Introduction: On 18 December 2013, the High Court handed down its decision in Unions NSW v New South Wales. The Court ruled that electoral funding provisions enacted in NSW in 2012 were invalid because they infringed upon the implied freedom of political communication in the Commonwealth Constitution. This e-brief outlines the decision and considers its...

Introduction: This paper presents data from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing for the 93 NSW State Electoral Districts (SEDs) as redistributed in 2013. Figures from the 2006 Census have also been included except for family income. In this case, the statistics are not directly comparable because the income brackets changed between the Censuses...

Introduction: Alcohol-related violence, and in particular violence in and around licensed premises, has been at the forefront of debate in NSW politics in recent years. A number of measures have been introduced over the years to deal with this problem. On 21 January 2014, the NSW Premier, Barry O’Farrell, announced a new package of reforms...

This January 2014 edition of Economics Indicators: NSW updates statistical information on key economic indicators, thereby presenting an updated snapshot of the NSW economy and providing relevant points of comparison with other Australian States and Territories. Statistics are updated to the end of the most recent quarter available. Most indicators have thus been updated to...

This paper summarises the debate about mandatory sentencing, outlines various measures adopted in New South Wales to place limits on judicial discretion in sentencing, and reviews mandatory sentencing laws in other Australian jurisdictions.