The Paper outlines the concerns of those who perceive themselves to be disadvantaged by globalisation. It begins by explaining perceptions of the economic, political and social threats posed by globalisation to national communities in general and the Australian community in particular. It concludes by outlining a response that adopts a middle way between the extremes of an unreserved embracing of globalisation and a full-scale retreat from the world. (26 pages)

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This is the 13th Paper in the Vision in Hindsight series looking at the central role of Parliament in fashioning and reworking the intentions of those who crafted the Constitution. The Paper explores the foundations of Australian federalism. It shows that at the end of the first century the Australian Parliament and Australian federalism have each developed in ways that the Founders might neither have desired or expected. (35 pages)

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As It Was In The Beginning is a re-release of a paper written in 1988 when the national Parliament moved from the old provisional house to the new parliament house on Capital Hill. At that time there was a degree of interest in the history of the old parliament house and the paper was designed to give a 'feel' for what parliament, and to a lesser extent Canberra, was like in 1927. As well as giving an overview of the reasons for Canberra being chosen as the site for the national capital, the paper details the background of the main political players of the time, the major issues confronting the parliament and information on the physical design and construction of the building itself. A number of photographs are contained as an appendix to the paper. Some material contrasting the Parliament then and the Parliament now has been added to the 2001 version. (49 pages)

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The mining and metals processing industries are a major cornerstone to the Australian economy and, as such, it is vitally important current and future practices need to be carried out in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner. Australia has many natural, social and economic advantages over other countries for sustaining a minerals sector that can contribute greatly to its economy and community, especially in rural and regional Australia. The paper highlights a number of these advantages with direct comparisons to other resource development dependent countries. (38 pages)

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Taking up the recent public debate, this paper examines the issue of whether a woman (or a couple) should have to be medically infertile to access medically assisted reproductive treatments like IVF and artificial insemination. The author focuses on what he regards as a threshold issue—whether it is ever medically legitimate to provide medical treatments like assisted reproduction to women who do not have a medical condition. (34 pages)

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This paper canvasses the issues that would be considered in any review of the taxation of superannuation. Its purpose is to show the inadequacies in the taxation of superannuation, and how it can be reformed. (22 pages)

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Recent events in the Pacific have highlighted the importance of land to postcolonial social stability. Currently, land issues in East Timor contain significant potential for political conflict and economic instability. Australia can play a significant role in developing an effective and sustainable land administration system, particularly by promoting political compromise and ensuring adequate institutional development. (25 pages)

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In the Commonwealth election due later this year the Government and the ALP will probably present greatly different policies on coastal surveillance. This paper analyses the management structure of the overall coastal surveillance system and assesses how this affects its effectiveness. It then studies changes that have the potential to influence future policy in this area. (58 pages)

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The ability of local governments to provide services depends partly on Commonwealth financial assistance. But how the level of assistance is determined and how assistance is distributed among local governments are not widely understood. This paper seeks to help Parliamentarians improve their understanding of how current arrangements have evolved and of their limitations. (20 pages)

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A modest Commonwealth Foresight Program would assist national policy formulation, particularly in assessing matters of future science, technology and innovation. (18 pages)

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The way governments handle risk is central to the genetic engineering debate. The debate provides a snapshot of the governance of science based issues generally. In this context, this paper reviews gene issues locally, nationally and overseas. Topics covered include gene products, the Gene Technology Act 2000, opinion polls, science and government in Australia, and obstacles to the commercial success of biotechnology. (68 pages)

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Whoever becomes US President will need to decide the future of National Missile Defense (NMD), the US program which seeks to provide protection against limited attacks by intercontinental ballistic missiles. This program is controversial in many ways: in US domestic politics, in international affairs and, potentially, in US allied countries like Australia which may be asked to support it. This paper explains what NMD is and what it seeks to achieve. It sets out the major arguments in favour of and against NMD itself, and on possible Australian participation. (45 pages)

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Many analysts predict that the dispute between China and Taiwan over the latter's sovereignty could lead to renewed tension and even war, with the possibility of a wider conflict that involves the United States and its alliance partners. This paper examines the prospects for a peaceful solution to cross-Strait relations in the wake of the election of Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's pragmatic new President. (45 pages)

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The twelfth paper in the Vision in Hindsight series looks at the effects of nearly a century of 'party government' on relations between Parliament and the Executive. The authors describe Australia's model of responsible government as 'shadowy' and liken it to 'a folly'. Warnings sounded by delegates to the Constitutional Conventions are recalled, the extent of Executive dominance is assessed, and familiar reform proposals are re-examined. (25 pages)

