Since it commenced in 2003, the Regional Partnerships Programme has come under considerable scrutiny. In this audit report the ANAO concludes that the program's administration was not always seen to be transparent, accountable or equitable and that it fell short of an acceptable standard of public administration. The Regional Partnerships Programme is a very flexible...

Balancing work and family responsibilities is an increasingly significant concern not only for individual employees, their families and the broader community, but also for government and local communities. However little attention has been paid to the different ways in which constraints and opportunities for work and family balance operate across industry in regional and rural...

This report draws out key trends and factors of growth and competitiveness, and identifies some major dilemmas for policymakers.

Rachel Lloyd, Mandy Yap and Ann Harding examine trends in income for different regions of Australia between 1996 and 2001, using census data. Most regions and states experienced strong income growth during the five years, although incomes in the capital cities remained much higher than in other areas of Australia. Sharp rises in housing costs...

The Queensland sugar industry is once again pleading for more government assistance. Alex Robson argues that such assistance does more harm than good and that the best course of action may be to abandon the notion of targeted regional assistance altogether.