Category: Australia

Junk food is used to describe food items and drinks that are low in important nutrients (protein, fibre, vitamins) and contain high amounts of calories from saturated fat, added sugars and added salts. While the definition of junk food can vary from person to person, everyone can agree that it is not the healthiest category of food. A diet consisting of a high proportion of junk food is linked with obesity and other health issues like diabetes and heart disease.

Obesity is the most prevalent of these conditions and is garnering attention due to rapid rate at which it is increasing around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health’. The WHO also says that the worldwide prevalence of obesity has tripled between 1975 and 2016, with 13% of the world’s adult population being obese in 2016.3 These increases have been attributed to a greater intake of energy dense foods and decreased physical activity.

Since junk food accounts for a large amount of energy dense foods, a link between junk food and increasing obesity can be established. So how can we reduce consumption of junk food and therefore curb rising levels of obesity? Taxation is one of the methods proposed by doctors, health experts and politicians worldwide. They believe that placing an indirect tax on junk food items, much like the taxes placed on demerit goods, will reduce the consumption of junk food. This essay will explore the viability and effectiveness of a junk food tax in relation to the obesity crisis.

The first perspective we will consider supports the idea that indirect taxation is the best method of reducing levels of obesity. The article “A tax on junk food is the best way to fight the childhood obesity crisis”, by Colin Michie, advocates this perspective. Michie is the chairman of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s Nutrition Committee in the United Kingdom. His expertise in the fields of healthcare and medicine lends great credibility to his article, making it a valid and relevant source.

Michie’s article focuses on the rapid growth of obesity in the UK, especially among children. He cites falling prices of junk food items relative to healthier alternatives as the primary reason for increased consumption of junk food and greater levels of obesity. The author highlights the effectiveness of an indirect tax using the example of tobacco, stating that household consumption of tobacco in the UK fell when prices of tobacco rose and made it less affordable. The WHO seems to have a similar outlook, claiming that ‘tobacco tax increases are the single most effective policy to reduce tobacco use’. The author argues that a junk food tax will be effective because junk food items, like cigarettes, are demerit goods.

One of the strengths of Michie’s article is his use of statistics to capture the reader’s attention as well as support his argument. The article immediately draws the reader in using shocking statistics which underline the severity of the problem by stating that one-third of children aged between 10 and 11 and one-fifth of children between ages 4 and 5 are now overweight or obese. Michie also refers to Hungary’s implementation of a junk food tax, which not only helped lower consumption of unhealthy foods, but was also cost effective in the long term. The use of a real world example strengthens his argument as it highlight the potential effectiveness of such a policy. There are other cases in which countries have successfully used similar policies. According to The Guardian, Mexico’s sugar tax reduced sugary-drink purchases in the country by 7.6% in the first two years after its imposition.

An Australian study published in 2017 also concurs with Michie’s viewpoint. The study’s results showed that a combination of taxes on unhealthy food and subsidies on could avert around 470,000 disability-adjusted life years (one lost year of ‘healthy life’) and save the health sector in Australia up to US$2.3 billion. Additionally, the author identifies the challenges that would come with the imposition of a tax and proposes methods to overcome them. He suggests a method that incentivises producers to promote healthier alternatives and reduce portion sizes rather than a VAT-type tax on individual ingredients which would hit lower income groups the hardest. Michie is also able to acknowledge the limitations of a junk food tax, stating that ‘fiscal measures alone are unlikely to prevent obesity’ and emphasising the need for greater advertising and education to supplement such fiscal policies.

However, Michie’s article does have its weaknesses. Although his statistics support his argument, he does not mention a source for many of them. This makes us question the validity and reliability of evidence used in his article which weakens his arguments. Some statistics are also vague. For example, he claims that tobacco prices rose between 2003 and 2013 before going on to say that household consumption of tobacco fell between 1980 and 2013. He tries to establish a link between trends from two different time periods which makes the statistics questionable. Furthermore, Michie focuses solely on obesity in the United Kingdom and fails to take into account the global nature of the issue. His narrow outlook prevents him from acknowledging the repercussions of a junk food tax in developing countries around the world and makes his article slightly less relevant to the global debate around obesity.

The second perspective we will consider opposes the idea that a tax on junk food will curb obesity. A source that supports this perspective is the article “We have an obesity problem, but another tax isn’t the answer” by Geoff Parker, the Chief Executive of the Australian Beverage Council. Parker’s position displays expertise related to the economics of a potential junk food tax which lends credibility to his article.

In his article, Parker focuses on several real world examples of junk food taxes, such as sugar taxes and fat taxes, being unsuccessful in reducing consumption significantly. Parker refers to studies on junk food taxes imposed by Denmark and Mexico which show that these taxes have damaging effects on the economy, causing losses of jobs and having no improvement on public health. He also mentions a report by global consulting firm McKinsey which looked at 16 different methods of reducing obesity and claimed that 12 of those 16 methods would be more effective than a tax.10

There are other consequences of a junk food tax. In his article for the Huffington Post, Dushyant Krishnan explains how a ‘fat tax’ would be ineffective in India due to the multitude of street food vendors and small fast food restaurants that make up the unorganised food sector. These establishments would not be subject to taxes because they are so large in number and many of them are unregistered. Another difficulty that arises when imposing a tax is the problem of determine which items should be taxed. Nadeem Esmail, director of health policy research at the Fraser Institute, believes that a new junk food tax would require increased bureaucracy as new organisations would be required to decide which items will be taxed and which ones will be exempt from the tax.

Parker’s article has both strengths and flaws. The presence of key statistics, references and examples is one of his article’s greatest strengths. One instance where he uses these to good effect is when he mentions the loss of over 10,000 jobs in Mexico due to the sugar tax. This reference strengthens his argument as it is real world evidence of the potential consequences of such a tax. He ensures that a source is mentioned for each reference and example which makes his evidence reliable. His use of studies as evidence to support his argument is also very effective as it shows that he has conducted sufficient research and is well-versed with the topic. Hi understanding of the subject of obesity is displayed when he acknowledges the complexity of the issue by saying ‘Obesity is a serious and complex public issue with no single cause or quick-fix solution.’

However, Parker’s article seems to be biased by his position on the Australian Beverage Council. He claims that Australian beverage companies ‘have been quietly reducing sugar and calories in their drinks for over two decades’ which seems to be an attempt to paint the industry in a positive light.13 This statement adds no value to his argument and he contradicts it later in the article by saying that obesity levels have risen despite these changes made by producers. He also fails to acknowledge other potential consequences of a tax, such as the increased bureaucracy and its ineffectiveness in developing countries like India.

Prior to my research, I did not know enough about this topic to develop a stance. I was unaware of the fact that many countries already had junk food taxes in place. I always thought junk food taxes were policies used by governments to increase revenue. The analysis and evaluation of various sources has helped me rationalise both perspectives and develop a stance on this issue. Through my research, I have learned that there is an urgent need to stop obesity from becoming a global epidemic and governments around the world are desperately trying to reduce junk food consumption. To strengthen my view on this topic, I would carry out further research into the price and cross elasticity of demand for specific junk food items to help me clearly understand the effects of different types of taxation. I would also like to explore the effectiveness of advertising and education on the consumption of unhealthy food.

My evaluation of both perspectives has led me to believe that a junk food tax would be a viable, effective measure for countries to use in the short run. Although studies show that there is no significant change in consumption in the long run, there is sufficient evidence which proves that a tax will reduce consumption in the short run while being cost-effective in the long run. However, I also think that different countries will need to adjust the tax according to the income and spending patterns of their population in order to yield the maximum amount of benefit from the tax. Taxation is only a short-term fix though. Countries will have to supplement their fiscal policies with other methods such as increased advertisement and education which will lay the foundation for a long term decrease in obesity and consumption of unhealthy food.

