In 1970, the Federal Government made preliminary moves to establish a broadcasting service in the Northern Territory for Indigenous Australians. However, Aboriginal people would not be invited to run this service themselves, nor would it be used to 'maintain' Aboriginal cultural traditions. Rather, these new facilities would deliver programs that 'informed' Aboriginals about 'plans for their future advancement'. By 1985, the position had changed dramatically. The government was now funding 'Aboriginal-controlled' media organisations throughout the country 'to restore and rebuild' Aboriginal 'cultural identity'. It was also underwriting the launch of an Aboriginal-owned commercial satellite service covering a third of the Australian continent. In this thesis, I have attempted to understand the policies that led to this remarkable change in government thinking. In undertaking this work, I have not attempted to construct a 'resistant' Aboriginal 'voice', positioned against 'the media establishment' and the state to explain these transformations in Aboriginal policy. Although such a voice routinely appears in the literature on Aboriginal broadcasting, I argue that such an approach simply replicates the rhetoric surrounding the state's own policies of 'Aboriginal self-determination' and, more problematically, masks the complex operations of government itself. It also assumes the pre-discursive existence of a particular kind of Aboriginal agency, without considering the specific conditions that gave rise to it. In this study, I have sought to demonstrate how this agency was largely constituted through the policies of Aboriginal self-determination. I argue that under these policies, the state would no longer act on Aboriginals as it had in the past. Rather, Aboriginals would be invited to act on themselves in managing programs proffered by the state. Through these means, the Aboriginal 'self' became an indispensable element in the operations of the government. However, since the Aboriginal self would be expected to carry out the work of the state, it also became the object of intense governmental scrutiny. Here, I show how a multiplicity of governmental technologies emerged throughout the 1970's that served to regulate, channel and enhance Aboriginal subjectivity in accordance with a number of governmental ends. In undertaking this task, I have focused primarily on the development of the 'incorporated Aboriginal association'. I will argue that such bodies not only allowed Aboriginal people a degree of 'self-management', but also provided the state with an institutional framework through which it could constitute both a competent and verifiable Aboriginal agency. The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association, CAAMA, was one of numerous bodies established under these governmental technologies. The development of this complex organisation will serve as the main case study in this thesis. In taking this analytical approach, I have adopted one of Michel Foucault's primary objectives which is to examine the ways in which the human subject is constituted through relations of power, and attempted to respond to the following set of queries Foucault poses: How was the subject established, at different moments and in different institutional contexts, as a possible, desirable, or even indispensable object of knowledge? How were the experiences that one may have of oneself and the knowledge that one forms of oneself organised according to certain schemes? How were these schemes defined, valorised, recommended, imposed? (Foucault, Subjectivity and Truth, 2000:87)

The contemporary global food system is plagued by a myriad of problems. In recognition of the problematic nature of the conventional food system, practitioners and researchers have sought, throughout the past century, alternative, sustainable food production, consumption, and exchange systems. Some of the solutions proposed for these problems suggest the establishment of new institutional forms such as that of the food policy council, an organisation which, through the embodiment of a food systems perspective, proposes innovative local and regional level solutions to food systems problems. Over the past two decades numerous food policy councils (FPCs) have been created in North America and Australia. Research on FPCs still remains minimal, leaving many gaps in knowledge as to the role of these organisations concerning the ways that they can and do contribute to the sustainable development of food systems and ‘alternative food movements’. Research to date on the organisational structure of FPCs lacks consideration of organisation theory and the relatively substantial body of literature dealing with evaluation of collaborative, interagency organisations, an organisational type closely related to FPCs. There is a lack of consideration as to definition of the role of FPCs within the broader context of sustainable food systems movements and the procedures and protocol for effectiveness in achieving outcomes and fulfilling these roles. Considering the significant gaps in knowledge, this research focusses on identifying a clear definition of the mission or roles of FPCs and investigates some of the previously unexplored organisational characteristics of FPCs as a foundation for identifying what may lead to ‘best-practice’ organisational structure and process in fulfilling these roles. Since there is limited information and research to date specifically on FPCs, a qualitative and more specifically grounded theory approach was taken to provide an exploratory and reflexive research design framework. This design incorporated a continuous, interactive layering of data collection, classification, and analysis. Following a preliminary literature review, the inquiry focussed primarily on the gathering of information directly from FPCs involving several different types and sources of data. Research findings revealed several aspects of food policy council objectives that can be considered together as defining the organisational role of FPCs. This provides a basis for determining the most effective administrative structure and operations management for fulfilling this role. Findings and analysis also indicated certain components of structure and process that can lead to effectiveness in terms of capacity building and fulfilling organisational roles. A model of FPC structure is developed and presented to summarise these findings, considering those components revealed through the research as contributing most to effective FPC operation. The development of this model from a broad and diverse representative sample, indicates that such modelling of structure and process may be applicable to transferring the concept of and creating FPCs in new locations.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, [2002]. / "A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy " Supported by videocassette Africa 2000: Voices of the future (30 mins.) and Aids: An African perspective (30 mins.). Bibliography: leaves 245-277.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 103-108).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-171).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 310-337).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 310-337).

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 103-108). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Also available in print.