This paper presents lessons learned from gender-smart public procurement initiatives in Australia, the United States and Chile, as well as outlining regional-level obstacles to the development of such initiatives in the European Union.

This publication examines what role the G20 can play in international development. Key findings: Development is a key component of the G20, but there are concerns over the effectiveness of the current development agenda. The criticism includes that the development agenda is too diffuse and mostly distant to the G20’s main activities. But the G20...

In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part II, a pretender to the throne outlines the Utopia that will come when his unruly mob helps make him king. The unruliest of them all, Dick the Butcher, leers in an aside to the audience, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Wherever and whenever it is...

This discussion paper describes the rise of character provisions in Commonwealth laws over the last ten years. The use of character testing has increased in traditional areas, such as migration and citizenship, and has moved into new areas of law, such as the employment of persons in critical industries and criminal law. The first time...

In this talk at the Manning Clark House Weekend of Ideas, the acting director of The Australia Institute posits that, without any evident philosophical reflection, a series of changes to character tests under Australian law testify to the fact that in this country, character is increasingly destiny.