Is Brendan Nelson “the subject of serious seduction” in his new job at Defence? Geoffrey Barker thinks not.

This brief analyses the current conundrum surrounding the exercise of ministerial discretion in migration matters in historical context.

The accountability of ministerial staff has re-emerged as an issue during the hearings of the Senate Committee inquiring into "a certain maritime incident". The growth of ministerial staff numbers and the perception that they operate independently of direct ministerial supervision suggests that new accountability mechanisms should be considered, and this report discusses a number of...