| Abstract: | During the 1990s and into the new millennium the public sector in Australia has gone through a process of so-called modernisation. This has been underpinned by the New Public Management (NPM), and the financial, regulatory and administrative reforms it encompasses. An assumption that the public and private sectors are not inherently dissimilar, and can therefore be managed in much the same way including having their efficiency and effectiveness measured against the same performance criteria, is central to the NPM. This article examines the role of comunity legal centres (CLCs) in Australian society against the background of adoption by all governments in Australia of an NPM policy agenda. It then goes on to discuss the implications of this agenda for the viability of CLCs and their relationship with government and clients. The article will also consider the implications for relationships between government and citizenry. |