Obesity has noteworthy financial and health costs. Approximately two-thirds of adults and one-fourth of children are obese and overweight, and the ratios perpetuate to rise, which costs the economy a substantial price. Indigenous Australians, outside major suburbs or under subordinate socioeconomic groups, are more inclined to be overweight. Overweight and obesity has led to a higher likelihood of chronic conditions and death and has high costs for the economy. To address this problem, there have been approaches through laws and regulations, tax and price interventions, community-based interventions including those in schools and workplace and public education through platforms such as social marketing campaigns (AIHW, 2017). The Federal Government’s approach to introducing a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is one of the interventions to address rising obesity. Systematic reviews have found that consumption of SSB is associated with increased energy intake, weight gain and obesity as well as diseases including metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Opinions and arguments on taxing SSB has been put forward by bureaucrats, administrators, national peak health bodies, WHO and Australian beverage council which has been discussed in the essay (Obesity policy coalition, 2019)

Overweight and obesity prevalence in Australia shows that 1 in 10 more Australians is obese today compared to 1995. The pervasiveness of overweight and obesity has escalated among children and adults in all state and territories of Australia since 2007 (Huse et al., 2018). In two decades, the percentage of Australians with a healthy body has decreased, and obese proportion has increased. The growing obesity trend has costly impacts for the individuals and the Australian economy and healthcare system (AIHW, 2018). In Australia, because of overweight and obesity, diseases such as diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, oesophageal cancer, breast cancer, chronic kidney disease, and osteoarthritis are more prevalent. Obesity is a significant risk factor contributing to the development of diseases. If this risk factor is removed or reduced to the lowest possible exposure, diseases could be prevented (AIHW, 2018a). Australian Government introduces a health levy on sugar beverages as an approach to decrease the rates of overweight and obesity which is an established risk factor for type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, stroke and other certain cancers (Allen & Allen, 2019).

High body mass index (BMI) and poor diet are now the most significant risk factors contributing to the disease in Australia, and it is ranked ahead of smoking and alcohol-related illness. There has been opposition view on taxing SSB which argue that the individual is responsible for making personal choices and adopting healthier lifestyles and that the Government should not interfere to influence decisions about what to buy and eat. The Government, on the other hand, has high obesity-related costs which include health and welfare costs, foregone tax revenue and reduced productivity. Soft drink consumers do not compensate for additional energy from consumption of SSB’s by reducing consumption of other foods, resulting in increased total energy intake. There is a substantial proportion of evidence that an increase in tax applied to tobacco raises the price, reducing consumption and saving lives. Public health advocates argue that imposing higher levies on SSB is in the interest of the society as a whole to reduce the burden that diet, obesity and relates diseases place on the health system and many individuals (Finkelstein et al., 2013). According to, sociocultural point of view of globalization, it appears to play a crucial role with increased cases of obesity and overweight. Globalization processes and the trade and investment policies regulating them have been playing an essential role in making changes to the nutrition status of the population in high, middle and low-income countries. Trade openness contributes to shifts in dietary patterns, increasing dietary diversity and availability of cheap calories and fat reducing undernutrition. However, this is not sufficient to explain the increasing obesity. Foreign direct investment and global flows of information in Low and middle-class income population, including food marketing and advertisement also play a role in consumerism. Information flow and sociocultural aspects have an essential impact on dietary patterns, overweight, obesity and consumption of calories and fats, even dominating the effect of trade and investment flows. It could be exposure to globalized marketing, or it could reflect other lifestyle changes associated with the use of new communications technologies (Cuevas García-Dorado et al., 2019).

World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the Government’s tax sugary drinks address type 2 diabetes, obesity and tooth decay. Presently, over 30 jurisdictions across the world have introduced an SSB tax as part of their effort and commitment towards preventing and controlling the rise of obesity (Parliament of Australia, 2013). There has been an increase in obesity globally leading to overall health burden because of which some governments are intervening to curb over consumptions of unhealthy beverages, particularly SSB. An example was provided by The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne from the United Kingdom (UK), where as soon as the Government committed to introducing a sugar tax in 2016, companies opted to formulate the sugar content in their drinks again. Within a few days of the proposed tax, the sugar content was reduced to half in the formulation of Sprite, and the amount of Fanta fell from 7 to 4.5grams. Effectiveness of taxes to reduce consumption of SSB is substantially evident. However, the opposition of industries to tax regulation is substantial and enduring (Miller et al., 2020). Soft drink industries claims taxes and regressive and impact most on the people who can least afford it. They claim it is unfair to make more impoverished people pay a larger share of their limited incomes to consume these products. They also claim that taxes on SSB will cause considerable job losses. (OPC.ORG.AU). The industry persists in defending people’s right to determine whatever it is they want to use while promoting the concepts of moderation and the importance of a balanced diet (Han, 2017)

Policymakers can frame future policy change on SSB where autonomy is promoted by assisting people to make well-informed decisions for their children and themselves. Changes can be framed around protecting consumers from distorting influences of industry marketing as well as addressing obesogenic environments and economic burden of obesity-associated with sugary drinks. This can be strengthened through provision of simple factual information about the sugar content of SSB and health risk of excess consumption and by creating community awareness regarding ways in which intervention can support rather than infringe autonomy and personal freedom (Zhang et al., 2019). The non-alcoholic industry should be open to work with key stakeholders across the region, including governments, health organizations and allied industries collaboratively and embrace a collective approach to tackle this serious social problem (Backholer & Martin, 2017).

As part of the British Empire, Australia was one of the first nations to declare war on Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1945. Nearly one million Australian men and women served in World War II. They fought in campaigns against the Axis powers across Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa, as well as against Japan in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The Australian government used wartime regulations like conscription, manpower, rationing, and censorship controls during World War II that affected the lives of Australian citizens on the home front.

First, I want to discuss how wartime regulations affected the lives of Australians through various forms of government control. Conscription control is sending people to war and forcing them to be a part of the war effort. Australia was desperately in need of men to fight in the war, so at the start of World War II, all unmarried men aged 21 were to be called up for three months of military training. The volunteers in the AIF called the conscripts ‘chocolate soldiers’ as they were believed to ‘melt’ under the harsh conditions of the war. Censorship control was choosing what can be published in newspapers and sent to people by mail. The Australian government was trying to cover what they did not want to publish to prevent valuable information from falling into enemy hands and to maintain high morale at home, colorful posters were used to encourage people to join military services. Manpower control is choosing where people could work and sending them to a certain type of workforce. From the first of April, 1942, all engagement of male labor was controlled and jobs were assigned to both females and males. The government had the power to place men and women in the armed services, war industry, and civilian industry. It maintained economic stability during World War II and ensured there was no large industry with no labor force. And rationing control is that people were only allowed a certain amount of food and everyday items each to preserve what was available. The use of coupons is limited to clothing and food items such as tea, sugar, butter, and meat. From time to time, eggs and milk were also rationed under a system of priority for vulnerable groups during periods of shortages during the Japanese attacks. Rationing regulations for food, petrol, and clothing were gazette on 14 May 1942 to manage shortages, curb inflation, and ensure equitable distribution of food and clothing, and it was also hoped to increase savings due to the cut on consumer spending, which in turn could be invested in war loans. It was indeed successful, however, Australians were never rationed as heavily before and not everyone embraced the war effort, many sold scarce items at greatly inflated prices in the black market (where coupons are not needed but it costs more).

Furthermore, in considering the subject of Australia’s involvement in the Second World War and its effect on its inhabitants, I think it appropriate to consider the impacts of direct Japanese attacks on Australians and how this transformed Australians’ views towards the war. The Australian mainland came under direct attack during World War II on 19 February 1942, with Japanese aircraft bombing towns in Darwin, and during 1942-1944, with Japanese midget submarines attacking Sydney Harbour. Japanese submarines attacked ships in Australian waters around Sydney Harbor from January 1942 until July 1944. Major submarine offensives were carried out against trading and shipping along the Australian east coast from May to July 1942 and January to July 1943. On the evening of 31 May 1942, Sydney Harbour came under direct attack from Japanese midget submarines. 1 depot ship was sunk, 21 sailors were killed and 10 were heavily wounded. Japan also suffered greatly, with 2 midget submarines sunk and 2 spotter planes lost. This attack was carried out because Japan was concerned about Australia’s role as a port for American vessels, and Japan had no intention of invading Australia. The bombing of Darwin was part of a strategic plan to damage the Allies’ base for interfering with Japan’s invasion of Timor and Java. All the attacks around Darwin were aimed at weakening the Allied ability to strike at the Japanese. Japanese forces mounted two air raids on Darwin on 19 February 1942. The two attacks were all planned by the commander who directed the Pearl Harbor attack 10 days ago. It involved 188 Japanese attack aircraft which were launched from 4 aircraft carriers in the Timor Sea, and a second raid of 54 land-based bombers. Half the civilian population of Darwin fled after the attack, and three days after the raid 278 servicemen were still missing. The two raids killed 235 people in total and 400 were wounded. 30 Allies’ aircraft were destroyed, 11 ships were sunk, and some of the civil and military facilities in Darwin were destroyed. The Japanese attacks highlighted Australia’s lack of preparation for a possible invasion and the weak defense of Australia, and Australian land and air defenses were strengthened after the bombing of Darwin.

