This paper provides an overview of the main features of the lead-up to the 2010 federal election, the issues that animated the election campaign itself, and the emergence of a hung parliament. Key findings: The 2010 Federal election occurred in the wake of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party’s decision to remove Prime Minister Kevin Rudd...

Australia’s strategy for managing national security is set out in a number of complex and interrelated policy documents that span multiple agencies. This paper summarises key parts of the federal critical infrastructure protection policy trajectory in the period 1978 – 2010. The research was designed to answer the following questions: 1. How has Australia’s federal...

This paper aims to review issues associated with the public policy response to climate change adaptation in Australian cities and consider whether the approach adopted by the federal government increases the risks of maladaptation.

Australia's federal system of government has served it well, but improvements are in order. On 17 June 2010 the Senate established a Select Committee on the Reform of the Australian Federation. On 29 September 2010, the committee was re-established by the Senate, to: (a) inquire into and report by the last sitting day of May...

From the Chair's forward When considering electoral reforms, our priority must be: enfranchisement, not disenfranchisement. It is this philosophy that has guided this inquiry and is reflected in many of the Committee’s recommendations. This report continues the tradition of examining and reporting on the conduct of federal elections and relevant legislation which has been carried...