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The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to diverse manifestations of racism in Australia, from everyday attacks against Asian Australians to discriminatory policies towards temporary migrants. Since the start of the pandemic, considerable knowledge on pandemic-related racism has been produced. This knowledge has yet to be consolidated, leaving questions about the nature, forms, impacts and trajectories of racism during the pandemic. This paper presents a systematic review and synthesis of research on racism during the pandemic, with an emphasis on pandemic-specific racism. We searched the databases Scopus, MEDLINE and PsycINFO for research published between January 2020 and July 2022. Eighteen research studies were included in the review, along with reports of routine data collection by five organisations. The research reviewed collected data mainly around the pandemic's 'second wave' in Australia (June-October 2020), focusing largely on Asian Australians and temporary migrants nationally and in Victoria. Widely studied forms of COVID-racism were verbal abuse, physical attacks, exclusion and Othering, and institutional racism involving governments, media and employers. We examined the pandemic's health and socio-economic impacts, and variations in experiences of racism over time between ethnic groups. As Australia emerges from the pandemic, we consider the review's implications for pandemic response, anti-racism practice and policy, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the next three decades, Australia's large cities are expected to experience major population growth, while many regional areas will likely be faced with shrinking and ageing populations. This paper asks how official population projections are considered in strategic spatial policy frameworks for Victoria and South Australia, and what land use planning responses are proposed to address increasing spatial disparities. The analysis shows that policy priorities are overwhelmingly focused on growth, whereas the needs of declining regions are largely ignored. There is a worrisome lack of strategic policy thinking on how to manage existing and likely intensifying spatial imbalances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant educational disruption globally. When the pandemic forced schools to switch to emergency home-schooling, parental engagement in education became more critical. Some parents found home-schooling as an opportunity to form stronger relationships with their children. Others acquired an enhanced insight into their children's schoolwork. However, the emerging literature shows that, as not all parents were equally positioned to support their children's learning at home, emergency home-schooling has resulted in a significant learning loss. Guided by the concept of capital interaction, this article reports on a qualitative case study that investigated the experiences of 20 migrant parents in Victoria, Australia. A thematic analysis of the data reveals challenges associated with parental self-efficacy, financial hardship, language and technological barriers, time constraints, and disengagement and exhaustion. Remote learning may return in the future, and we must prepare for such disruption by improving equitable access to education delivered online and at home. To this end, the paper outlines some policy ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools are often the first point of contact for young refugees resettling in Australia and play a significant role in establishing meaningful connections to Australian society and a sense of belonging in Australia (Olliff in Settling in: How do refugee young people fair within Australia's settlement system? Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, Melbourne. http//:. Accessed 21 June 2010, ; Gifford et al. in: Good Starts for recently arrived youth with refugee backgrounds: Promoting wellbeing in the first three years of settlement in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne: La Trobe Refugee Research Centre. . Accessed 4 June 2011, ; Sidhu and Taylor in: Educational provision for refugee youth in Australia: Left to chance? Journal of Sociology, 43(3), 283-300, ). However, too little is known of how refugee youth encounter school in their new country. This article draws upon individual narratives of young former refugee's experiences of high schools. It explores the stories told by the young people of being identified as different and of negotiating ways of belonging in schools both academically and socially. It argues that it is how the school positions the newly arrived refugee students within mainstream school culture that opens up or restricts opportunities for inclusion in all aspects of school (in culture and pedagogy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, drawing on the published medical literature and unpublished medical record archives, provides an in-depth account of the introduction of malaria therapy for general paralysis of the insane into Australia in 1925–6, at Victoria's Sunbury Hospital for the Insane. This study reveals a complex and ambiguous picture of the practice and therapeutic impact of malaria therapy in this local setting. This research highlights a number of factors which may have contributed to some physicians overestimating malaria therapy's effectiveness. It also shows that other physicians of the era held a more sceptical attitude towards malaria therapy. Finally, this paper discusses the relevance of this history to contemporary psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To alleviate overpopulation in Australia's metropolitan areas and counter population decline in regional areas, regional settlement of newly arrived migrants and refugees has emerged in recent policy debates. With a new federal government plan to introduce mandatory regional settlement for migrants, significant responsibility is placed on