And the final point I would like to make when discussing Australia’s involvement in the Second World War and its impact on Australians is the role of women in the war effort. Because of men going to war, women are left at home and were forced to support their families on their own. Companies were in high demand of labor force, therefore for the first time, women were in traditionally male occupations, previously considered too challenging for them, including working in factories, shipyards, and farms. As the war progressed, more and more resources were directed to the war effort, and it soon became clear that women would have to take a more active role in the workforce. Brightly colored recruitment posters encouraged young women to sign up to join the military force. Thousands of young Australian women left home to join the new women’s auxiliary services, like the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, the Australian Army Nursing Service, the Australian Women’s Army Service, and more. Not only that, but women also participated in the manufacturing of weapons and goods for war. More than 66,000 of them enlisted in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. They made up 7% of the nearly 1 million Australians who served. World War II assisted in changing the public face and perception of women in Australian society, and by the end of the war, they were seen as equally as capable of providing essential and technical services as the men, their contribution to the war effort cannot be ignored as they provided essential weapons for war and also fought in the war with men for the first time.

Summarizing the above information, Australia’s involvement in the Second World War was not only important to its course but also had a significant impact on Australians.

Medically supervised injection clinics are a topical, yet controversial approach to the issue of drug addiction in Australia. Substance abuse negatively impacts many Australians and it is essential that these implications are minimised. Injection facilities have proven to be effective in decreasing mortality, successfully encouraging drug addicts to seek further health treatment and promoting sanitary practices that reduce issues such as disease transmission. It can be argued that opening injection clinics will increase criminal activity in the area in which the facility is located and condones the use of illicit drugs. However these concepts are un-researched and can be easily refuted. Numerous studies have proven that medically supervised injection clinics does not increase crime rates; some studies have even shown decreases in criminal activity since the opening of these clinics. The idea that these centres condone drug abuse is completely inaccurate, as the primary purpose of these facilities is to help individuals become sober and sustain from drug use, while supporting them to build promising futures for themselves. This essay will argue and demonstrate the importance of opening medically supervised injection centres across Australia in accessible and safe locations where volunteers and health care workers are trained to be judgement free and work with individuals to reduce drug-related harm in society.

Drug abuse – A Public Health Issue

In recent years the number of fatalities of those in Australia relating to injecting illicit drugs (most commonly methamphetamine and heroin) has inclined and hence the importance of tackling the public health issue of drug addiction has respectively increased. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reported that the rate of heroin related deaths in Australia has increased from 0.84 to 1.75 out of 100,000 people from 2008-2018 (AIHW, 2020). Similarly, the number of drug-induced deaths related to methamphetamine has increased from 0.4 to 1.6 deaths out of 100,000 people from 1999-2017 (AIHW, 2020). It is important to note that there are groups of individuals who are more susceptible to drug addiction due to various factors such as their socio economic status. Most evidently, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders are more vulnerable to drug addiction compared to non-Indigenous Australian population as over one quarter (27%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders equal to or above the age of 14 have used illicit drugs in the past 12 months, which is a rate 1.8 times higher than non-Indigenous Australians (AIHW, 2020). In addition to this, individuals with mental disorders such as depression and anxiety and people engaged in the criminal justice system are also highly susceptible.

Drug addiction is a public health issue as dependance on drugs leads to an endless list of physical and mental health problems (for the abusers themselves and the people surrounding them). Among the most common is a weakened immune system (leading to an increased risk of illness and infection), heart conditions (ranging from abnormal heart rates to collapsed veins and blood vessels), nausea and abdominal pain (leading to a loss of appetite and decreased weight), memory impairment, problems with attention and decision making, along with mental confusion and brain damage (Effects of Drug Abuse and Addiction, 2020). Not only does addiction cause individual harm, but stress to society as a whole. It can deteriorate relationships with family and friends, effect the workplace (in regards to employers and co-workers), increase the rates of crime and places strain on the healthcare system. Hence, it is vital that strategies and interventions are enforced to minimise drug related harm in the communities.

Reducing drug-related harm in Australia

Due to the increasing rates of drug abuse, it is essential that strategies are implemented to combat the issue of drug addiction. Medically supervised injection clinics for drug users is an innovative concept that has proven to be extremely successful through numerous trials. These injection clinics provide a safe place for individuals to use drugs and provides immediate access to medical care and a variety of health and social welfare services.

Injection clinics are primarily beneficial as they offer a clean and safe environment for users to inject their drugs rather than individuals injecting drugs in unsanitary and exposed public areas. This prevents the general public and impressionable individuals (such as children and teenagers) from witnessing drug abuse and fatal overdoses. An example of an injecting clinic in Australia is the Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre which has been operating out of Kings Cross, Sydney since 2001. Their team has supported over 16,500 clients, managed over 8,500 overdoses and has had 0 fatalities. It is likely that without this clinic the clients who overdosed would not have been able to access instant medical help and potentially died as a result. Hence it is essential these clinics are in practice as they work towards preventing a large number of fatalities. It is important to note that there has been no recorded fatality of a drug overdose at an injection clinic (NPR).

Not only can medically supervised injection clinics promote the health of individuals, but society as a whole. A common occurrence amongst drug users is the sharing of syringes which places drug users at risk of disease transmission, the most notable infection being Human Immunodeficiency

Overview.

Us as humans are on the brink of a technological revolution that will greatly change the way we live. a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third which used electronics and information technology to automate production, the digital revolution that has been occurring since late last century. There is one main reason that definitively separates the third and the fourth revolution and that is that the speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth industrial revolution is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace and these technological breakthroughs have dramatically changed the way of how entire systems of production, management, and governance and will continue on this path.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Founder and Executive Chairman, Professor Klaus Schwab, the first three industrial revolutions set the stage for the fourth: the early 19th century era of rail, mechanization and steam; the electricity and mass production revolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and the emergence of semiconductors, computers and networks since the 1960s. The exponential acceleration of computing technology that has marked this phase is inflicting massive change on long-established industries, professions and institutions, including the structures of government.

Artificial intelligence is already around us much more than we know it, from self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest. The consumers are those who have gained the most from it. They have been able to afford and access the digital world; new products and services have come to life through technology, products and services that increase the efficiency and pleasure of our personal lives. Ordering a taxi, buying a product, making a payment, booking a flight, watching a movie or T.V show, listening to music, or playing a game, can all be done with little effort.

How does the fourth industrial revolutions new technology work and how does it affect our world?

“This forth industrial revolution uses transformative technologies to connect the physical world with the digital world. Current trends include, advanced automation and robotics (including collaborative robots or ‘cobots’), machine-to-machine and human-to-machine communication, artificial intelligence and machine learning, sensor technology and data analytics. This trend is enabled by four key drivers which are, rising data volumes, computational power and connectivity, emerging analytics and business-intelligence capabilities, new forms of human-machine interaction, such as touch interfaces, augmented and virtual reality systems, improvements in transferring digital instructions to the physical world, such as robotics and 3D printing. The fourth industrial revolution has obvious benefits and opportunities which include better connectivity between customers and supply chains through real-time access to production information, logistics and monitoring, greater flexibility for businesses to produce differentiated products and services to tap unmet consumer demands, compete in global markets and capture emerging opportunities, enhanced workplace safety, production and improvements across the entire value chain.” I am cool.

