As there are more independent members with a party background, it could be argued that the influence of the major parties continues to be very strong, even when non-aligned candidates are successful. The dominance of the major parties in Australian politics has lead to the portrayal of independent Members of Parliament as marginal or even...

Submarine telecommunications cables link Australia to global communication networks and are vital to the national economy. This report reviews, and recommends changes to, the current regulatory regime. Due to their size and location on the seabed, submarine telecommunications cables are vulnerable to damage from activities such as the anchoring of ships, some types of fishing...

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued a final report which varies the Domestic Transmission Capacity Service (DTCS) Declaration to clarify which network interfaces are covered by that declaration. The DTCS provides connectivity for both fixed and wireless access networks, upstream services such as internet connectivity and interconnection between networks. It is also a...

In 2008 the Australian Government implemented a trial of two separate measures of income management in Western Australia - the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) and the Voluntary Income Management (VIM). The trials were conducted in the remote Kimberley region and in metropolitan area of Perth. This report presents the results of the...

The visual arts, craft and design sector makes an important contribution to Australian society and its economy. A 2000 Australia Council research study, Arts Economy 1968-1998: Three Decades of Growth in Australia, revealed that although the Australian arts economy had blossomed and consolidated during this time, visual arts and craft workers had the largest decrease...