recommenda- tions that ASIS no longer use weapons and dispose of its stock of weapons and explo- sives.

The DSD Report (secret): Mr. Justice Hope recommended that the government di- rective outlining the role, functions, and op- erating guidelines of DSD be made public. in accordance with this recommendation, the Speaker of the House of Representatives permitted incorporation of the text of the DSD Directive in the Parliamentary Debates for 22 May 1985 at pages 2891-2892.

385. Royal Commission on the Use and Effects of Chemical Agents on Australian Personnel in Vietnam; Final Report, 1985. 9v. With app., bibliog., ill. (Parliamentary Papers 1985, Nos. 288-296). Contents:

V. !-Introduction and Exposure (Cat. No. 85-1441-3) ISBN ~~~3~7; $A21.00.

V. 2-Toxicology and General Health (Cat. No. 85-1442-5) ISBN &644-04341-5; $A12.10.

V. 3-Birth Anomalies (Cat. No. 85- 1443-7) ISBN o-644-04342-3; $A10.90.

V. 4-Cancer (Cat. No. 85-1444-9) ISBN 0-644-04343-l; $A22.60.

V. 5-Mental Well-Being (Cat. No. 85-1445-O) ISBN 0-644-04344-X; $A15.20.

V. 6 -Mortality, Class Action VVAA and Section 47. (Cat. No. 85-1446-2) ISBN o-644-04345-8; $A14.80.

V. 7-Benefits and Treatment (Cat, No. 85-1447-4) ISBN O-644-04346-6; $A26.70.

V. 8 - Conclusions, Recommendations and Epilogue. (Cat. No. 85-1448-6) ISBN o-644-04347-4; sA6.70.

V. g-List of Exhibits and Bibliography (Cat. No. 85-1317-8) ISBN o-644-04348-2; $A15.20.

The Royal Commission was established by the government in May 1983 in response to reports of widespread deformities in the off- spring of Vietnam veterans and claims that these deformities were caused by spraying of hormone weed sprays and insecticides dur-

742 IAN DUNCAN

ing the Vietnam War. United States forces had dropped more than five million litres of Agent Orange on Vietnam and 34 million litres of other chemical defoliants. The Australian Vietnam Veterans Association estimated that of 46,000 Australians who served in Vietnam, 1,000 have since died, 15 percent of them suicides. The Royal Com- mission’s terms of reference included in- quiries into the use of chemical agents in Vietnam between 1962 and 1973, the effect of any exposure on Australian personnel, and the possible scope of compensation. This 3,000 page report of an inquiry costing $A3 million presents the key finding that chemical agents used in Vietnam cannot be linked to ill-health among Vietnam veterans, birth defects among their offspring, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, or mortality. When the report was tabled in the Senate on 22 August 1985, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs announced that the government of- ficially accepted that the case for a link be- tween Agent Orange and health problems among Vietnam veterans had not been estab- lished. In May 1986, 10 months after the presentation of this report, the Vietnam Vet- erans’ Association of Australia (VVAA) called for a new inquiry. Further medical and scientific evidence had been accumulated and out-of-court compensation settlements “without prejudice” on behalf of individual veterans and agricultural workers exposed to Agent Orange in Australia had been obtained.

that had been proposed in the “Draft White Paper: Reform of the Australian Tax Sys- tem, June 1985” primarily as a means of re- ducing tax evasion, social security fraud, and illegal immigration. Following public ex- pressions of concern by civil liberties groups, privacy organizations, and others, the Joint Select Committee was established in Novem- ber 1985 to investigate and report on the pro- posal. The main features of the government’s proposal may be summarized as follows:

-An identity card known as “Australia Card” would be issued to all Australian na- tionals and foreign nationals legally resident in Australia.

-The card would display a unique identi- fication number, name, signature, and pe- riod of validity.

- Production of the card would be compul- sory when opening a bank account, obtain- ing a passport, receiving health and welfare benefits, renting or letting dwellings, com- mencing or continuing employment after a certain date, investing funds, upon admis- sion to a hospital, etc.

386. State of the Environment in Australia. 1985. 165~. With ill., maps. (Cat. No. 85-1396-2) ISBN o-644-04475-6; $A9.90.

This report presents the funding, plan- ning, and management initiatives of the government in relation to environmental matters. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and Envrionment stated when releasing the re- port that the government intends that this will be the first of an annual state of the en- vironment report to parliament.

The government proposes that “access by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to a com- prehensive, up-to-date population register would significantly reduce the need for a mid-decade population census, the cost of which in 1986, for example, is estimated at $64 million” (p. 77) The report of the Joint Select Committee on an Australia Card was subsequently tabled in the Senate and the House of Representatives on 8 May 1986 and ordered by the Senate to be printed in the Parliamentary Papers.

387. Towards Fairness and Equity: The Australia Card Program: Submission by the Govern- ment of Australia to the Joint Select Com- mittee on an Australia Card. Canberra, Au- stralia Card Secretariat, 1986. 327~. With app., tabs. [Free copy from Department of Health, Canberra].

A majority of the Committee favoured an upgraded tax file number system in pref- erence to the government’s proposal, a mod- ified version of which was supported by a minority. Lewis Kent, MP, a government backbench member, believes that the in- troduction of an identity card would give organized crime yet another activity (the production of false cards), and has announced in parliament that he intends to burn his card publicly.

This submission is a detailed statement of the government’s policy and intentions re- garding the plan for a national identity card

388. A Visitor’s Introduction to the Antarctic and its Environment. 1986. 33~. With ill. (Cat. No. 85-3279-7) ISBN O-644-00722-2; $A3.95.

This booklet provides an introduction to the physical features and life forms of the last continent to be explored and exploited, and emphasises the need for conservation of its resources.