The Social Policy Context of the Norma Parker Addresses

Social Work and AJSI

“…When the Plan was abandoned, job opportunities for activists to work in community development projects declined, reducing the opportunities for social workers to address social change. Mendes (2014) argues persuasively that the establishment of the Australian Social Welfare Union (ASWU) in 1975 was another factor that eroded the public profile of social work. The emergence of this union split the profession between the ASWU and the professional body, the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), thereby reducing and dividing institutional support for activism.…”

Celebrating 70 Years and Reflecting on the Challenges Ahead

“…As Bigby (2017, p. 1) notes in her editorial, the aims of this Special Issue, "were to generate scholarly publications recounting perspectives on the history of the profession in Australia, and ensure that future scholars could access historic documents". The eight papers in this issue do this admirably, for example, the critiques of Norma Parker Addresses by Taylor, Vreugdenhil, and Schneiders (2017), Swain (2017), and Mendes (2017), as well as other papers addressing such significant issues as gender and the place of women and men within social work (Martin & Healy, 1993), and the history of research on effectiveness outcomes in social work (Gibbons, 2001).…”

Perspectives on Social Work in Australia from the Norma Parker Addresses and Key Papers in Australian Social Work

“…Tracing how discussion of the way social justice should be operationalised has changed over the four decades the addresses span, the authors draw out tensions that arise in pursuing both social justice and professionalism. Mendes (2015) brought his lens of policy activism, pinpointing the common theme in the addresses that social work should take a more structural approach to policy analysis and activist stance to social change. His article identified a growing trend of activism by the Association, and greater engagement with Indigenous rights, poverty, and inequality.…”