Welcome to the 45th Parliament.
The Library’s role is to provide high
quality information, analysis and advice to support you in your parliamentary
and representational roles.
We offer a wide range of services and
resources to help you navigate the myriad of issues which you face as
parliamentarians. This includes a dedicated research service that is
experienced in providing confidential, impartial and authoritative responses to
your questions. We also publish a variety of research papers on topical issues
and detailed analyses of legislation before the chambers, all written with your
needs in mind.
As we do for each new parliament, the
Library has prepared a volume providing snapshots of issues expected to figure
during the Parliament's first months. The articles give a high level
perspective of key public policy issues, including relevant background, context
and legislative history as well as outlining some of the policy and legislative
directions raised in the public debate.
The Briefing Book is organised in broad themes, covering the
gamut of public policy issues, from schools funding to foreign affairs. Many of
the articles reflect issues that were prominent during the election campaign or
in the legislative agenda flagged by the Government. Others are chosen on the
basis of milestones occurring during the early part of the parliament. Lastly,
we have picked some longer term trends that may be of interest to Senators and
Members.
We recognise the challenges that Senators and Members face
in staying abreast of the deluge of information and opinion that flows into
Parliament House. In a fast-moving political debate, a significant challenge is
to keep track of the history of an issue—the events, reports, inquiries and
legislative amendments that have led to the current position. These briefings
aim to give this context in a succinct overview.
In doing so, the Briefing Book also serves to highlight
something of the breadth of specialist expertise among the Library’s
researchers which is available to parliamentarians.
You and your staff can also draw on the wide range of
information services offered by the Library, including news services, social
media analysis tools, and academic and technical journals. In this IT age, we
also should not forget the Library’s print books, which are continually curated
to ensure the collection remains up to date and relevant.
The Parliamentary Library exists exclusively to serve the
Australian Parliament. We do our utmost to deliver the information, analysis
and advice that you need and in the format you need it, to meet the often
difficult timeframes required by parliamentary business. I encourage you to
discuss your needs with our staff and to explore what our services have to offer.
Dr Dianne Heriot
Parliamentary Librarian
Back to Parliamentary Library Briefing Book