Doctors Reform Society of Australia
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The waterfront dispute is just one example of an economic change which is persistently described as reform. We have seen telecommunications reform, banking sector reform, public service reform, and many other reforms which, if you wished to be cynical, seem to mostly involve sacking people and closing offices in country towns.

So persistently have the advocates of these changes hammered away with the word "reform" that it has become a fixed part of the debate. Journalists who are reporting in an otherwise even-handed and impartial manner will talk of "waterfront reform" as an established fact. It has even entered the strange lexicon of headlines "Defiant minister will press on for reform" said one headline of Peter Reith. The word "reform" is even used by those who are critical of the process. In an editorial in the Melbourne Age lest Saturday, it was argued that the Federal Government was deeply implicated in a possibly unlawful conspiracy, one which bore comparison to the bottom-of-the-harbour tax schemes of the early 1980s, and which might yet lead to violence. "For an administration that has placed such a high store on the rule of law and observance of its proprieties" the newspaper said, "this is a stain on its character and reputation." Strong words. But in the very same articles, the Government’s strategy was still described as "reform"....

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About the author:

Richard Evans is a policy researcher with the Communications Law Centre, Melbourne. He is a former journalist, and now teaches journalism at RMIT University. He is the author of Lawful Expression: A guide to writing skills for lawyers and other professionals.

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			This page was last updated on 10th February, 2003.
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