The ethical state: Social liberalism and the critique of contract*

A Bark But No Bite: Inequality and the 2014 New Zealand General Election

“…At the turn of the twentieth century, trade unions were in the vanguard of the campaign for a more equal society, and the most effective instrument for achieving that goal within the broader framework of New Zealand liberalism (Belich 2001: 853;Sawer 2003;Sinclair 1967). The main vehicle for this accomplishment was the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894.…”

“…This combination produced a brand of politics whereby moderate Labour activists and unionists aligned themselves with the governing Liberal Party. Together they pioneered a set of policies that reflected early colonial values of equal opportunity for all and the desire for social, moral and racial harmony (Belich 2001: 853;Sawer 2003;Sinclair 1967). The early Liberals imagined themselves as able to represent labour, farmers and entrepreneurs, prompting legislative change on four fronts: land, labour, welfare and women's rights (Belich 2001: 22-23, 42-44;Curtin 2015;Lyon 1982;Vowles 1982).…”

Reaching for health : The Australian women's health movement and public policy

“…As Marian Sawer has shown, strong social liberal ideas have influenced Australian public policy for more than a century. Australian feminists, for example, have never trusted free markets and have espoused social liberal ideas and supported state intervention since the first wave of the movement (Sawer 2003). The calls that second-wave feminists made upon the state, then, are in keeping with an established and important seam in Australian political thought.…”

Gender, Politics and Institutions

“…The experience and study of the 'femocrat' phenomenon in Australia, in particular, led the way to the framing of new and more nuanced conceptions of states and gendered power relations (Franzway et al 1989;Sawer 1990Sawer , 2003Watson 1990). Several interrelated insights can be drawn from this and other work.…”