Positive effects.

The fourth industrial revolution has both positive and negative effects on our world. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing how we live, work, and communicate. It’s forever changing government, education, healthcare, commerce, and most importantly, productivity. Every aspect of our lives. Education and the amount of information that is accessible can improve the lives of billions of people. Through strong computing devices and networks, digital services, and mobile devices, this can become a reality for people around the world, including those in underdeveloped countries. The social media revolution embodied by Facebook, Twitter, and Tencent has given everyone a voice and a way to communicate instantly across the planet. Today, more than 30% of the people in the world use social media services to communicate and stay on top of world events.

Negative effects.

While the Fourth Industrial Revolution can have positive effects on the world, we must be aware that the technologies can have negative results if we don’t think about how they can change us. We build what we value. This means we need to remember our values as we’re building with these new technologies. For example, if we value money over family time, we can build technologies that help us make money at the expense of family time. In turn, these technologies can create incentives that make it harder to change that underlying value. People have a deep relationship with technologies. They are how we create our world, and we must develop them with care. More than ever, it’s important that we begin right. “We have to this race between the growing power of the technology, and the growing wisdom with which we manage it. We don’t want to learn from mistakes.” Max Tegmark, Life 3.0.

What is Australia’s involvement and contribution to the fourth industrial revolution?

The ‘Industry 4.0 Testlabs in Australia report’, released by the taskforce, explores the principles and framework for adopting the fourth revolution in Australia by establishing test labs. Standards Australia published a report on the fourth industrial revolution from an Australian Perspective as part of this work. To strengthen the industry-led nature of the taskforce, it is now called the ‘Industry 4.0 Advanced Manufacturing Forum’ and is hosted by ‘Australian Industry Group’. The forum continues work on, reference architectures, standards and norms, research and innovation, security of networked systems, test laboratories, future of work, education and training.

Investing in future skills development

When comparing the current issues and priorities of Australian enterprises to their global counterparts, we found Australian businesses are more focused on transforming their current business models rather than creating new ones. This is an issue because many opportunities in Industry 4.0 will be heavily based on new and emerging models. The good news is Australian enterprises are aware of this. The bad news is we’ve got a couple of blind spots that must first be addressed. More than half (57%) of Australian business leaders say they know which skills their future workforces will need to thrive in the Industry 4.0 future and, significantly, 60% say they plan to extensively train their current employees to help them close any skills gaps (compared to 43% globally). Australian businesses are also more enthusiastic than their global counterparts that the current education system will sufficiently prepare individuals for Industry 4.0 (Australia 53%, global 43%).

How does the fourth industrial revolution effect government?

Month after month, new systems, applications and business models surface and then explode into the market, offering radical new solutions in domains such as health and transport, even while disrupting long-established businesses and throwing countless people out of work. Historically, such periods of technology-driven upheaval have brought productivity gains, investment, growth, improvements in quality of life, and increases in longevity and health. There’s no reason to believe that the Fourth Industrial Revolution, like the three that preceded it, will fail to deliver these same long-term benefits, especially in a world where billions of people still don’t have electricity. Yet some of these technologies, especially those that automate routine tasks, may trigger job losses. That future is around the corner, in fact. A recent McKinsey & Company study predicts that almost half the time workers spend on their jobs can already be replaced with existing technologies. This change in technology will have an immense impact on workers and the security of their jobs, this is definitely something that needs to be addressed by the government. The alarming job-loss scenarios have also prompted warnings and calls for corrective policy. Tesla founder Elon Musk wants governments and civil society actors to ensure that machine learning systems are deployed ethically. Microsoft founder Bill Gates wants governments to tax robots to compensate for mass worker displacement.

Canada may be better positioned to weather the storms brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Demand for Canada’s natural resources and its excellence in agriculture and mass manufacturing has kept the economy strong. The country’s financial institutions are stable. Its debt-to-GDP ratios are low by international standards. The public still embraces immigration and believes in both the need to reduce inequality and in trade as a means of building wealth. Unlike the US and the UK, Canada’s politics and public institutions aren’t under attack. Yet in other ways, Canada may be vulnerable, with stubbornly low productivity and innovation lagging behind other industrialized countries. Right now, a group of Canadian start-ups are building world-class technology, but they are struggling to find the talent and capital necessary to scale internationally. To survive the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Canada will need to produce, retain and attract more of the right kinds of talent, incentivize corporate Canada to make the same kinds of investments in technology that they have long made in natural resources, and support these companies as they scale into globally competitive businesses. The ability of countries to produce and sustain national champions will be central to their ability to survive the shifts coming at them.

The fourth industrial revolutions impact on education.

Corporate leaders aren’t the only ones who need to consider how to adjust to the new world the 4th Industrial Revolution is ushering in. Educators, schools, government officials, and parents must re-think education and how to prepare the next generation to take advantage of the plethora of opportunities and overcome the challenges enabled by ever-increasing technological change.

STEM (science, tech, engineering, math) education needs to improve across the board regardless of income levels, age, or gender. There’s no doubt every worker in the future will need some technical skills and improvement in STEM education is warranted, but it’s important to note that we shouldn’t adopt an either/or mentality. We still need to help students understand the values that will help us learn how to use this new technology ethically and morally; therefore, humanities training and professionals will still be essential. In fact, according to The Future of Jobs Report 2018 from the World Economic Forum, executives desired employees with critical thinking and collaboration skills even more than those with tech skills. Another way that education could improve given this fourth industrial revolution would be to alter the training of educators. American philosopher John Dewey said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” Even though he lived well before the beginnings of the 4th Industrial Revolution, his words are very appropriate today. Rather than teachers distilling information to students that they then memorize, teachers will become guides to help students facilitate their own learning and lines of inquiry. Failure needs to be embraced as an essential step to learning. Additionally, teaching will be much more personalized, which will be supported by bringing in technologies such as AI and machine learning.

Summary.

To summarise, the fourth industrial revolution can and has had a positive effect on the world the main positive effects being the potential increase in productivity and government. However, this comes at a cost as it could negatively affect our non-material living standards. The fourth industrial revolution has the power to greatly change businesses, how countries are governed, education and the general lifestyle of people through the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Modernity is described as a historical timeframe that relates to the progression of urbanization and culture, moving away from traditional and outdated methods (Snyder 2016). It relates to the notion of ‘Eurocentrism,’ which depicts Europe as ‘the central axis’ with its dominant social order (Gregory 1998, 512-513). Three readings, Introduction by Anthony King, Marking Place and Outline History of Australian Architecture by Philip Goad and Julie Willis, and ‘This Grand Object: Building Towns in Indigenous Space’ by Penelope Edmonds, are used to examine the effects of colonialism on a global and local scale. Furthermore, each reading investigates specific changes in society’s cultural values, economic, and political aspects influenced by European Settlement, which occurred during Modernity. Imperialism not only induced these changes in society but is also reflected in the built environment and architectural forms. A comparison of each reading is completed regarding the settlement, which shaped the society and space within the community.

Each reading portrays the effects of colonialism as a local event or global event. The outcomes of colonialism are painted mostly as a negative picture for the communities that were colonized. King, in his reading, focuses on the aspects of colonialism through a global phenomenon, with a specific focus on British settlement in India and the effects of colonialism. He compares New and Old Delhi in India, where ‘two cities stand amidst the ruins of earlier settlement’ (King 1980, 2). Old Delhi represents India in its cultural features, while New Delhi is portrayed as ‘the product of colonialism’ from the period of Modernity as it shows economic and technical advancement (King 1980, 2). On the contrary, Goad and Willis gaze into the local phenomena of colonialism in Australia. Even though they mention the dreadful acts against Aboriginals by the convict settlers, they demonstrate the progression and expansion in Australia due to the settlement (Goad and Willis 2012, xxv). Similarly, Edmonds presents colonialism in Australia, with a focal point on how British colonies were attempting to evict Aboriginals from their land and claiming the land as their own by declaring them as ‘trespassers’ of the land (Edmonds 2010, 79). She illustrates ‘the worst characteristics of the unruly convict colonies’ (Edmonds 2010, 79). Hence, she depicts the destructive side effects of imperialism against Aboriginals that occurred during the Modernity period as the settlers attempted to remove the traditional ideologies of the Aboriginals and replace them with European principles. Therefore, King displays colonialism in India, comparing the New and Old, to investigate its outcomes, and the readings by Goad, Willis, and Edmonds investigate local colonialism and its effects.

