When one considers the range of services and regulatory functions performed by local government, it is not surprising that issues concerned with this third tier of government are never far from the political agenda. These include concerns about governance and accountability, the delivery of infrastructure, revenue and funding arrangements and, at the top end of...

This paper canvasses the ongoing NSW planning system reforms. Foreshadowed by the NSW Coalition prior to the 2011 election, the reforms involve wholesale change to the planning system including the development of a new Planning Act. Reviewed in the paper are divergent comments from selected stakeholders on four key areas of the proposed reforms; these...

This paper sets out the background to this proposed legislation, looking at the development of the relevant statutory law, along with the debate about the use of drug sniffer dogs. On 19 September 2012 the NSW Attorney General, Greg Smith, introduced into the Legislative Assembly a Bill to extend the scope of the use of...

Issues relating to small business are currently the subject of intense interest across many Australian jurisdictions. Among the many issues concerned are those relating to workplace relations, retail tenancy leases, access to finance, the burdens of red tape and unfair market practices. One indication of government commitment and interest in small business is the establishment...

From time to time a decision of the High Court is considered to have major implications for federalism in Australia. The list of such cases includes the Engineers case (1920), the Uniform Tax cases (1942 and 1957), the Tasmanian Dam case (1983), the excise duties decision in Ngo Ngo Ha v NSW (1997), and the...