regional schools to cater for the unique needs of students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. Evoking Bourdieu's thinking tools, this paper examines the perspectives of principals and teachers from two regional schools in Victoria, Australia by exploring their beliefs and dispositions towards English as an Additional Language (EAL) students in mainstream classrooms and their capacity to build student capital within a regional education field. This paper argues that for regional settlement to be 'advantageous', regional schools must look from within to initiate a whole school approach to EAL support and professional development and promote community connections to create advantageous spaces for migrant and refugee youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bucket dredging to mine and extract gold and tin from rivers is a global industry that has had a range of negative effects on physical environments. These include the destruction of riparian soil profiles and structures, artificial channel straightening and loss of in-stream biodiversity. In this paper we evaluate the immediate effects and long-term consequences of bucket dredging on rivers in Victoria and New South Wales during the period 1900–1950. High quality historical sources on dredge mining are integrated with geospatial datasets, aerial imagery and geomorphological data to analyse the scale of the dredging industry, evidence for disturbance to river channels and floodplains and current land use in dredged areas. The study demonstrates that the environmental impact of dredging was altered but not reduced by anti-pollution regulations intended to control dredging. An assessment of river condition 70–100 years after dredge mining ceased indicates that floodplains and river channels continue to show the effects of dredging, including bank erosion, sediment slugs, compromised habitat and reduced agricultural productivity. These findings have significant implications for river and floodplain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland fires are a serious problem in Victoria, Australia due to large quantity of dry grass. Grassland curing degree (GCD) measures the dryness of the grass and is an important factor for assessing grassland fire danger. Grassland curing maps (GCMs) display the spatial distribution of GCDs, but the quality of GCMs varies depending on the spatial resolution of the observing satellite remote sensing system. The higher the spatial resolution, the finer the GCD details and more spatial variations the GCM can reveal. In this study, GCD calculation algorithm named MapVictoria based on MODIS data is tested for Landsat 8 Sentinel 2; GCMs generated from these three satellites are contrasted by their GCD differences, defined here as inter-satellite variability (ISV). ISV is used to identify areas where higher resolution satellite GCMs should be used. Results show that spatial resolution difference (ΔSR), seasonality and geographical locations affect the magnitude of the ISV. Based on these findings, this paper provides recommendations to decision makers on where and when to use which satellite for grassland observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is the promise of smart grids – their anticipated role in meeting economic, social, environmental policy objectives – that is driving action on smart grids worldwide, while the reality is rather more messy. This paper is about the implementation of smart grids in Australia, and examines the degree to which environmental and social promises have materialised (or not) within two large energy smart grid initiatives undertaken in the period 2009–2014: the federal government-sponsored Smart Grid Smart City Program and the State of Victoria's Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program. The analysis draws on a governmentality approach to examine how the promise of smart grids has not for the most part been delivered, concentrating in particular on how new digital technologies have not "behaved" in the way originally planned. Within a governmentality framework, it is generally assumed that technologies work to support government programmes, to accomplish governance. But growing evidence points to smart grid technologies undermining the promise of smart grids. Such a finding stands at odds with the assumption in governmentality about technologies doing work in consort with rationalities of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rural Australian populations experience an increased burden of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) compared to their metropolitan counterparts, similar to other developed countries, globally. Policy and other efforts need to address and acknowledge these differences in order to reduce inequalities in health burden. This paper examines rural health policy makers’ perceptions and use of evidence in efforts to reduce the burden of IHD in rural areas. Methods: Policy makers and government advisors (n = 21) who worked with, or advised on, rural health policy at local, state and federal government levels, with specific focus on the state of Victoria (n = 9) were identified from publicly available documents and subsequent snowball sample. