Empowerment and Control in the Australian Welfare State

Philip Mendes is the Acting Head of the Department of Social Work, Monash University, Australia. He has been a social work and social policy practitioner and educator for over 30 years, with particular experience in the fields of income support, young people transitioning from state out of home care, social workers and policy practice, and illicit drugs. He has numerous publications in local and international journals, and is the author or co-author of 11 books.

• Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Part 1 The rise of the Australian Welfare State; Chapter 1. The wage earners welfare state and the Rediscovery of Poverty; Chapter 2. The social democratic Whitlam Labor Government 1972-75; Part 2 The anti-welfare backlash locally and internationally; Chapter 3. The decline of Keynesianism, the revival of classical liberalism and the alleged welfare state crisis; Chapter 4. The conservative Liberal-National Party Coalition attempts to roll back the welfare state 1975-1983; Chapter 5. Labor retreats from social democracy and adopts targeted welfare, the Hawke and Keating governments 1983-1996; Chapter 6. The Australian neoliberal campaign to cut welfare: The role of think tanks, the media and corporate lobby groups; Part 3 The new convergence around conditional welfare; Chapter 7. Restoring self-reliance and the work ethic and saving taxpayers funds: The Liberal-National Party Coalition’s approach to social welfare 1983-2018; Chapter 8. Labor accepts welfare conditionality 1996-2018; Part 4 Rejecting the neoliberal consensus: Welfare policy dissent and alternatives; Chapter 9. Case studies of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and the Australian Greens; Chapter 10 Towards a participatory welfare model; Conclusion; Index

"This is an important book as it articulates a detailed story of the impact of neoliberalism on Australia’s welfare system, as well as documenting its developments since 1972. It would be a useful book for all social work students to read but given its highly sophisticated analysis and attention to detail it is more suited as a valuable resource for educators, practitioners, and post-graduate research students."Ruth Phillips, University of Sydney