The Australian Constitution left the states with the primary responsibility for regulating industrial relations but gave the federal parliament a limited power to make laws with respect to 'conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one state'. Lenny Roth surveys the development of this dual...

Antony Green provides data on the causes of by-elections, the periods for which seats have been left vacant, as well as the swings recorded at by-elections, drawing on a database of election results currently being prepared as part of the Sesquicentenary celebrations for the New South Wales Parliament.

Stewart Smith provides an overview of desalination plants and technology from around the world, including case studies, in the context of current NSW government policy. He also compares and contrasts two approaches to water recycling.

The debate on the availability and regulation of abortion services can at times be extremely divisive, yet surveys have found that the majority of Australians are fairly moderate in their view of how accessible the procedure should be. Whilst this paper by Talina Drabsch highlights some aspects of the current debate, it is primarily concerned...

The recent drought has focused attention on government assistance schemes for primary producers. John Wilkinson examines the emergence of government assistance and how political attitudes towards it have changed during the twentieth century. He also looks at what schemes of assistance are currently available for producers in the midst of the current drought.