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in regards to the use of evidence in policy to prevent IHD and thematic analysis undertaken applying two theoretical perspectives: context-based evidence-based policy making and the conceptual framework for understanding rural and remote health. Results: The rural context, particularly low resourcing, was seen as limiting potential for evidence based policy at local government (LG) level. Lower levels of political pressure and education were seen as constraints to evidence-based policy in rural communities. Participants described the potential for policy to have a greater impact on reducing heart disease in rural areas though they felt under-resourced and out of touch with the scientific evidence. Scientific studies were less valued than local anecdote to prioritise specific policy. At all levels (local, state and federal) low self-efficacy in interpreting evidence and perceived lack of relevance inhibited development of evidence informed policy. Conclusion: The rural context constrains the use of scientific evidence in policy making for the prevention of heart disease in rural areas in Australia with multiple factors influencing the capacity for evidenced based health policy. This is similar to findings at the international scale and is for consideration across other developed countries that experience inequalities in IHD disease burden between rural and urban populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been claimed that effective responses to child sexual abuse (CSA) must engage with the specific cultural, social, and religious contexts of the target communities. For Jewish communities in Australia, the program J-Safe was established to raise awareness, create cultural change, and empower the Jewish community to be able to prevent, recognize, and address child sexual assault within the school setting. This paper reports on the experiences of teachers in two Jewish-day schools who had participated in the J-Safe Project’s protective behaviors teacher training program. Participants’ accounts of the training indicate the Project builds teachers’ knowledge and supports teachers’ skill development in the areas of incidence, behavioral indicators and responding to disclosure suggest the training has relevance for the Jewish teaching context. However, the extent to which the training was successful at engaging with culturally specific norms within the Jewish community seems to have been limited, although it may be that the participants were not atypical from the wider group who participated in the J-Safe Project training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intentionally planned parenthood by gay male couples through commercial and altruistic surrogacy is gaining momentum in Australia and abroad. Very little is known about this group of male parents, including the relational considerations important to them in forming families through surrogacy. This paper, based on in-depth interviews with six Australian gay male couples who utilized altruistic surrogacy in the state of Victoria, and commercial surrogacy arrangements in the US, considers the meaning and management of biogenetic paternity in the creation of their family relationships. Despite the extent to which participants underplayed the importance of paternal biological connections in creating or defining the meaning of family, biogenetic paternity remains an important kinship resource that must be carefully managed – emotionally and socially – in creating and maintaining couple, parent–child and extended family relationships. First, there was a keen emotional significance attributed to the biogenetic connection for some men in the context of their own family history and lineage. Second, the careful management of information and sharing or alternating sperm provision constituted an attempt by couples to thwart speculation among friends, family members and acquaintances about the identity of the biogenetic father. Third, despite some interest in sharing sperm provision in the interests of symbolically establishing shared parenthood, explicit knowledge of biogenetic paternity through DNA paternity testing was regarded as an important kinship and identity resource for children as they grow up. The paper concludes that when gay male couples form families through commercial or altruistic surrogacy, a range of symbols and metaphors conventional to heteronormative nuclear family formation are in play in this ostensibly unconventional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose |!|#8211; Career programmes within secondary school curriculum can impact on a young person|!|#39;s sense of direction and meaning in life. The purpose of this paper is to report on an evaluation that was conducted in 2009 of the careers programmes in one secondary college in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; The research team utilised a multi-method approach collecting 273 surveys and undertaking both focus groups and interviews, ensuring the voices of young people were at the centre of the work. Findings |!|#8211; Innovative careers and transition programmes create opportunities for young people to plan for their future. Similarly the absence of established careers programmes can compound the disadvantage that some students experience. The findings evidence how important it is for schools to support inclusive classrooms that enable young people to make informed decisions about their career pathways. Research limitations/implications |!|#8211; The research findings were used to form a model of good practice and highlight the transformational impact of career and transition programmes for young people. The current research explores student knowledge, confidence, attitudes and perceptions while they are still at school. A longitudinal study, tracking these same young people as they progress to tertiary education and/or employment, would enable more definitive evidence on actual transitions and the actual outcomes experienced by young people. Originality/value |!