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This is the eleventh paper in the Library's Centenary of Federation Vision in Hindsight project which looks at the Parliament and the Constitution over the past 100 years. Unlike other studies of administrative law, the Paper focuses closely on the role of the Parliament in developing the law and the effect that the law has had on the way that Senators and Members perform their work. The Paper examines tensions between the Courts and the Parliament, including in the harmonisation of international norms and domestic legal principles. The development of judicial review principles in relation to immigration control and the recognition of human rights are used to illustrate the author's argument. (60 pages)

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This Paper provides a concordance of Postcodes to Commonwealth Electoral Divisions based on the electoral boundaries following the 1999–2000 Redistributions. The Paper lists the Postcodes wholly or partly in each Electoral Division together with an estimate of the population of the Postcode contained within the Electoral Division. (28 pages)

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This Paper provides an analysis of socio–economic data from the 1996 Census of Population and Housing for Commonwealth Electoral Divisions based on the electoral boundaries following the 1999–2000 Redistributions. The Paper ranks each Electoral Divisions on 59 Census data variables. State and regional totals are provided for comparisons. (144 pages)

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This is the tenth paper in the Vision in Hindsight: Parliament and the Constitution series being published to mark the Centenary of Federation. Adelaide academic, John Summers, has written a detailed account of the Commonwealth Parliament's involvement in Indigenous affairs in the years before the 1967 Referendum. The paper deals with the franchise and voting rights as well as with the Commonwealth's administration of the Northern Territory and Woomera and with the British Nuclear tests. (90 pages)

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This the ninth paper in the Vision in Hindsight: Parliament and the Constitution series looking at the central role of Parliament in fashioning and reworking the intentions of those who crafted the Constitution. Professor Richardson, an eminent constitutional lawyer, recounts the history of the deadlock provisions and reviews suggestions for reforming the operation of section 57. The paper incorporates a statistical resume of the six double dissolution elections. (41 pages)

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The aim of the paper is to outline some of the current issues pertaining to the use of renewable energy in electricity supply. Each of the sectors in the renewable energy mix is described with an assessment of future potential. Electricity generation from renewables is set to increase by 2 per cent to around 12.7 per cent of total electricity generating capacity by 2010. This increase will result from new mandatory Federal Government legislative requirements. (23 pages)

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This is the eighth paper in the Vision in Hindsight series looking at the central role of Parliament in fashioning and reworking the intentions of those who crafted the Constitution. The paper outlines the views of the Constitutional Convention delegates to the selection and appointment of persons to the Executive, including the public service, and to the High Court. Proposals for changes to the processes for selection and appointment are discussed. (37 pages)

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This paper reviews the reasons excises on petrol and diesel are levied, the relationship between Commonwealth road funding and excise revenue, the application of the Diesel Fuel Rebate Scheme, and indexation arrangements. It concludes that the application of the excises has been piecemeal. (20 pages)

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The recent wave of boat people has demonstrated how options for dealing with 'illegal' arrivals are constrained by our obligations under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. On 29 August the Immigration Minister announced that the Government was reviewing the interpretation and implementation of the Convention in Australia. This paper argues that the problem with the Refugee Convention is that it was developed in and for a different era. Its focus is the resulting problems that have emerged with the operation of the Convention in Western countries over the last 10 years. It briefly canvasses options for reform.(32 pages)

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A political and constitutional issue of long-standing is the question of whether House of Representatives terms should be extended, possibly to four years. During the last two years there have been a few more voices, most notably that of the Prime Minister, suggesting that this issue should be revisited, and in June 2000 the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters recommended that this amendment be made to the Constitution. This paper discusses the main arguments in favour of such a change, as well as asking if the current term ought to be retained. (32 pages)

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This is the seventh paper in the Vision in Hindsight series looking at the central role of Parliament in fashioning and reworking the intentions of those who crafted the Constitution. Professor Saunders, an eminent constitutional lawyer, gives a detailed survey of the major parliamentary and institutional influences on Constitutional reform over the past century. The paper seeks to explain the high rate of rejection of referendum proposals and maps the various attempts to give effect to the intention of the framers that the Constitution should not be a static or time bound document. (46 pages)

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As the Constitution approaches its 100^th birthday, it is timely to consider the relevance and continued necessity of section 57. This section provides a mechanism for the resolution of legislative deadlocks between the two Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament, which is unique in modern democratic constitutions. It has been used six times, and appeared likely to be used for a seventh, during the first term of the Howard Government. The paper considers the possibility that recent political developments have perforce brought about a less confrontational means of managing political conflicts. Is this a sea change, or a lull in the storm? (25 pages)

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This is the sixth paper to be published in the DPL's Vision in Hindsight Centenary series. This paper discusses the evolution of the powers, privileges and immunities of the Houses of Australia's Federal Parliament which culminated in the enactment of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987. (31 pages)

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