With four elections in twelve months it’s likely that allegations about electoral fraud will surge in 2010. In Inside Story Brian Costar looks at two court cases that exposed a striking lack of evidence behind the claims UNLIKE THEIR counterparts in the United States, Australian courts play only an occasional and limited role in federal...

WARM THE SET and cool the tinnies. While 2009 was a shocker of a year for Australian election watchers – with just one (albeit an interesting one) in Queensland in March – the next twelve months will yield four fat contests, including the fattest of all, a federal election. Tasmania and South Australia vote in...

The CSIS Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th US Presidency has released its final report. The Commission’s three major findings are: Cybersecurity is now one of the major national security problems facing the United States; Decisions and actions must respect American values related to privacy and civil liberties; and Only a comprehensive national security strategy...

The Parliamentary Library has obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) unpublished Estimated Resident Population (ERP) data as at 30 June 2007 and 2008 for Commonwealth electoral divisions (or seats). This allows analysis of various aspects of population change for divisions over the period 2007 to 2008 on a consistent conceptual and geographic basis...

This paper analyses data from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing for the NSW State Electoral Districts (SED). Data was provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in relation to the State electoral boundaries as redistributed in 2007. A profile is included for each SED giving details of population and other selected census characteristics...