In 1987, a large-scale Swedish study confirmed an association between cannabis use and the development of schizophrenia. Ever since, it has become widely accepted by clinicians that there are links between cannabis use and mental illness. Experts have expressed particular concern about the mental-health effects of cannabis use on young people, as ‘adolescence is the...

The collision between the international asylum system and Australia’s highly developed and managed migration system has played out through detention centres, in northern waters and in offshore processing centres. The latest area of concern and contention is asylum seekers in the community for extended periods on Bridging Visa E, without work rights, income support or...

International efforts to dismantle the nuclear program of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, hereafter North Korea, have been marked by limited and inconsistent engagement and distrust. One often-overlooked diplomatic process that has been continuous and has supported the development of greater trust is parliamentary diplomacy. Parliamentary diplomacy is best known as a process for...

This update points to the increasing complexity of our strategic situation and it details our Defence policy response. According to the report, serious threats to stability continue to emerge from the Middle East while in the Asia-Pacific the strategic landscape is shifting. Relations between the major powers - the United States, Japan, China and India...

In early June 2007 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), via its ongoing monitoring of petrol prices, detected a substantial divergence between movements in domestic petrol prices and movements in the international benchmark price for refined petrol.