|#8211; This paper is of value to the education sector as it looks to respond to the need to develop a more seamless approach to young people making successful transitions to further education and/or employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For young people with refugee backgrounds, establishing a sense of belonging to their family and community, and to their country of resettlement is essential for wellbeing. This paper describes the psychosocial factors associated with subjective health and wellbeing outcomes among a cohort of 97 refugee youth (aged 11–19) during their first three years in Melbourne, Australia. The findings reported here are drawn from the Good Starts Study, a longitudinal investigation of settlement and wellbeing among refugee youth conducted between 2004 and 2008. The overall aim of Good Starts was to identify the psychosocial factors that assist youth with refugee backgrounds in making a good start in their new country. A particular focus was on key transitions: from pre-arrival to Australia, from the language school to mainstream school, and from mainstream school to higher education or to the workforce. Good Starts used a mix of both method and theory from anthropology and social epidemiology. Using standardized measures of wellbeing and generalised estimating equations to model the predictors of wellbeing over time, this paper reports that key factors strongly associated with wellbeing outcomes are those that can be described as indicators of belonging – the most important being subjective social status in the broader Australian community, perceived discrimination and bullying. We argue that settlement specific policies and programs can ultimately be effective if embedded within a broader socially inclusive society – one that offers real opportunities for youth with refugee backgrounds to flourish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries embarked on reforms of mental health law in the wake of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These reforms have had varying levels of success. This paper considers the experience of consumers in the Victorian mental health system, drawing on an evaluation that asked consumers and clinicians about their knowledge and experience of rights under the Victorian Mental Health Act, 2014. The data show that consumers were not informed of their rights, were not involved in decisions about treatment, were not able to access safeguards, and could not exercise their rights. The explanations for this include limited staff time, unclear delegations of responsibility, a lack of knowledge, training, and support for rights, and a preference for 'best interests' approaches. The paper identifies tangible reforms that would maintain rights for consumers, including competent refusal of treatment, legislative and regulatory reforms, and training and resourcing. Consumers in this study found that the rights-based framework in the Mental Health Act, 2014 had such an insignificant effect on clinical mental health practice in Victoria that their rights appeared to be illusory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widely held view is that effective action on climate change requires commitment by national governments to international agreements. Developed nations like Canada and Australia continue to fall short in their commitments to emissions reduction targets established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Australia refused to ratify its Kyoto commitments until 2008 and Canada withdrew its commitment in 2011. Subnational governments in both countries have been active in developing policy responses to climate change yet remain largely excluded as serious policy partners in national mitigation and adaptation initiatives. This paper utilizes Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework to consider why subnational governments address climate change and the main factors shaping their policy choices. The experiences of the Australian state of Victoria and the Canadian province of Ontario provide examples through which to explore the factors contributing to climate policy opportunities and constraints faced by subnational governments in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognition of human rights on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status by the United Nations has led to the development of new policies concerning homophobia and transphobia in educational contexts. This paper examines new Australian education policies impacting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ) teachers. A policy review uncovered a range of protections for GLBTIQ teachers in contexts such as the State of Victoria, alongside restrictions. Experiences of policy discussed in pilot study data from surveys of 63 Victorian GLBTIQ teachers, and in-depth interviews with nine Victorian GLBTIQ teachers, revealed that GLBTIQ teachers were relatively unaware of the protections available to them, compared to their awareness of protections for students. Many teachers were out as lesbian or gay to some staff members but fewer had come out to students. Teachers in religious schools had more difficulties, causing some to leave the sector. Further promotion of protections and more research are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gambling activities and the revenues derived have been seen as a way to increase economic development in deprived areas. There are also, however, concerns about the effects of gambling in general and electronic gaming machines (EGMs) in particular, on the resources available to the localities in which they are situated. This paper focuses on the factors that determine the extent and spending of community benefit-related EGM-generated resources within Victoria, Australia, focusing in particular on the relationships between EGM activity and socio-economic and social capital indicators, and how this relates to the community benefit resources generated by gaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Care' is a keyword for cities and citizens in the 21st century. This paper draws on Emma Power's (2019) notion of 'caring-with' as an ethical and analytical guide for caring action and relational community capacity-building around gambling at the local scale. The focus of analysis is the approval of electronic gaming machines or EGMs colloquially known as 'the Pokies', with particular reference to the Australian context and the experience of Castlemaine - a small town in the south-eastern state of Victoria whose citizens successfully appealed an application for further gambling development. The