This paper canvasses the ongoing NSW planning system reforms. Foreshadowed by the NSW Coalition prior to the 2011 election, the reforms involve wholesale change to the planning system including the development of a new Planning Act. Reviewed in the paper are divergent comments from selected stakeholders on four key areas of the proposed reforms; these...

In this report Daniel Mookhey argues that Australia is splitting into three economies, which are increasingly inequitable, and unnecessarily adversarial. Government needs to encourage consensus, not conflict, to ensure Australia’s ongoing prosperity. The notion of a multitrack economy in Australia has become clichéd: ‘two-speed’, ‘patchwork’ – there’s no end to the labels bandied around. But...

This study aims to further explore this priority capacity building issue to provide insight to the community engagement practices and challenges of rural-remote and Indigenous local government in Australia for the purpose of identifying some practical options for supporting this cohort of councils to help them improve their engagement. The study explored: What community engagement...

Looking at initiatives in Australian and overseas jurisdictions, this paper explores the opportunities and challenges that technology presents for the casting and counting of votes in parliamentary elections. Digital technologies and the internet have dramatically altered the way Australians communicate, transact business and interact with government agencies. It is hardly surprising that technology’s application to...

This paper on the changing role of mayors, and how that role might be strengthened, seeks to fill one of several significant gaps in research and discussion of political governance in Australian local government. It reviews relevant literature and recent developments in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and concludes that if local government is...