This paper reviews the current state of play in NSW with respect to the public and private funding of political parties and examines the possibility of instituting bans or caps on political donations and/or campaign expenditure. The paper also builds on the issues considered in the earlier publication, Political Donations Law Update (0) (PDF). Image...

This report recommends that the Commonwealth adopts a system of automatic enrolment of voters similar to the proposed New South Wales system.

In September 2009, the National Human Rights Consultation recommended that the federal government draft and enact a charter of rights. Opponents of a federal charter have vehemently argued against the institutional changes that such a law would bring to Australian governance, while supporters have saluted its moral brilliance and ability to improve government provision for...

Does faster economic growth increase pressure for democratic change, or reduce it? Using data for 154 countries for the period 1963-2007, the authors examine the short-run relationship between economic growth and moves toward and away from greater democracy. To address the potential endogeneity of economic growth, they use variation in precipitation, temperatures, and commodity prices...

The final report of the Government 2.0 Taskforce led by Nicholas Gruen. The use of the internet as a platform for collaboration is already transforming our economy and our lives. Whole industries and sectors are being refashioned by this phenomenon of Web 2.0. Citizens are being empowered to express themselves, organise and collaborate in myriad...