Colonialism had a major effect on molding a society with a new social order that emanated from European society. King outlines that the British settlement formed a new social organization and religion, which sat in conflict with the traditional culture and two religions, Hinduism and Islamism, of India (King 1980, 3). The conflict between the two societies shaped Old and New Delhi in India (King 1980, 2). Hence, King attempts to demonstrate that colonialism in India was an event of Modernity since the settlement attempted to inflict European societal viewpoints. Goad and Willis also summarise the enforcement of the European orderly societal organization onto the Aboriginals and attempts to remove their nomadic and tribal life (Goad and Willis 2012, xxiv). Similarly, Edmonds explored this implementation of settlers’ belief system onto the Aboriginals. She highlights the strong cultural and spiritual connection the Aboriginals had with their land, which was taken over by settlers (Edmonds 2010, 72). The settlers created a social organization where the Aboriginals stood below them. Edmonds emphasizes the violent treatment enforced on Aboriginals, who were perceived as ‘the lower class of whites’ and were given ‘the poorest grain’ (Edmonds 2010, 78-82). She further accentuates the cruel treatment by stating the painful action of ‘child removal’ (Edmonds 2010, 82). Therefore, Edmonds expresses the harsh societal hierarchy of the European settlers, where the Aboriginals were treated as slaves. The settlement in India and Australia forms a classic example of Modernity as settlers formulate a new society with European views.

During the timeframe of Modernity, European imperialism had not only shaped society but also built space that portrayed qualities of Modernity. King illustrates that built space is a reflection of society’s view, which is evident in New Delhi as it echoes the imperialism of Britain. He expresses the urban form of the New that has built big bungalows, offices, modern cars, and so on, showing the colonial culture that was designed by European architects, which sits in contrast to the Old that has the culture of India as it is filled with mosques, temples, and traditional housing (King 1980, 2-3). Goad and Willis argue that the settlers attempted to replace the temporary housing of Aboriginals with ‘permanent structures’ to demonstrate European views that buildings are meant to be permanent, filled with specific functions (Goad and Willis 2012, xxv). They also mention the advancement of material usage, such as concrete and brickwork, in the construction of the building, demonstrating the progression from traditional hut-structured houses. However, Edmonds focuses on the space development conducted by the settlers as they defined land boundaries and added a grid-like structure, which reflects a modular scheme of Europe (Edmonds 2010, 83). She further states that the grid scheme is a ‘spatial signature of modernity’ (Edmonds 2010, 84). Hence, the shaping of space in India and Australia under the imperialism of the settlers replicates the built space of Europe and its values, which forms an integral case of Modernity.

Colonialism was a major event of the Modernity Period. It shaped society and space with a central focus on European social values and viewpoints. King looks into the global colonialism in India and highlights Britain’s influence through the description of New Delhi, with an emphasis on societal values and its reflection on the built space. Both Goad, Willis, and Edmonds explore local colonialism. Goad and Willis examine the architectural spaces that were designed by settlers, which echoed the social organization and influence of Europe. Edmonds explores a similar approach, with a focus on the horrible treatment induced on the Aboriginals. Hence, each reading analyses European colonialism that influenced society’s values and space.

The Australian Oxford dictionary describes the word, egalitarian, as “believing in or based on the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities’. Throughout history, there have been many factors and events including Life in England, Settlement, Gold Rush, and Federation, which have all played a part in shaping Australia leading up to WW1. Many events prior to World War 1, in time, helped Australia equalize in the eyes of the law.

England has had a significant impact on Australia throughout history, from developing the Industrial Revolution to sending convicts and soldiers to penal colony settlements. If we say that, an egalitarian society is the belief that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities that would then mean that England could be perceived as an unequal and in some instances unjust society considering the following evidence. It all started in the late 1700s, the Industrial Revolution, which first began in Britain making its way to Europe and America over time. The Industrial Revolution was a time of new inventions, products, changes to working methods, and the introduction of new manufacturing processes. The results of these changes overtime time led to numerous short and long-term consequences. Prior to this event, manufacturing and processing were often done in their own home. They would use hand tools or basic machinery before mass production iron and textile industries installed machines and steam engines that could do the work of hundreds of employees. The Industrial Revolution brought about improved modes of transportation and changes to how people communicated. In addition, industrialization brought about increased volume and variety of products, and the living standard was improved for some. On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution resulted in grim employment statistics and living conditions for the poor and those lowest on the hierarchy. The installation of machinery took the jobs of many people. In addition, the poor working conditions in factories were a major problem at this time. “For the great majority of the laboring class, the results of the policy (or laissez-faire) were inadequate wages, long hours of work under sordid conditions, and the large-scale employment of women and children for tasks which destroy body and soul. Reports from investigating committees on coal mines found male and female children ten or even five years of age harnessed to heavy coal sleds which they dragged crawling on their hands and knees…” (Norton Anthology, p. 3). When Friedrich Engels visited an English industrial city, he stated in “The Conditions of the Working Class in England” that the streets were usually unpaved, filthy, and strewn with refuse due to the lack of gutters and drains. Many people worked in factories, which had very tight spaces, up to twelve people living in a tenement at one time. The new machinery was very unsafe and children were used as labor as they were cheap and could fit in small spaces. Outhouses were unsanitary as they were rarely cleaned which caused a spread of diseases. The employees in these poor cities or slums were either the working class that had to struggle through these unsanitary conditions. “For the first time in history, the living standards of the masses of ordinary people [had] begun to undergo sustained growth…. Nothing remotely like this economic behavior has happened before.” This means that the European Industrial Revolution brought on this change in population in many areas. Unemployment forced people into poverty, resorting to thieving and uniting into gangs. This was known as the Bloody Code because of the huge number of crimes for which the death penalty could be imposed. It would seem as if every crime was punishable by death in the 1800s. Even those that would be considered minor or trivial today, such as stealing a rabbit. “The number of crimes carrying the death penalty in 1688 was 50. By 1815 it was 215!” “This law was also to act as a deterrent”. The government thought that this way, people would refrain from committing crimes, as they knew they would receive a death sentence. Women would ‘do wrong’ to follow their husbands or children on boats to Australia. Crimes such as “cutting down a tree in an orchard or stealing livestock were punishable by transportation”. English convicts were sent to America until 1782 when the American War of Independence ended in 1783. America refused to welcome any convicts into the country so England had to find a solution/elsewhere to send the criminals. Transportation to Australia was the solution. It was the start and cause of migration to Australia.

In 1788, England claimed the land as terra nullius and Australia was settled. Despite all the changes going on, during this time Australia may have started to gain its equality edge. Soldiers, convicts, and free settlers aboard the First Fleet all received the same amount of rations. A diary entry on the 1st of November 1789 said, “Convict women and men were given the same rations”. Over time, Judges and Juries were reluctant to condemn people to death for such crimes. Transportation was the next best punishment. Transportation was a British legal term, meaning a “prison sentence that was served in exile overseas at a penal colony”. The government chose to transport the convicts to a land far from their home country, with good farming conditions to encourage self-sufficiency. New South Wales was the chosen site to establish a convict settlement. The convicts, free-settlers, and military came on the First Fleet, which consisted of 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth, England on 13 May 1787. There was a hierarchy of different classes and each class was treated the same. The settlers had claimed the land as Terra Nullius, meaning that the “land belonged to nobody” as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were regarded as flora and fauna. Although somewhere between one-half and one million people inhabited the island. The first contact between Aboriginal Australians and British colonizers in 1788 escalated into the frontier conflict. This conflict lasted for over 140 years and cultural divides continue to split Australia to this day. “In May 1788 a convict was found speared in the bush and a week later two more were murdered. Between 2000 and 2500 Europeans and more than 20,000 Aborigines were killed in conflicts between convicts and Aborigines.” Since the “ghost people” settled in Australia, ignorance of Indigenous people led to many thousands of Aboriginals being killed by white settlers. When the Europeans started to explore the country, they began to take over more of their land and food sources “justifying their actions by saying that Aboriginal people were nomads who could move on and would be just as happy somewhere else”. White people had no regard for their deep spiritual connections with the land and their way of respecting it, which the settlers did not understand. As well as discrimination against Indigenous, the Convict class was also discriminated against in the distribution of land rights and grants. Free immigrants and settlers were regularly given grants of thousands of acres. On the other hand, convicts were given only forty to sixty acres. The reactions of white explorers and colonists to the Indigenous people were often negative. This is the first sign that England did not treat everyone equally at the time of settlement.

