SURVIVING THE BELT SHOP BLUES - WOMEN MINERS AND CRITICAL ACTS

As concept, policy and practice, affirmative action in Australia has c ontinued to be the subject of political dissension. Currently, Liberal Party policy promises to dismantle the Affirmative Action Agency, whi le the Labor Government has recently added contract compliance guideli nes to the 1986 Act. Effective analysis of this institution requires t hat the political contingencies of policy-framing and implementation b e related to the micropolitics of the workplace. This article begins s uch an analysis. I argue that the current shape of the legislation enf orces its projection as a top-down 'policy of persuasion', a move whic h reflects and enhances the rhetoric and practices that serve relative advantages to men. Nevertheless, my critique of a 'best practice' org anisation suggests something more: a dissonance between their expectat ions and their hostile reception in the workplace can prompt women to mobilise against the imposition of that advantage.