Australians have invested an enormous amount of emotional and physical capital in their sporting systems and structures. While Australian sport has many times been dissected from a historical and cultural perspective, there is little detailed analysis of sport's relationship with government. The book focuses on sport policy, and examines the ways in which government has affected the development of Australian sport since 1919. The text identifies the political, economic and cultural context in which policies were set, and examines critical policy shifts. The book also provides a strong theoretical foundation by first discussing the underlying principles of policy formulation, and second, the rationale for government intervention in national sport. It includes a number of sport policy case studies, with particular attention to the following topics: - Elite and Community sport development - Trends in participation and sport fan preferences - Problems in attracting young people to sport participation - Improving the management systems of sporting bodies - Government policy on sport broadcasting - Tools for evaluating sport policy Providing a unique blend of theory, history and practice, this text provides an essential foundation for sport policy analysis and will be read by students of sport studies and sport management as well as professionals with an interest in sport development.

'...a welcome addition to the literature and the first attempt to synthesize Australia's sporting achievements from a public policy perspective. ... It provides instructive insights that have perhaps been masked by the "shadow" of Sydney 2000; insights, moreover, that may well inform other countries' and other governments' sport policy interventions." Mick Green, European Sport Management Quarterly, March 2005

'This book is a welcome addition to the sport studies literature as it is the first ... attempt to synthesize Australia's sporting achievements from a public policy perspective. ... It provides a number of instructive insights that have perhaps been masked by the "shadow" of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games; insights, moreover, that may well inform other countries' and other governments' sport policy interventions. ... Given Australia's prominence as a global sporting success story and the lack of specific policy-related material that maps out the evolution of federal government involvement in this story, the book should appeal to academics, undergraduate students, policymakers and sport development practitioners.'- Mick Green, European Sport Management Quarterly, March 2005

Stewart, Bob; Nicholson, Matthew; Smith, Aaron; Westerbeek, Hans