On 8 September 2005, Prime Minister John Howard announced a number of proposed changes to Australia's counter-terrorism laws with the aim of enabling Australia to 'better deter, prevent, detect and prosecute acts of terrorism'. This compilation of references reflects the reaction to the proposed counter-terrorism measures and the outcomes of the COAG meeting; it will...

In this e-brief Sue Harris-Rimmer summarises recent developments and key issues in legal debates about refugee and immigration law in Australia. She provides links to web sites and material covering reports, case law, inquiries and legislation.

The debate on the availability and regulation of abortion services can at times be extremely divisive, yet surveys have found that the majority of Australians are fairly moderate in their view of how accessible the procedure should be. Whilst this paper by Talina Drabsch highlights some aspects of the current debate, it is primarily concerned...

Following the first anniversary of the ACT Human Rights Act 2004, Gabrielle McKinnon examines the impact of the legislation on rights protection in the Australian Capital Territory. Her review covers impact on the courts, on legislation and on policy development.

There is no internationally accepted legal definition of terrorism. States often use the term in contradicting ways and their judgement of whether a terrorist act occurred depends on their interests or on the angle they view the situation from, rather than on an analysis of the situation based on a concept of terrorism. Anna Goppel...