This Background Note summarises the situation regarding apple imports from Japan, China, New Zealand and the United States. Primarily the paper outlines the significant stages and processes that have led to the present situation. However its scope does not include consideration of the technical issues covered by Biosecurity Australia in the respective import risk analyses...

The recent decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase interest rates following seventeen months of unchanged, historically low rates has generated interest in the impact of this decision on the approximately 32 per cent of Australian households with mortgages. It has also prompted speculation about further rate rises in the next few months.

Since 1945, the zone rebate, and its predecessor the zone allowance, have provided a tax concession to taxpayers living in remote areas of Australia. There is special interest in the rebate at this time as part of a broader review of policies for rural Australia. This Note traces the history of the zone rebate, including...

This Note provides an estimate of the present average value of home loan mortgages and indicates the strong growth in new mortgage values over the second half of the 1990s to the year 2000. It also examines the variation between States in mortgage values and the link between interest rate changes and home loan repayments.