Australian cities have traditionally relied for their water on a ‘predict-and-provide’ philosophy that gives primacy to big engineering solutions. In more recent years privatised water authorities, seeking to maximise consumption and profits, have reinforced the emphasis on increasing supply. Now the cities must cope with the stresses these policies have imposed on the eco-systems from...

The issues discussed in this paper are based on topics raised during initial discussions between Infrastructure Australia representatives with stakeholders and as a result of internal research. The paper aims to prompt input regarding how to foster an environment in which infrastructure spending decisions can maximise their effectiveness in delivering on economic, social, and environmental...

Which electorates receive targeted funding, and does targeted funding swing votes? To answer these questions, the author analyzes four discretionary programs funded by the Australian federal government during the 2001-2004 election cycle. Controlling for relevant demographic characteristics of the electorate, those electorates held by the governing coalition received a larger share of discretionary funding, and...

Tom Karmel argues that workforce planning should be built on an understanding of how the labour market works and the links between it and education and training. Workforce planning is particularly difficult for the resources and infrastructure industry because the demand for resources is difficult to forecast and the industry is made up of relatively...

The problems of identity and personal-information management over the Internet remain unsolved, despite much debate and a number of competing initiatives. Could an identity infrastructure become a shared service for use across sectors, operating in a simple and secure manner and protecting the privacy of personal information? The OII, with the support of the Joint...