In this Lowy Institute Policy Brief, Melanesia Program Director Jenny Hayward-Jones examines the significance of Fiji’s elections on 17 September for Australian policy towards Fiji. She argues that the election will only be the first step in Fiji’s transition to democracy after eight years of Voreqe Bainimarama’s military rule. Australia should use its influence to...

This paper examines the extent of an independent Australian foreign policy prior to World War I, why Britain’s declaration of war was considered to automatically include Australia, and the role of the parliament in committing Australia to war. Introduction On 31 July 1914 in an election speech at Colac in Victoria, the Opposition Leader Andrew...

The Palmer United Party recently announced its intention to block a number of government savings measures. This paper provides an overview of the distribution of those measures. The deferral of the increase in the bottom tax threshold was included in the package of measures to abolish the carbon tax. The rest of the measures relate...

During the period 1901 to 2014, there have been 44 general elections for the House of Representatives and 42 Senate elections. This paper contains a brief commentary on each election along with statistical summary information and results in each state and territory for each election. Introduction This Research paper updates the Parliamentary Library’s Federal Election...

This chronology outlines key events and dates since the early 19th century relating to the Māori language. Of particular focus are events in the New Zealand Parliament.