This briefing paper outlines significant developments in the laws relating to political donations in NSW that have occurred since the publication in June 2007 of the Parliamentary Library's briefing paper on Election Finance Law. It has been written in the context of further discussion of reform at the state and federal government levels including the...

Biofuels are fuels made from renewable biological feedstocks, either crops or waste. There are two main biofuels with commercial prospects in Australia: ethanol and biodiesel. These biofuels currently comprise less than 0.4% of the Australian automotive gasoline market. This briefing paper outlines the current use of ethanol and biodiesel fuels in Australia, and NSW specificially...

In recent years the overall number of people, engaging in tourist activity, in Australia and in NSW, has declined. While the number of inbound tourists has slightly increased, the number of Australians, locally participating in tourist activity, has decreased. The contribution of tourism, to the economy, has similarly decreased. There is a small, but significant...

This Briefing Paper considers the issue of asylum seekers in Australia. The paper commences with a summary of the current Federal Government’s policy with respect to asylum seekers, in particular immigration detention. It also considers the Federal Joint Standing Committee on Migration’s Inquiry into Immigration Detention in Australia, which is considering a number of key...

This paper outlines the current debate over the Commonwealth Government's filtering scheme for internet content and the practice of governments in other countries. It concludes: 'With the limited exceptions of Germany and Italy, mandatory ISP level filtering is not a feature of any of the countries reviewed. In place, rather, are voluntary ISP filtering schemes...