|
Australia's Political Parties:
More Regulation? [HTML]
[PDF]
Research Paper No. 21 2001–02
Scott Bennett, Politics and Public Administration Group
25 June 2002
Australian political parties have to date functioned very much
as private bodies, but public demand may be forcing them to be more
directly accountable for their activities than could once have been
envisaged.
The Queensland Parliament has been prepared to make an attempt in
2002, and this might well turn out to be a watershed for political
parties in this country, for once such changes are made in one
Australian jurisdiction, it can be difficult to withstand calls for
change in others.(42 pages)
BACK
|
India-US Relations in a
Changing Strategic Environment [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 20 2001–02
Dr Ravi Tomar, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group
25 June 2002
India-US relations have had a turbulent past. It is against this
background that the Paper discusses the significant improvements in
bilateral relations that have gone relatively unnoticed. The Paper
concludes with a discussion of the implications of this enhanced
relationship for the region including Australia.
(42 pages)
BACK
|
Accountability of Ministerial
Staff? [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 19 2001–02
Dr Ian Holland, Politics and Public Administration Group
18 June 2002
This paper is about the role of ministerial staff in our
parliamentary system. It analyses the growth in numbers of
ministerial staff. It discusses the accountability of staffers,
particularly their accountability to Parliament, in an historical
perspective. It also looks at the regulation (or lack of
regulation) of the people
who work for the government of the day.(55 pages)
BACK
|
Candidates, Members and the
Constitution [HTML][PDF]
Research Paper No. 18 2001–02
R. Bennett, Politics and Public Administration Group
28 May 2002
The Paper is concerned principally with the rules that determine
who may be a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. It examines the
relevant constitutional provisions, the associated laws that
Parliament has enacted, the various controversies about the
standing of individual Members and Senators and the adequacy of the
legal framework in which qualifications questions are
determined.(78 pages)
BACK
|
Voters and the Franchise: the
Federal Story [HTML]
[PDF]
Research Paper No. 17 2001–02
Jennifer Norberry, Law and Bills Digest Group
and George Williams (consultant), Politics and Public
Administration Group
28 May 2002
The Paper deals with the parliamentary development and evolution of
the federal franchise. The Constitution allowed for the extension
of the franchise by the Commonwealth Parliament, as shown by women
and later the Indigenous population being given the vote. (53
pages)
BACK
|
Cheques and
Balances [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 16 2001–02
Maurice Kennedy, Politics and Public Administration Group
28 May 2002
This Paper examines the provisions of the Constitution in
relation to finance affairs. It examines the frameworks within
which the Executive conducts its financial affairs and on which the
Parliament and the Executive have to interact. The paper questions
whether the original Vision has been subverted. (59 pages)
BACK
|
The Federal Conciliation and
Arbitration Power: from Cradle to the Grave?
[HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 15 2001–02
Dr Andrew Frazer, Politics and Public Administration Group
28 May 2002
The Paper addresses the origin and development of the
conciliation and arbitration power by the Commonwealth Parliament.
