Bush Level Bureaucrats - National Parks Rangers’ Use of Discretion in Implementing Wild Dog Policy

Abstract

Wild Dog policy in New South Wales is controversial. There is a clear conflict between wild dog control methods as specified by the policy, and the need to conserve the rapidly diminishing numbers of dingoes in Australian ecosystems. Through an analysis of the types of discretion that National Parks rangers use in their implementation of Wild Dog Policy, this thesis will analyse the way in which discretion can be used as a means of resolving conflict in controversial policy areas. An initial understanding of the background to the complex issue of wild dog management, and the legislation and policies surrounding wild dog control provides substance to theories of discretion. These theories have been applied to the interview data of nine National Parks rangers, and an analysis of their experiences in implementing the controversial policy issue. Fundamentally this thesis finds that the different 'types' of discretion allow rangers to resolve conflict and implement a difficult policy area effectively.