A social anthropologist who has worked with Aboriginal people in many different regions of Australia, she has long-term research interests in Indigenous alcohol and other drug use, alcohol policy, and the social history of drinking and temperance. She has produced diverse publications on these topics for both academic and community-based audiences, including Heavy metal: the social meaning of petrol sniffing in Australia (Aboriginal Studies Press,1992), The grog book: strengthening Indigenous community action on alcohol (Dept of Human Services and Health,1998), and First taste: how Indigenous Australians learned about grog (Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation, 2008).