Introduction: The issue of parliamentary salaries, allowances and entitlements continues to generate interest and comment. This research paper sets out major changes to the parliamentary remuneration and entitlements regime, including the authority and governing legislation and explains how different aspects of parliamentary remuneration and entitlements are regulated. Executive responsibility The responsible Ministers, with selected administered...

Executive summary: This report demonstrates that a serious problem exists with respect to fundamental legal rights in Australian law. Our research has focussed on the extent to which four such fundamental legal rights are abrogated in current acts of the federal parliament: 1. The presumption of innocence and burden of proof 2. Natural justice 3...

The budget’s shortcomings don’t end with the fairness problem... It has failed to win support from the voters, and failed to win support from the Senate. Why? I think there are two reasons. The first is that its measures, taken together, fail the test of fairness. That’s well known, and the opinion polls show the...

Tony Abbott wants a conversation about Federal-State relations. If the current arrangements are to be reformed what alternatives are there? How might they work and is there the political leadership to bring these ideas to life? Highlights of the Swinburne leadership dialogue series Reimaging State Leadership presented by the Swinburne Leadership Institute, 21st Nov 2014...

This report provides the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights' view on the compatibility with human rights as defined in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 of bills introduced into the Parliament during the period 20 to 30 September 2014 and legislative instruments received during the period 20 September to 10 October 2014. The...