Community as a 'spray-on solution': A case study of community engagement within the income management programme in Australia

Abstract

Community development theorists such as Bryson and Mowbray [(1981) Community: the spray-on solution, Australian Journal of Social Issues 16 (4): 255-267] argue that community is often used as a motherhood term to mask the imposition of conservative agendas within social programmes. Their theory is applied here to critically analyse the introduction of paternalistic income management (welfare quarantining) programmes in Australia that overwhelmingly limit the personal agency and choices of participants. Particular attention is drawn to the limited consultation processes used by government to justify the imposition of these programmes on specific communities despite their top-down nature, and the resistance provoked within these communities. Some alternative processes based on genuine community development principles are proposed.