paper highlights how caring-with re-frames community responses to gambling as an assemblage of localized care practices and relations. This includes, but is not limited to, working to develop a culture of care, challenging systemic injustices, and proactive rather than reactive practices of collective care. • Increasing calls for a care praxis 'caring-with' emphasize the responsibility of a sharing democracy in an unequal world • Caring-with reframes community responses to gambling as social and political, rather than individual and private • This involves the formation of coalitions of strategy, resistance and advocacy for transformative change. • The case study highlights participation and inclusion; transparency and consistency and fairness as key care concepts. • The case also shines a light on gambling in cities and the relational role of communities that seek to resist new development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is state-run in Australia, and within each of the eight states and territories there are both government and independent schooling systems. This paper details the position of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ) students within Australian education policy documents nationally, focusing on the three largest states and educational sectors in Australia. Survey data are used to report on the schooling experiences of over 3000 Australian GLBTIQ young people aged 14–21 years. Data from interviews with key policy informants identify both the obstacles to implementing policies, and how such obstacles have been overcome. Much official policy sees sexuality education as promoting inclusive, protective and affirming messages around GLBTIQ students. There exist significant correlations between policy and a variety of well-being and psycho-social outcomes for GLBTIQ students, including lowered incidence of homophobic abuse and suicide, and the creation of supportive school environments. Ideal policy visions are outlined, along with practical recommendations of relevance to a variety of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Uncertainty around long-term droughts and water scarcity has been increasing as the impacts of El Nino cycles are felt globally. Understanding how the effects of these events are manifested on the ground in communities is particularly important if governments and associated agencies are to respond appropriately. Using a qualitative approach, this paper examines the impacts of drought on two rural towns in Victoria, Australia, and explores what lessons can be drawn from local experiences. The research suggests that previous responses to drought by governments have been largely ineffectual and as such, we question whether there is a need to reshape institutional understandings of what adapting to drought might mean. This research, therefore, seeks to further the discussion surrounding drought impacts and the myriad of challenges associated with it by drawing on locally situated knowledge to inform future decision-making in this evolving field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prominent in many historical accounts of European first contact with Australian nature are stories of encounters between European curiosity and curious Australian biota, such as the platypus and the eucalyptus. In this paper, I argue that post-settlement relations with the Goulburn River, one of the largest rivers in south-east Australia, likewise attest to the centrality of curiosity in early European engagements with Australian landscape. In mapping several relational ontologies of the Goulburn River, I attend to the socio-material practices in which this river has been performed as different and as normal. My interest is in a specific form of difference, that of antipodean difference: the river as topsy-turvy, backwards, unusual, or inverted in relation to some presumed norm, whether that norm be rooted in memories and experiences of European rivers or imaginings of an original state of nature. This is a story of how an extraordinary river became ordinary, and of how we might understand antipodean difference as curious in deed (i.e. as performed), rather than as curious indeed (i.e. as an innate quality of Australian nature). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades there has been an emerging international consensus that locally coordinated efforts are effective in addressing violence and insecurity. Promoting “women's safety” has become a recognized international planning and governance strategy. There are, however, concerns about how the “women's safety” approach can address intimate partner violence, incorporate diversity between women from different cultures, and integrate a gender mainstreaming approach to male on male violence. Finally, there are challenges in evaluating these initiatives. The paper will use the Gender, Local Governance, and Violence Prevention (GLOVE) research project in Victoria, Australia as a case study to examine these tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drought indexes (DIs) have commonly been used to quantify drought conditions around the world. Most DIs are developed for specific regions and, therefore, may not be directly applicable to other regions because of the inherent complexity of drought phenomena, different hydroclimatic conditions, and different catchment characteristics. A few studies in which the suitability of some of the existing DIs was evaluated for different parts of the world have been cited in the literature. However, no such study has been conducted in Australia, where droughts are more frequent than elsewhere in the world. In this paper, five DIs, namely, percent of normal (PN), deciles, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI), and Aggregated Drought Index (ADI) were evaluated for the Yarra River catchment in Victoria, Australia. The evaluation was conducted to determine how well these indexes modeled historical droughts. Five decision