With their knowledge and insights into various aspects of public administration, whistleblowers are able to cast light on issues that might otherwise remain in darkness. This report looks at new legislative protection proposals in New South Wales. The report aims to untangle the complex web of whistleblowing and to identify the circumstances in which whistleblowing...

This briefing paper provides a brief overview of the key changes to homelessness policy that were introduced in December 2008 by the federal government’s white paper on the issue. It provides a brief discussion about the different definitions of homelessness and considers the number, location and characteristics of homeless people in Australia and NSW, and...

This paper explores what is meant by sustainable development, considering the different definitions which have been proposed for the term and the debate around the concept as it has evolved. It then considers some of the approaches that have been taken to measuring sustainability using composite indicators and sets of indicators. Finally it sets out...

New South Wales has been experiencing a massive re-organisation of production, from the period of Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community (1973) and throughout the subsequent global slumps of 1973-74, 1980-81 and 1990-92. Agriculture (which contributed significantly to the state’s exports), and manufacturing (which produced relatively large quantities of goods for the local market)...

Parliamentary privilege concerns the powers, privileges and immunities from aspects of the general law conferred on the Houses of Parliament, their members, officers and committees. This paper starts by defining the subject, before looking at parliamentary privilege in the context of a wider constitutional setting, in relation to its underlying purpose, by reference to such...