The discovery of gold in 1851 led to the Gold Rushes in many parts of Australia and caused an influx of migrants and controversy arose between the migrants and settlers. Most migrants were young men who expected to stay for a few years, make their fortune, and then return home to their families. The Victorian Gold Rush attracted international immigrants from countries including China, Europe, and America. Australia’s population doubled during the first year of the Gold Rushes. “By 1854, more than 2000 Chinese had arrived in the colony of Victoria.” Some people were entitled to dig for more gold than others depending on their ethnicity. Chinese migrants were forced to live under a protectorate system and were required to pay taxes that no other migrants had to pay. It may have been likely that the Government would have considered prohibiting Chinese migration completely if it was not for the 1842 treaty of Nanking (or Nanjing). The Treaty heavily favored the British. The Chinese had to pay a tax (of around $10, 000 in modern-day terms) upon arrival. Under the protectorate system, they were required to pay an additional £1 per year for the privilege. They were also forced to live in designated camps and their business dealings and behaviours were carefully monitored. Evidence proves that the many laws made by the government, discriminated against the Chinese and their rights. Life may have been tough for White Anglo Men in the gold mines however, each person was considered equal – no one person received special privileges, and each individual abided by the same laws. Violence amongst the men erupted regularly due to claim jumping (taking over other people’s land), and resolving issues was problematic due to corrupt law enforcement. White Anglo Men traveled to Australia in search of gold and a better life – once word spread about there being gold in Australia, the people started flooding in. Conflict arose which meant schools closed down due to unemployment the harbors were inactive, alcohol was banned on the gold fields to control behavior, and “sly grog shanties” became an issue. The conditions were unhygienic in the Goldfields, making it difficult to control diseases.

South Sea Islanders came to strike it lucky during this time but were not allowed the same etiquette as many others. 62, 000 men, women, and children were deceived into being a cheap source of labor by being offered food, money, land, or a house. In addition, the slaves were cruelly treated and massacred or they received a sentence of five to ten years of slavery under a master.

Equality between men and women was not comparable during this period. “More than 160, 000 women were among the 600, 000 who arrived in Victoria between 1851 and 1860.” Women were required to stoke the fire, bake bread, and clean the house (home duties). Women were often taken advantage of and were not held in the same high regard as men. Women were prohibited from mining in the Goldfields and were often not credited for their actions or their contributions. In some cases, women in desperate need of money, disguised as men and hid their identities to obtain paid employment. Women and children were rarely seen on the gold fields due to such harsh conditions that were considered “inappropriate for women”. The experiences of non-Europeans during the Gold Rush in Victoria were very different from the lives of Europeans. On the other hand, once the Gold Rush and Eureka Rebellion ended, migrants were able to gain employment within Australia. “Thousands of Afghani and Pakistani cameleers played an important role in shaping Australia”. They were required to move goods and supplies from the ports to the Goldfields. They interacted especially well with Aboriginal people. Women and children began to be seen more regularly on the Goldfields as conditions improved. “In January 1853 there were 5,000 women and around 10,000 women by June.” Generally, the Gold Rush sought to see hints of egalitarianism shining through, although Australia was not entirely there yet.

Just fifty years after the beginning of the Australian gold rush, Australia became an independent nation. From a wilderness inhabited by convicts to a free and federated nation in less than half a century. Such a huge shift has rarely been seen anywhere in the world. ‘A Nation for a Continent and a Continent for a Nation!’ Edmund Barton announces. Australia became an independent nation on 1 January 1901. Before the Federation, Australia was just the name of the continent as a whole which contained six very different states. Each state even had its armies, colonies, and leaders. Federation was the next step towards a more egalitarian society. The suffragist movement was one of those steps during the Federation that helped Australia steer towards equality. Beforehand, once a woman married, all that they owned would be signed to their husband including their children. It was extremely difficult to avoid or escape abusive relationships. In addition, “wealthy mistresses of large manors and estates employed gardeners, workmen and laborers who could vote. However, the women could not regardless of their wealth.” In 1908, another example of lesser significance saw women’s inequality extend to their bathing suits as they were forced to wear swimwear that looked more like dresses than the modern-day garments we wear so freely today. Furthermore, female teachers did not have the same rights as male teachers. In 1915, a ‘set of rules’ was written for Female Teachers, stating women “shall not marry during the term of the contract”, “[they] may not travel beyond the city limits without the permission [from] Chairman of the Board” and “[women] may not dress in bright colors” or “dye [they’re] hair”. The suffragists were a group of women who believed they should have equal rights and opportunities. These privileges may include, women having the right to vote and be a part of making laws. Changes made and rights granted changed the lives of many women to this day. The Victorian Women’s Suffrage group held a petition in 1891. It was argued that “all adult persons should have a voice in making the laws which they are required to obey… That, in short, women should vote on equal terms with men…” By the conclusion of the petition, there were more than 11, 600 signatures which were used to be presented to the Government to show both men and women supported women’s right to vote. Victorian women finally gained the right to vote when the 19th Bill passed on 18 November 1908. This event proves that Australia was well on the way to being a society that believes that every individual equally deserves the same rights and opportunities. At this time, changes were being made to support all people.

Henry Bourne Higgins was the president of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Court. He founded/proposed the idea of the Harvester Judgement, which led to the beginning of the minimum wage. It was when a Judge decided that the amount a worker is paid is based on reasonable living costs. This idea was established a few years after Federation and Henry Bourne Higgins was deciding the laws the new system would have. A Judge would decide the test of a fair wage would be to meet “the normal needs of the average employee regarded as a human being living in a civilized community”. Another point that was considered was that the pay of a worker should not be determined by the profit made by the employer. “In 1907, the Harvester Judgement set a minimum wage for unskilled laborers of 2 pounds, 2 shillings per week the amount an average worker paid for food, shelter, and clothing – for him and his family.” He began focusing on the Sunshine Factory as it was a large company and had many employees. This was a large step towards a society based upon all being equal or having equity, it was beginning to enable individuals to live comfortably by way of fair and reasonable wages. This law still applies so in turn, enables workers to be given a ‘fair go’. This law was not influenced by ethnicity, but was still gender biased, primarily against women.

These were some positive steps towards an egalitarian society, although there was still a significant amount of changes required for society to be equal in the eyes of the law by World War 1. The past acts as a building block for which we continue to reflect and build to bring about positive change.

Before the First World War, Australia and New Zealand were not highly regarded of by other countries. Australia was a teenage country, having started independence in 1901. The Australians were known as convicts and were taken to be rule-breaking and liberalistic, breaking rules and the such. It was only after the First World War that Australia was regarded as just as hard-working as any other country. Things for New Zealand were even worse before the First World War. They had no independence and the First World War was the beginning of a long journey to self-sufficiency.

During the First World War, Australian and Kiwi (New Zealand) army troops fought in battles from Samoa to Palestine and, famously the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) fought at Gallipoli in Turkey. Through tough and well-fought battles, the ANZACs played a major role in the Allies’ victory over Germany, and respect bred through people in Britain and other European countries because of this. Australia and New Zealand were also outrageously behind their time before the First World War and the war contributed largely to the Australians catching up to larger countries. This is because the technology was traded so often between The Allies that Australia and New Zealand learned a great deal about the new inventions they had missed out on as lonely countries in the southern hemisphere. Another large role that played in the maturity of Australia and New Zealand was the increasingly fast-speed communication technology that was being evolved and worked upon. By the end of the First World War, electric telegraphs and such could be cheaply used to communicate from country to country, and Australia and New Zealand benefitted from this.

