New Research

Blue Labour: lessons for Australia

10 May 2012Following the defeat of the British Labour Party at the 2010 general election, Blue Labour has emerged as one intellectual antidote to New Labour and may have implications for social democratic politics in Australia.

Investigation into the National Office of the Health Services Union

Investigation into the National Office of the Health Services Union

08 May 2012Finding 181 contraventions of the HSU rules, this controversial Fair Work Australia report into the National Branch of the Health Services Union was released to the public on 7 May.

Directions in Australian electoral reform: professionalism and partisanship in electoral management

03 May 2012This book assesses Australian electoral reforms of the past 30 years using personal interview data and parliamentary debates.

Electoral and political financing: the Commonwealth regime and its reforms

30 March 2012This background note provides an overview of the regulation of political financing at the Commonwealth level including election expenditure.

Voting trends and the ALP

21 March 2012Ian McAllister, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at ANU and a former Director of ANU’s Research School of Social Sciences, discusses the Australian Election Study (AES) and its implications for the ALP.

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Citizenship

Detention arrangements—the transfer of 22 detainees from villawood immigration detention centre to the metropolitan remand and reception centre silverwater

23 April 2012In April 2011, there were several major disturbances at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre (IDC). On 20 and 21 April, a total of nine buildings were set on fire and destroyed. This led to a transfer of detainees and also changes in regulation and treatment policies.

Addressing climate change and migration in Asia and the Pacific

05 April 2012This report marks the conclusion of an ADB-financed technical assistance project launched to generate policy responses to migration stimulated by climate-related factors.

Joint select committee on Australia's immigration detention network: final report

30 March 2012At its heart, this inquiry poses fundamental questions about Australia's national identity by considering how we treat people seeking asylum and what weight we ascribe to human rights on our own borders?

Government

Legal and governance models for shared services in local government

24 May 2012Investigating models of shared services delivery, this report considers some varying legal options and models in use across Australia and provides a summary of those options, illustrated by five case studies.

Trends in Afghan-Australia relations

23 May 2012As a major troop-contributing nation to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, Australia’s relations with Afghanistan have rapidly taken on new dimensions since troops were first deployed in Uruzgan Province.

Regional cooperation towards green Asia: trade in low carbon goods and services

22 May 2012It is logical to argue that low carbon goods and services (LCGS) led growth is an imperative for the Asia Pacific countries, particularly for the emerging Asian economies, which are heavily dependent on imported energy and resources.

Commentary

Failing to plan, is planning to fail

24 May 2012Australia need to get back in the game of picking winners says AWU National Secretary, Paul Howe, to the National Press Club

A leadership code for Australia?

22 May 2012Events in Canberra suggest that it's time for Australia to follow the example of some of our neighbours, writes John T. D. Wood

All in the game: shining a light into the weird world of Craig Thomson

22 May 2012The ALP and the union movement have never liked scabs, writes Mark Rolfe for The Conversation.

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Topic Guides

Wicked problems: do they exist and does it matter?

  • Public Policy Institute - Australian Catholic University

12 December 2011Recently, all kinds of problems and issues are being called wicked, not in the sense of evil, but complex, difficult to understand and resistant to solving.

Social innovation

  • Nicola Brackertz
  • Australian Policy Online

05 December 2011Social innovation has recently been gaining attention as a way to address social and economic problems that are overlooked or not effectively addressed by existing systems.

Climate change science 'top ten' sources to build your personal knowledge

  • Stefanie Pillora
  • Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government

07 November 2011Acknowledging the importance of drawing from credible sources, this guide provides advice on ten reliable and easily accessible sources of research written for non-specialist readers.

Audio

Beyond populist politics and policies

Listen to audio
23 April 2012What does it take to make good policy decisions in a world where attention spans are dwindling and political populism is on the rise?

Voting trends and the ALP

Listen to audio
02 April 2012Ian McAllister, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at ANU and a former Director of ANU’s Research School of Social Sciences, discusses the Australian Election Study (AES) and its implications for the ALP.

Elections

Is Australia a high tax country?

10 May 2012In the lead-up to the 2013 election the Australian Institute hopes to shift the debate about tax and government service provision in Australia.

Open Net Initiative 2011 year in review

26 April 2012This US report is a collection of the year's top instances of filtering, surveillance, and information warfare around the globe.

Video

The fifth estate: the numbers game

Listen to audio
12 April 2012In The Fifth Estate’s debut event, and in the wake of Kevin Rudd’s challenge to Julia Gillard’s leadership, Lindsay Tanner, former Finance minister and ALP heavyweight, talks with Sally Warhaft about the state of the democratic process in Australia.

Centre for Public Policy- Directors Report March 2012

Listen to audio
15 March 2012On March 6 the Centre for Public Policy re-launched its programme of public forums, appropriately enough in the Brain Institute of the University of Melbourne.

Political parties

Websites

Digital Inclusion Initiative

27 August 2010This initiative aims to deliver equal and affordable access to computers and the internet to all Australians. Universal access to information and communication technology has become a basic infrastructure requirement in civil and democratic societies.

MyVoteAdvisor

16 August 2010MyVoteAdvisor is an impartial site with information directly uploaded by those trying to win your vote.

Election Watch

09 August 2010Australian Policy and History is keen to watch the uses/misuses of history in the campaigning leading up to the Australian Federal Election on 21 August 2010.

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Can nations measure well-being?
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The alternative vote in Australia: exacerbating a culture of adversarialism?
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Legal and governance models for shared services in local government
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As one: APS disability employment strategy

Books

Speechwriting for government in Australia

Speechwriting for government in Australia

  • James Groves
  • James Groves & Associates
"...an indispensible book...excellent practical guide to the art of effective oral communication" from the Foreword by Malcolm Hazell CVO AM, former Official Secretary to the Governor-General
Indifferent Inclusion Aboriginal people and the Australian Nation

Indifferent Inclusion Aboriginal people and the Australian Nation

  • Russell McGregor
  • Aboriginal Studies Press
“Russell McGregor is one of the foremost scholars in the field of Aboriginal history. The very title of the book breaks new ground because of the questions implicit in its approach…his perspective is genuinely fresh and insightful.” — Historian Mark McKenna

Noticeboard

Topic Guides

Wicked problems: do they exist and does it matter?

  • Public Policy Institute - Australian Catholic University

12 December 2011Recently, all kinds of problems and issues are being called wicked, not in the sense of evil, but complex, difficult to understand and resistant to solving.

Topics

APO