While providing a comprehensive account of the framers' vision, the
author also details the largely unsuccessful attempts to expand the
industrial power. (86 pages)
BACK
|
Gambling: An Australian
Tradition on the Up!s [HTML]
[PDF]
Research Paper No. 14 2001–02
Geoff Winter, Statistics Group
14 May 2002
Legalised gambling facilities and opportunities have expanded
greatly in Australia over the last 30 or so years. This has led to
substantial increases in amounts wagered, net losses and government
revenues, both in nominal and real terms. This Paper concentrates
on the financial aspects of gambling and shows how these amounts
and the 'mix' of gambling activities have changed from
1972–73.(19 pages)
BACK
|
Terrorism and the Law in Australia: Supporting
Materials [HTML]
[PDF]
Research Paper No. 13 2001–02
Nathan Hancock, Law and Bills Digest Group
19 March 2002
Terrorism and the Law in Australia is in two parts:
Supporting Materials contains a series of documents on
specific issues related to legislative and administrative
arrangements:
1 What is Terrorism? |
8 Role of the Defence Force |
2 Legislation in the United Kingdom |
9 Crisis Management Issues and Structure |
3 Legislation in the United States |
10 General Commonwealth Offences |
4 Terrorism and the United Nations |
11 Extraterritorial Application of Australian Laws |
5 History of Australian Security Reviews |
12 International Cooperation |
6 Intelligence Agencies |
13 Money Laundering |
7 Law Enforcement Agencies |
(66 pages) |
BACK
|
Terrorism and the
Law in Australia: Legislation, Commentary and
Constraints [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 12 2001–02
Nathan Hancock, Law and Bills Digest Group
12 March 2002
Terrorism and the Law in Australia is in two parts:
Legislation, Commentary and Constraints describes
proposals announced in anticipation of legislation introduced in
2002 in the context of existing arrangements. It also provides a
framework and criteria for evaluation of those laws and detailed
analysis for parliamentary consideration.(82 pages)
BACK
|
Commonwealth Election 2001
[HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 11 2001–02
Scott Bennett, Politics and Public Administration Group
Andrew Kopras and Gerard Newman, Statistics Group
19 March 2002
The Commonwealth election of 2001 was one of the most remarkable
of Australian elections. A Government, seemingly on the ropes just
months from polling day, is comfortably re-elected. Unusually,
major factors in its victory are immigration and international
terrorism issues. Soon after the election the merits of the result
come into question due to revelations about its response to those
issues, and in particular the accuracy of the 'children overboard'
affair. This research paper describes the election, analyses the
result and gives a full set of figures.(136 pages)
BACK
|
The
Commonwealth Budget: Process and Presentation
[HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 10 2001–02
Richard Webb, Economics, Commerce and Industrial Relations
Group
19 March 2002
This paper is a guide to the Budget process and documentation.
It describes the the main features of the budget process, explains
key terms such as accrual accounting and accrual budgeting, and
evaluates aspects of the Budget's content and presentation.(46
pages)
BACK
|
Federal Election
Results 1949-2001 [PDF]
Research Paper No. 9 2001–02
Gerard Newman, Statistics Group
12 March 2002
The Liberal National Party Coalition Government was returned
with an increased majority at the 2001 election. The two per cent
swing to the Government in two-party preferred terms was the
largest swing to an incumbent government since 1966 and was only
the fifth time that a government received a swing to it since 1949.
This paper puts the recent election result in an historical context
by comparing the 2001 result with each election held since 1949.
(75 pages)
BACK
|
Israel and the
Palestinians: Endless Blood and Retribution?
[HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 8 2001–02
Peter Rodgers, Consultant Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Group
12 March 2002
Prospects for a settlement of the Middle East conflict are
dimmer now than they have been for a decade. This paper analyses
the origins of the renewed violence between the Israelis and
Palestinians and their respective viewpoints of the conflict. It
examines the role of the US in the region and the prospects for a
settlement, including the key issue of the establishment of a
viable Palestinian state. (38 pages)
BACK
|
Globalisation in the Asia-Pacific
Context [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 7 2001–02
Professor Stuart Harris, Consultant, Foreign Affairs, Defence and
Trade Group
19 February 2002
Globalisation represents a lot of different things to a lot of
people-parliamentarians, journalists, academics, business leaders
and bureaucrats among them. It is welcomed widely and lamented
widely-either way it is hard to ignore. The paper identifies and
analyses key questions about globalisation, giving special emphasis
to its particular implications for the Asia-Pacific region and for
Australia. (31 pages)
BACK
|
Reforming the Old and Refining the New: A
Critical Overview of Australian Approaches to
Cannabis [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 6 2001–02
Dr Maurice Rickard, Social Policy Group
10 October 2001
Cannabis, the most widely used illicit drug in Australia, is not
as harmful (in terms of individual health and public health costs)
as tobacco or alcohol abuse. However, there is emerging evidence
linking it to the development of dependence syndromes and mental
illness, and legitimate concerns about its role in the development
of more harmful illicit drug use. The paper presents the most
recent information about cannabis use and supply in Australia, as
well as the nature of the potential harms associated with
cannabis—those harms and social/economic costs associated
with cannabis use, and also those associated with the acquisition
and legislative control of cannabis. (63 pages)
BACK
|
Shaping Relations between Government and
Citizens: Future Directions in Public Administration?
[HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 5 2001–02
Rose Verspaandonk, Politics and Public Administration Group
3 October 2001
There appears to be growing public support for a renewed
emphasis on the goals of transparency and accountability,
participation, fairness and ethical behaviour in public
administration. These goals are important because they establish
the authority of citizens over their representatives. For this
reason, their rigorous promotion might serve as a circuit-breaker
to the cynicism that appears to have gripped Australian voters'
perceptions of their political leaders. This paper aims to
contribute to the discussion by providing examples of other
governments' attempts to institutionalise these goals. These
examples are taken from the Australian States and Territories and
from Europe, Canada and the United Kingdom. (51 pages)
BACK
|
Procuring Change: How Kockums was Selected
for the Collins Class Submarine [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 4 2001–02
DerekWoolner, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group
18 September 2001
As problems affecting the Collins submarines became more
apparent, some of their origins were alleged to lie in various
aspects of the process which led to the selection of Kockums to
design them. Instead, the early development of the submarines
highlights adaptation to emerging conditions and the early support
of both major Parties. This paper provides a history of the
development of the submarine program up to the selection of the
Kockums bid. (22 pages) Companion paper to Research Paper No. 3 2001–02.
BACK
|
Getting in Early: Lessons of the Collins
Submarine Program for Improved Oversight of Defence
Procurement [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 3 2001–02
DerekWoolner, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group
18 September 2001
The Collins submarine program continues to attract controversy,
the latest about decisions made in July concerning the combat
system and the location for refit work. Publicly vilified, in
reality the Collins does not rate in the top ten of the worst
managed defence acquisition programs. The real problem lies in the
nature of defence project development. This paper analyses the
Collins program and argues that changes to reduce the risk of a
re-occurrence include a broader role for Parliament.
(62 pages) Companion paper to Research
Paper No. 4, 2001–02.
BACK
|
Declining Biodiversity and Unsustainable
Agricultural Production—Common Cause,
Common Solution? [HTML]
[PDF]
Research Paper No. 2 2001–02
Helen Stevens, Consultant, Science, Technology, Environment and
Resources Group
21 August 2001
This Paper focuses on over-clearing and subsequent degradation
of the land as the major threats to biodiversity and agricultural
productivity. The example of a major wave of bird extinctions,
which is now occurring in Australia's temperate agricultural zone,
is used to illustrate the problem. Declines are still occurring
where clearing ceased decades ago, and the effects of current
clearing activity, particularly in Queensland and NSW, have yet to
be felt. The problems of the temperate agricultural zone are set to
be repeated in tropical areas. Revegetation of cleared land is
required to address biodiversity and agricultural decline at levels
considerably greater than presently occurring under existing
government programs. A new approach based on legislation is
suggested to implement Farm Plans to ensure that native vegetation
is retained and /or restored over a significant portion of the farm
area. (43 pages)
BACK
|
Internal Conflict in Indonesia: Causes,
Symptoms and Sustainable Resolution [HTML] [PDF]
Research Paper No. 1 2001–02
Chris Wilson, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group
7 August 2001
Indonesia is currently beset by a number of violent conflicts of
both a separatist and communal nature. While the relationship
between Australia and Indonesia appears to be normalising, these
internal conflicts hold the potential to adversely affect the
relationship in the same manner as the East Timor crisis. They also
threaten to further hinder Indonesia's economic and political
revival, an issue of major consequence to the entire region. Much
hinges on the approach taken by Jakarta to each conflict. This
paper discusses the conflicts in Aceh, Irian Jaya, Maluku and
Kalimantan, the consequences of Jakarta's policies towards these
conflicts and their implications for Australia. The paper ends by
suggesting some possible avenues to their peaceful resolution. (36
pages)
BACK
|