Globalisation began during the 18th and 19th centuries with the movement of people through colonialisation and early trade of products across borders. This was further strengthened after World War 2 with increases in world trade and post war immigration. However the term “Globalisation” only became common use in the late 1980’s with the explosion of technology around the world. Globalisation is a term used to describe the integration of world economies (Edge, 2014). This can be seen through international trade, capital movements, migration and movement of people through international travel and the distribution of knowledge. The massive developments in transportation and telecommunications in the twenty-first century has had a major influence on globalisation with online shopping and social networking generating further interdependence of economic, social, cultural and political activities (Edge, 2014).

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The state will have us believe that recent reductions in trade barriers and the deregulation of world financial markets has given countries the opportunity to take further advantage of trade liberalisation giving opportunity for economic growth and reduced poverty. However many argue globalisation is an opportunity for increased exploitation of labour in a growing capitalist world that will neither benefit developing or developed countries. While large corporations benefit through greater profits by outsourcing labour to poorer countries, the people in both countries suffer through loss of jobs in the home country and exploitation of employees in the poorer countries (Lentin, 2014).

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Positives of Globalisation for Australia (Department of Foreign affairs and trade, 2012) • Globalisation has given Australians the opportunity to access competitively priced goods and services from around the world. • As a country we export over $300 billion in goods and service per year building our nation’s wealth. • Australian companies investing outside Australia are helping to create employment and wealth in poorer countries, while foreign investment in Australia helps to create wealth here. • There is evidence showing that wages in export sectors are up to 25% higher than those that simply service the domestic markets.

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Negative impacts of Globalisation • Large Australian corporations are contributing to the exploitation of workers in poor countries in Asia while reducing jobs prospects within Australia. • Trade liberalisation in agriculture has opened up markets in poor countries where Australia’s commodity exports are putting local farmers out of work. • Australia permits importing of goods from countries that allow child labour and forbid the formation of free trade unions. • Multinational organisations operating within Australia have too fewer restrictions allowing them to take wealth from our country which is not in our best interests. • Globalisation allows for the ongoing redistribution of wealth from the poor to the wealthy.

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While there is evidence of both positives and negatives for Australia and the world around the impacts of globalisation it is clear that we can never turn back the clock on progress and technology. It is therefore essential that governments look outside their own borders when making decisions which will clearly impact on the lives of many others around the globe.

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There are 3 main categories of democracy: 1. Representative democracy is where an official is elected by the people to stand on the people’s behalf and represent their needs and views. 2. Direct or participatory democracy is where the people represent themselves. Direct democracy is usually seen on a smaller scale whereas participatory democracy can operate on a larger scale through the use of referendum where choices are put forward to the people rather then decided on by the government. 3. Elite democracy theory is where the minority rules the majority. It believes a small group of economic elite have the most power and they control the state even though there is a democratic election process.

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Australia along with all modern Western style democracies are all forms of representative democracies. In this political system, eligible citizens vote for representatives to make decisions on governing the country on our behalf. Held defines democracy as “rule by the people” but states that this term is unclear. Who are to be considered the people? (Held, 1996). The Australian democracy includes core values such as: freedom of election, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, expression and religious belief, rule of law, and other basic human rights for its citizens but once again we must ask who is considered as a citizen.

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Australia currently has a population of almost 23.5 million people, however in the last election only 16 million were eligible to vote and of those 14.8 million were actually enrolled to vote (Australian electoral commission, 2014). This means that 8.7 million people, 37% of the people living within Australia did not vote in the last election. While a large portion of this 37% is under the legal voting age of 18, the right to vote also excludes many homeless people, disabled people, prisoners and people living in remote areas. In addition to this while you may have been a resident of Australia for decades unless you have gained Australian citizenship you do not share the same rights as an Australian citizen. Is this representative democracy?

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It is compulsory in Australia for all eligible citizens to enrol and vote in federal elections. If an Australian citizen is unable to provide a sufficient reason for failing to vote they must pay a penalty or legal action can be taken against them (Australian electoral commission, 2014). However even with these laws in place statistics from the Australian electoral commission show us that over 1 million eligible Australians did not vote in the last election. While we ask if it is representative democracy to exclude people; we need to also ask “Is it undemocratic to force people to vote?”

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While Australia has come a long way in making voting accessible to all it’s citizens we still need to ask whether the right to vote actually creates a Representative Democracy.

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A social movement is a group action which has a specific social or political focus. Social movements can vary in size depending on the issue they are fighting for. Smaller social movements usually deal with local issues that have a direct impact on participant’s lives such as the traffic issues residents believe will be caused by the North West Rail link station at Cherrybrook or Lismore residents fighting with Metgasco against drilling for gas which may affect their water supply. Larger social movements can include international organisations dealing with global issues, like Greenpeace whose aim is to expose global environmental problems.

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When we talk about social movements many people think of violent protests, such as the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 which resulted in hundreds of deaths of university students after a peaceful protest became a military massacre. However social movements are not about creating violent situations. The aim of social movements is to express people’s views on a particular social or political issue while creating public awareness and involvement. Social movements voice their concerns through petitions, advertising, strikes, sit-ins, boycotts and social media as well as peaceful protests and rallies.

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Social movements are a collective struggle against power, governments and authority aimed at protecting and fighting for human rights, our planet and the many other creatures on earth. Human rights social movement groups focus is usually around gaining equality. Their focus may be very wide-ranging including women’s rights, the fight against racism, equal education, unemployment or indigenous rights, but each of these social movements are fighting for equality and fairness within humanity.

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There are many groups who focus on the protection and humane treatment of the creatures we share our planet with. Some of these include the R.S.P.C.A., P.E.T.A. and W.S.P.A. Like the human rights groups each of these social movements have their own focus. The focus of the R.S.P.C.A. is based primarily around the humane treatment of domestic and farm animals. Whereas P.E.T.A. argues animals are our friends and are not ours to use for food, clothing, entertainment or experimentation.

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One of the most recent Animal welfare social movements we have seen in Australia is the fight against the culling of sharks in Western Australia. Kate Nelson of W.A. set up an online petition through change.org and gained over 32,000 online signatures to stop the tracking and destroying of the great white shark which is a well-known threatened species. The Culling of sharks has also been strongly criticised by many animal rights activists including the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Animals Australia, the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Greenpeace Australia. While shark culling continues in WA there is still the hope that these social movements may stop the government before the Great White Shark become extinct.

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