ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various stages in the policy process, draws on all the ideas discussed thus far but adding a practical element to develop a sense of how a range of actors can participate in the development of policy. The women’s movement, the environment movement and the labour movement are examples of social movements that have shaped the policy agenda of the state. The chapter argues for the importance of developing a strong theoretical understanding of policies, of their context and histories. It also argues that working with policy is a matter of working with organisations and understanding how they work and interact with each other. Corporatist approaches to policy making are a formal way of integrating key groups, in particular trade unions and business, in government decision making about policy. The language used to describe the arrival of white people in Australia has been particularly evocative.
