Sarah Miskin and Greg Baker examine political finance disclosures under the current and proposed thresholds, using the annual returns of the major parties (the Liberal Party, the Nationals and the ALP) for the financial years 1998–99 to 2003–04. Proposed amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act currently before parliament include measures to raise the thresholds for...

Ray Jordan provides background on the 1980s proposal by the Labor government to introduce a national identity card (the Australia Card), its subsequent defeat, and on current initiatives by the Coalition government to consider an ID card in an effort to deter crime and terrorist activity. Links are provided to some key documents and internet...

The influence of housing costs on the economic well-being of Australian households at a regional level and the regional impact of housing assistance on financial disadvantage is as yet relatively unexplored.

This paper presents and analyses statistical information relating to social capital in Australia and its regions. It also explores the relationship between social capital and the economic and social wellbeing of Australia's regions.

The Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa) migrates annually to the highest peaks in the Southern Alps where millions spend the hot summer months aestivating in deep, dark crevices in rock caves among granite boulders. Parliament House disrupts the flight of the moths, writes Bill McCormick, and acts as a giant light trap for moths migrating through...