This briefing paper looks at the development of personal information privacy law in New South Wales. It examines the historical context in which privacy emerged as a significant concern that warranted statutory protection and regulation. The paper commences by identifying the imprecise nature of concepts of privacy and difficulties in providing a comprehensive definition. Consideration...

This paper discusses the regulation of political lobbyists as at 2 June 2008. It takes a comparative approach, looking at current and proposed schemes in Australia and in selected overseas jurisdictions. It asks what is the best and most effective regulatory scheme to safeguard and nurture confidence in the democratic system?

This paper considers the problems facing transport policy in large cities. As the world’s cities have become home to the vast majority of their national population, governments are faced with the challenge of providing transport infrastructure to accommodate the needs of their citizens. In many of the world’s largest cities, the majority of travel is...

Evidence exists of differences in levels of achievement between country and city students in New South Wales, and governments have attempted to respond by instituting programs to enhance achievement. Retaining students, to year 12, appears to be a particular issue in providing education to students in rural areas. This paper surveys and evaluates government initiatives.

The Report of the Commonwealth / NSW Working Party on Migration to Sydney and Regional NSW was jointly endorsed by the NSW Premier and the Commonwealth Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs in 2004. The report identified a number of strategies for a whole-of-government approach to promoting business and skilled migration to regional...