Australia at the time of World War One did not know if it had the guts to be an independent country but after Gallipoli, as written by John Hirst, “Gallipoli freed Australians from the self-doubt about whether it had the mettle to be a proper nation”. Gallipoli was an extremely confronting experience for what were the country boys of Australia who had usually dealt with a laid-back lifestyle. This situation sparked confidence and innovation in Australian citizens and Australia became more patriotic of themselves and country boys became soldiers, generals, scientists, and politicians to make Australia greater than what we were stereotyped as. During the First World War, the Aboriginal population of Australia also made a huge step to equality which they are, sadly, still looking for today. Australia, almost scientifically known to be infected with racism due to Darwinism and the inclusion of Aboriginal peoples as fauna, allowed the same Indigenous people to fight for them. The bloody battles that the original owners of the land we took from them fought for the same land that was still ours at the time. Because of the war effort from the Indigenous peoples, we almost had to give them some respect in return. Unfortunately, we did not but now this issue has been addressed to many times using this key point.

The little attention paid to the small southern countries helped them greatly in the war. While France, Germany, England, and other European giants were being torn apart by one another, Australia and New Zealand got involved, but made sure to not let any outbursts of battle happen on their land as they were not as attached to this war as the other countries were. New Zealand had no bombings or large violent incidents and Australia had far fewer of them. This meant that the people back home in Australia did not have to worry about the economy too much and they certainly did not fear their lives the way people in hotspots in France and Eastern Europe did. Australia had little put on the field, little taken off. The Australians of course played a major role, but they were smart enough to not endanger their country too much and because of this, countries like France and England had major setbacks compared to the Australians and the New Zealanders.

In conclusion, Australians played it safe in the First World War and also gained confidence in themselves because of the patriotic way of the war. New Zealand too played it safe in the war and began to believe they could be an independent settlement. 

Allied victory brought an end to World War I, but did not bring an end to the suffering and challenges of Australia’s people. The experiences of Australian soldiers and their families in 1919 support this viewpoint, due to the economic, social and national issues within this time-period and the physical, psychological and emotional struggles of World War I veterans. The suffering and challenges of war may have dissipated, but were only replaced with a new set of challenges, such as repatriation to civilian life, coping with the loss of loved ones in a post-war society and outbreaks of the Spanish influenza.

The Australian soldiers of the Great War experienced much post-war suffering, accompanied by many challenges in 1919. After the initial celebrations of the Allied victory and soldiers returning home lapsed, post-war society began to treat veterans poorly. Medical advancements, such as prosthetic limbs, were made to try and improve the quality of life for disabled veterans; however, these developments were futile in comparison to the psychological trauma, or ‘shell-shock’ faced by countless soldiers upon return to Australia. ANZACs who had a war-related disability also suffered greatly at the hands of Australian post-war society. Many friends and relatives who hadn’t gone to war were desperate to put those years of hardship behind them and start afresh, even if it meant they had to disregard their returned loved ones’ pain and suffering to do so. “They wanted a return to normalcy, and they expected returned men to show a similar desire” (Gammage, 2010). “…in 1919 Ex Diggers were singing for a living in the streets. Men without arms and legs, some in wheelchairs” (Per H. Brewer, quoted in Bill Gammage’s ‘The Broken Years: Australian Soldiers in the Great War’). This quote shows that, despite having won the war and returned home, disabled Australian soldiers hadn’t fully re-joined Australian society. To remedy this repatriation issue, medical developments in prosthetics were made. Prosthetic limbs would help increase a patient’s ability-level (giving them the ability to work and provide for themselves and their families) and generally enhance their quality of life. Over 3000 Australian men became limbless through World War I (Australian War Memorial Contributors, 2019), this idea was good in theory. Nevertheless, prosthetics could only do so much to aid soldiers in regaining a sense of normalcy in civilian life. Countless veterans struggled psychologically with war-stemmed emotional traumas, which made returning to civilian life more challenging. Australian general, John Monash, describes the complexity of the repatriation situation in terms of veteran welfare: “The problem is not only how to return these people home to Australia in the most expeditious way, but also how to send them home in a condition – physically, mentally and morally – to take up their duties of citizenship with a minimum of delay, a minimum of difficulty and a minimum of hardship on the community and on the individual” (Monash, 1919).

This dilemma of trying to reach a mental and moral condition which would allow veterans to conduct their post-war responsibilities, coupled with the expectations for a ‘return to normalcy’ by family and friends at home (Gammage, 2010), made 1919 a vastly challenging year, both for Australian veterans and for the rest of Australian society.

Despite the Allied victory, Australian society still had many war-related challenges and suffering to experience in 1919. Between the challenges of adjusting to a veteran family member with a war-related disability or injury, dealing with the sorrowful loss of loved ones, coping economically in a post-war society, and the arrival of war-brides, Australian society was facing many additional challenges. Firstly, the families of veterans suffering from disability, injury, shell-shock or illness due to the war suffered many trials and tribulations. The loved-ones of men requiring constant medical attention found their lives organized around hospital visits (Larsson, 2019). Those living with veterans suffering from severe shell-shock had to adjust to “…psychological symptoms such as sleeplessness and memory loss…” (Larsson, 2019). Families of returned soldiers also had to deal with knowing they could not understand what their loved ones had experienced during the war. There was a great bitterness felt by veterans for this, as, due to their family’s naivety, they felt misunderstood. In a post-war society, there was a vast amount of grief, sorrow and suffering felt by those who had lost loved ones in the war. From mourning widows and mothers to children who had lost their fathers and men returning from war to find themselves an only child. Suffice to say, 1919 was a year of mourning for countless Australians. This sense of loss was more than merely emotional; as men earnt much higher wages than women during this time-period (‘My Learning’ Contributors, 1919), many families lost their main bread-winners to the war (whether by death or disability). Pensions were distributed by the Australian government to provide financial aid to these disadvantaged families and/or women. Returned service-men who were unfit to work also received government-issued pensions and financial support (Bongiorno, 2016). War Widows received the first state-funded, non-contributory pensions, along with dependent’s allowances for each of their children. However, these pensions had strict guidelines. Women who married ex-servicemen after the war wouldn’t receive the pension if their husband died of war-related injuries after the war (‘My Learning’ Contributors, 1919). Evidence also suggests some women were denied the pension by their local pensions office, purely as they didn’t have ‘dependents’ (children) and therefore didn’t ‘need’ it (War Widow’s Pension, 1919). Whilst many Australian families continued to mourn their lost loved ones and struggle to find financial stability, a new social group of women and children were arriving in Australia due to the war. Upon arrival to Australia, war-brides suffered much hardship. Along with having to adjust to an entirely new culture, climate, lifestyle and society, war brides suffered much discrimination. There was an incident in Melbourne, where “one group of new arrivals (war brides) was physically attacked on the Melbourne wharf by factory girls enraged that Aussie men, who were in short supply, had chosen foreign wives” (Fallows, 2002). Many Australians upheld the opinion that these women had corrupted and ‘stolen’ Australian men, and therefore acted resentfully, jealously and with prejudice towards these young women and their children (Fallows, 2002). Whilst Australian society experienced these challenges and causes of suffering in 1919, there was another set of struggles faced by Australia on a national level.

The aftermath of the Spanish influenza, coupled with the economic impacts of World War I made 1919 a year of challenges and suffering for the nation of Australia. The Spanish influenza, which arrived in Australia alongside returned soldiers, killed over 12,000 Australians in 1919 (Curson & McCracken, 2006), and affected millions of Australians in many different aspects. The war-caused pandemic added to the nation’s grief and mourning, and also interfered with education, worship and the economy of various industries (due to the closure of schools, churches and various places of recreation for quarantine purposes) (Hobbins, 2019).

