What can we make of the 'great debate' between Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition leader Mark Latham televised live on 12 September, asks John Uhr. Where does the Australian experience fit in the larger world of democratic politics? What lessons about the state of Australian democracy can be taken from Sunday's televised debate?

After months of wrangling, arrangements to deploy over 260 Australian police and officials to Papua New Guinea have finally been made. Helen Hughes argues that Papua New Guinea, in addition to restoring law and order, needs to implement economic reforms to put it on a growth path of 7 per cent a year. This report...

Against expectations, Mike Rann’s Labor government is functioning smoothly, according to Haydon Manning.