An Unfinished Canvas
In times of peace and harmony national security often loses its lustre as a topic of discussion in the broader Australian community. The principle obligation of every government, however, is to ensure the personal safety and security of the Australian people, no matter whether times are peaceful or tumultuous. it is in this context that this article examines Labor’s proposals for updating Australia’s national security and counter-terrorism laws.
Philip Ruddock
Intellectual Property Rights:
How the Developing World is Disadvantaged by Global Government Approaches to Scientific Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights
This article provides a brief overview of the nature and scope of differing mechanisms of global governance that are pivotal in establishing and maintaining global intellectual property policy. Common criticisms of these mechanisms are addressed and some solutions explored for defects in the system that make it impossible for developing countries to undertake and benefit from scientific innovation.
Isabelle Guaran
Risky Business
“When things go wrong in unexpected ways, nearly everyone is wise after the event. Once the disaster has actually occurred, it seems incredible that we could have failed to foresee it. Fired up by good intentions and indignation, we become strong in our determination to avoid that particular problem next time around. we resolve to recession-proof our jobs, bushfire proof our houses and shrink-proof our assets. We quickly discover, however, that even when we act collectively through the state, our options for avoiding disaster are limited.”
Jenny Stewart
Swinging Voters in the Electoral Landscape – from the late 1960s to the present
During and after an election much commentary ensues over the question of what motivated voter choice. It is often argued that compared to the past fewer voters are ‘rusted on’ to a party consequently, with each election the army of ‘swinging voters’ grows. Swinging voters are often supposed to be cynical about party politics because they perceive little policy difference between Liberal and Labour. Are these reasonable observations and do they hold up scrutiny when the results of questionnaires conducted over the last forty years are examined?
Haydon Manning
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