criteria, namely, robustness, tractability, sophistication, transparency, and extendability, were used to compare the performance of these DIs. The results showed that the ADI was superior to other indexes for drought management within the Yarra River catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast majority of refugees arriving in Australia are between the ages of 16 and 35 years, and some refugee youth are embarking on university education. While there has been research conducted on refugee youth experiences at secondary school there is little research about their experiences in university education. Most refugee youth have experienced a range of traumatic experiences that compound the difficulties in adjusting to a new country. Many of these youth have experienced disrupted schooling in the past and have to take on household duties that make secondary education difficult in their resettled countries. Currently, it is unknown to what extent these challenges are also experienced by refugee tertiary students and if there are other challenges that are unique to the university environment. This paper reports on the findings of a study undertaken with students from refugee backgrounds studying at university in Victoria and Western Australia, Australia. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were used in the study to capture the voices and perceptions of refugee students. The results reveal that refugee students experience a variety of difficulties and barriers to success that are often not recognized by universities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: In this paper we document the experience of participating in novel randomised controlled trials for panic disorder – where face-to-face and Internet delivery of cognitive behavioural therapy are compared. Our analysis is based on 18 months of observation and in-depth interviews with 10 trial participants and 8 trialists in Victoria, Australia. We argue that the participants are positioned as active health consumers and approach the trial as they would other self-help practices. High levels of individual responsibility are assumed of participants in these trials, which they accept by approaching the trials reflexively and searching for information and strategies they can employ while building their health literacy on panic disorder. Although the researchers set the parameters of the treatment and interaction, increasingly the participants choose the extent to which they will comply with their defined role. For the participants the trial is one of the ‘pick and mix’ options of available treatment and we suggest it is a compelling example of contemporary health consumption. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present paper examines the complex politics of gay/lesbian belonging through a case study of Daylesford, Victoria, an Australian country town. It contributes to two research bodies: gay/lesbian rural geographies and the politics of belonging. Daylesford hosts ChillOut, Australia's largest rural gay/lesbian festival, which provides a telling context for investigating gay/lesbian belonging in rural Australia. We use qualitative data from the 2006 ChillOut Festival, including interviews with local residents, newspaper commentaries, and visitors' surveys, to explore how Daylesford has been constructed, imagined, and experienced as a 'unique' site of gay/lesbian belonging in rural Australia. We find that ChillOut crucially contributes to its wider reputation as a gay-friendly country town, but also, we argue, to the contested nature of gay/lesbian belonging. This was most powerfully demonstrated by the local council's refusal to fly the gay-identified rainbow flag on the Town Hall during the 2006 Festival and its subsequent banning of the display of all festival flags from that key public building. Because ChillOut was the catalyst for this protocol, the resolution was viewed as homophobic. Indeed, the homophobic and heterosexist rhetoric that ensued in the Letters to the Editor section of the local newspaper revealed some residents' underlying antagonism towards ChillOut and the local gay/lesbian community. Moreover, appealing to a shared 'Australian identity' and associated normative 'family values', these letter writers deployed a multi-scalar politics of belonging, where a sense of gay/lesbian belonging to Daylesford at the local scale was contested by the assertion of a 'more meaningful' national scale of allegiance fashioned by heteronormativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gunditjmara people developed a socio-economic system based on the modification of wetland ecosystems associated with the Mt Eccles lava flow primarily for sustainable production and management of the highly nutritious shortfin eel (Anguilla australis). This paper examines the environmental history of these landscapes since their inception about 30 000 years ago, through palaeoecological analysis of sediment cores from associated lakes and swamps, in order to contribute to an understanding of the causes and timing of cultural transformation. Two records cover the whole of the 30 000 year history of the landscape while two others provide evidence of change within the Holocene. A great deal of variation within the landscape is revealed, both temporally and spatially, with opportunities for human exploitation through the whole recorded period. Although most features of the records can be explained by natural landscape development and climate change, some human modification can be suggested from around the Pleistocene-Holocene transition while more obvious indications of management relating to eel aquaculture are evident from about 4000 cal. yr BP that appear to include adaptations to the onset of a drier and more variable climate. The study has implications for the explanation of intensification of settlement in Australia more generally within the mid to late Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]