Inflammatory rhetoric during the current parliamentary election campaign could reignite violent tensions in Timor-Leste, according to this briefing paper, which explores the political environment as the young country faces a key vote on 30 June. Successful elections could strengthen political institutions and thus be an important part of nation-building for a country badly shaken by...

Introduction Many Members of Parliament (MPs) aspire to ministerial office. Kim Beazley Jr once said: ‘being a minister, that really was something special from the moment I got it’.1 Garfield Barwick was said to have arrived at the Attorney-General’s office with ‘more ideas than a dog has fleas’.2 A lack of preferment, on the other...

Australian politicians are out of step when it comes to community concerns about aid. Aid/Watch's survey of Federal Parliamentarians and community members on their knowledge and opinions on Australian aid, has found a pronounced polarity between politician's preferences for benefiting the national interest and public support for a clear focus of aid on poverty alleviation...

SUMMARY The number of women parliamentarians in Australia is gradually increasing; almost onethird of all parliamentarians in Australia are women. Whilst there is still a need for improvement before the numbers balance, it is clear that women politicians have become a regular feature of the political scene. This paper is concerned with the subject of...

This background paper, which reflects the law as at 1 March 2007, discusses questions and issues in parliamentary privilege that continue to be the subject of debate or uncertainty. These include the law relating to: the execution of search warrants, the issuing of subpoenas and orders for discovery in Parliament; the 'effective repetition' of statements...