Benefits and risks of collaboration between watchdogs: the Western Australian experience

There has been little discussion or analysis regarding how integrity agencies work together. This paper looks at Western Australian watchdog collaboration activities in the context of concerns raised by senior judicial and political figures. Issues addressed include whether such collaborative activities impinge on the independence of watchdogs, impede their ability to oversight each other, and whether such activities take them beyond their legislative remit. Analysis of practice revealed a wide array of collaboration activities of varying intensity. It was found that such collaboration enhanced watchdog effectiveness while the concerns expressed appeared over-stated. The analysis identified precautions required to protect watchdog independence and ensure accountability for collaborative activities, including steps to recognize and remove barriers to greater collaboration.     

The Asylum‐Integration Paradox: Comparing Asylum Support Systems and Refugee Integration in The Netherlands and the UK

This article explores the impact of asylum support systems on refugee integration focusing on the UK and the Netherlands. Both have adopted deterrent approaches to asylum support. The Dutch favour the use of asylum accommodation centres, segregating asylum seekers from the general population. The UK disperses asylum seekers to housing within deprived areas, embedding them within communities. Both countries have been criticized for these practices, which are viewed as potentially anti‐integrative: something of a paradox given that both promote the importance of refugee integration. We analyse national refugee integration surveys in both countries and provide original empirical evidence of negative associations between asylum support systems and refugees’ health, which differ in relation to mental and physical health. The integration and asylum policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

“I have Felt so Much Joy”: The Role of Emotions in Community Sponsorship of Refugees

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Resettlement programmes are considered one solution to displacement following the so-called refugee crisis. Private or...     

The treatment of families in the Australian welfare state, 1984 to 2010

This paper uses Australian Bureau of Statistics' fiscal incidence figures to track trends in the treatment of families with children in the Australian welfare state across the period 1984 to 2010. Our four main findings are that: sole parent families gained while couple families made no net gain; there was no growth in ‘middle class welfare‘; couple families are slightly better off than elderly households in terms of their final incomes, but considerably less well off in terms of their net worth; and stated differences in policy intentions by the major political parties have had little influence on trends in actual government redistribution.