Economically speaking, 1919 was a challenging year for Australia, with inflation rates rising to cover war-related debts. Many Australians suffered, unable to afford goods and services. This was the beginning of the Great Depression (National Museum Australia, 2019). In regard to Australia’s political state, World War I can be viewed as the beginning of Australia’s national identity. Having only declared Federation in 1901, Australia was still establishing itself when the Great War broke out. However, Australia’s involvement in World War I, particularly in the drafting of the Treaty of Versailles “…transformed its place in the world…” (Cotton, 2018). This event resulted in Australia and other self-governing British countries contributing more to the decisions made by the British Empire from 1919 onwards (Cotton, 2018). However, this sole positive component of 1919 for Australia as a nation is severely out-weighed by the challenges and suffering that resulted from the Spanish influenza pandemic and the Great Depression.

Allied victory ended the Great War, but did not bring an end to the suffering and challenges of Australia’s people. The experiences of countless Australians in 1919 clearly express this perspective. The social, economic and national issues within this time-period and the physical, psychological and emotional struggles of World War I veterans corroborate this viewpoint. Despite the few positive outcomes of 1919, the challenges and suffering undergone by Australians were still immense. Therefore, the frame of reference is clearly accurate.

References

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In the 21st century, Australian women have continued to fight and gain many fundamental rights in all aspects of life, however, it is not arguable that there is still a long way to go. Since the declaration of pandemic status, the Coronavirus has only intensified the disparity in Australian gender inequality and could threaten this issue in years to come. In 2006, the World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap Index reported that Australia was 15th in the world for gender equality, although in 2020 this number has increased to 44th on the same list (). Therefore, it is important to understand how in the 14 years between these reports Australia has dropped this low on the list, and whether the Coronavirus pandemic had any major impact on this number. The longer the world lives in the current pandemic, studies and statistics are shining a light on the disadvantages women are facing by Coronavirus and how this is contributing to global gender inequality. Landivar et al. state that women are facing a “triple whammy” as many women are frontline workers at risk of contracting the virus, as workers in industries that are currently experiencing greater economic distress, and as caregivers with increased workload due to school and daycare closures (Landivar, L et al. 2020). Due to the pandemic response, Australian women have been put at a greater risk of contracting the virus and being negatively affected by the pandemic.

Recent studies have found that due to the pre-existing gender roles and norms assigned to women, they are more likely of contracting Coronavirus than males. Although many industries have increased their female employment rates, women in 2020 are still considered more likely to work in compassionate roles, as opposed to men, and are expected to take responsibility for caring for family or loved ones that have fallen ill (Wenham, C et al. 2020). The 2014-16 West African Ebola virus outbreak is an excellent example of the gendered norms that led to women having higher infection rates than men. Women were reported as less likely than men to have decision-making power in relation to the outbreak, thus their needs were largely unmet due to this (Wenham, C 2020). This included putting women in jobs and carer positions that made them more susceptible to contracting the virus, very similar to the current climate (Wenham, C 2020). Historically, women were the assumed caregiver to not only healthy but very ill families, and statistics show that in previous epidemics and pandemics, the societal role of women has put them in a serious, vulnerable position of potential contraction. The 1918 influenza pandemic resulted in an in-depth study on the statistics of contraction amongst socioeconomic status and gender, proving that women were at double the risk of contraction than men due to their societal roles (Mamelund, S 2018). Although women have come far since the 1918 pandemic, roles have simultaneously reversed back to how they once were and are still assumed to partake in certain societal roles resulting in higher risks for women to exist amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. Globally, the most hard-hit and important industries since the arrival of COVID-19 are those that are female-dominated, health professionals, education, and retail (Barneveld, K 2020). Due to this, a large percentage of the Australian female population is working in high-risk industries, making them more vulnerable to contracting the virus, specifically nurses as they have been the most exhausted career recently. Not only are women working in such high-risk industries, they are considered more likely to care for family members in the home, especially those who are sick. This can boil down to cultural or religious beliefs, or a personal choice, but it is shown that women are the assumed caregivers when COVID-19 strikes at home. Apart from the higher risk of contraction, women are also severely disadvantaged by the virus in other aspects of life.

The largest impact on gender inequality in 2020 is the negative effects on women that stem from the Coronavirus. Not only an Australian issue, but personal health, safety, and job instability are also the largest contributing factors to the disparity between men and women globally. Women’s reproductive and sexual health has been jeopardized since the beginning of this year as the availability of women’s healthcare services has been decreased and considered “not essential” (Neetu, J 2020). These services include access to safe abortions, disrupted supply and access to contraceptives, treatment for STDs, and regular pap smears (Cousins, S 2020). Due to this decreasing availability of reproductive and sexual health care, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) predicts that there could be an excess of 7 million unintended pregnancies worldwide due to the pandemic and potential thousands of deaths resulting from unsafe abortions and complicated births resulting from the “inadequate access to emergency care” (Cousins, S 2020). Alike the healthcare issues being faced, the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) has skyrocketed due to a lack of available support services. Data from over 80 countries suggests that 1 in 3 women who have previously been in a relationship have experienced either physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner (Neetu, J 2020). When adding the stress of a pandemic that comes with many issues, namely financial instability, there is an expected rise in GBV, and unfortunately, that has been the case in the current global crisis. Early reports on the pandemic suggest that an increase in domestic violence has disrupted essential GBV services and groups and measures such as quarantine and social distancing has increased the occurrence of such violence (Neetu, J 2020). Therefore, as there has been a lack of accessibility to services and support, women’s chances of leaving or resisting abusive relationships have declined rapidly causing even higher rates of domestic violence and GBV (Neetu, J 2020). As aforementioned, a large contributor to increased GBV is an economic disruption or financial instability, and during the pandemic, there have been many jobs lost, however, those who are most at risk are women despite many being in the most called-on industries at the moment. Reportedly, women were not only the first to be considered when laying off employees but were also the first to be considered for cut nominal earnings as “Employers put women at the top of their layoff list whilst not always considering workers’ performance as relevant criteria for downsizing” (Kristal, T & Yaish, M 2020). It is also important to note the racial gender gap during this crisis also, as many racial minorities and indigenous groups have also seen a “disproportionately high” amount of disadvantages as many come from low economic areas and communities and have lost their jobs (van Dorn, A et al. 2020). It is apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic has a large impact on women globally, but it is important to ask the question, how can Australia minimize the impacts of the crisis and ensure that the nation is equal and fair going forward?

Many sources and reports have recommended that the best ways to combat the current issues are to create new jobs for women through stimulus spending in different industries and to increase the availability of healthcare services to women. UN Secretary-General António Guterres advocated that “any government plans for economic recovery post-COVID-19 must have leadership and equality for women at the center” (Barneveld, Kristin et. al 2020). The Australian Governments Workplace Gender Equality Agency stated that by using figures of workplace proportions of women in different industries it can be concluded that stimulus spending in the high-demand industries of education, health, and social services would create the most jobs for women (Workplace Gender Equality Agency 2020). It is essential that this issue be taken into account and amended as soon as possible as there is a potential global GDP loss of $1 trillion (USD) by 2030 if the women who have lost their jobs do not return to the workforce (Workplace Gender Equality Agency 2020). In addition to restoring jobs, the Australian government can aim to increase the availability of healthcare services to women. By assigning annual expenditures to increase the availability and accessibility of reproductive and sexual health care services, Australian women will be at a smaller risk of unwanted pregnancies, untreated STDs, lack of accessibility to contraception, and so forth. Implementing these strategies will not guarantee complete gender equality in Australia but it is definitely the most important and probable goal in the current climate.

To conclude, the impact on women during the COVID-19 pandemic has been debilitating and harmful. Women are not only more likely to contract Coronavirus due to the higher percentage of women working in frontline careers, but are severely more at risk due to inadequate reproductive and sexual health care, the rise and inescapability of domestic violence and gender-based violence, and of job instability. In order to create a fair and equitable Australia during this tough time it is imperative to create new jobs through stimulus spending for women who have been disadvantaged and by providing more available and accessible women’s health care.