Electronic Voting and Electoral Inclusion: Implications for South Australia. South Australia is unique in having a highly concentrated urban population, a large Aboriginal population living in remote regions, and non-compulsory voting enrolment. The voting inclusion of all South Australians therefore presents a number of challenges. The project explores the potential of electronic voting to improve voting access among residents of isolated and remote regions of South Australia. Levels and cau ....Electronic Voting and Electoral Inclusion: Implications for South Australia. South Australia is unique in having a highly concentrated urban population, a large Aboriginal population living in remote regions, and non-compulsory voting enrolment. The voting inclusion of all South Australians therefore presents a number of challenges. The project explores the potential of electronic voting to improve voting access among residents of isolated and remote regions of South Australia. Levels and causes of non-voting will be established using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Results will be assessed against a comprehensive literature analysis of the use of eVoting world-wide. Finally, recommendations for future directions will be made.Read moreRead less
Is Compulsory Voting Defensible? If it can be demonstrated that, under the right conditions, compulsory voting is an acceptable solution to the escalating problem of declining turnout in industrialised, voluntary-voting systems, then the Australian regime will provide the ideal starting point from which to produce guidelines for the successful adoption and management of compulsory voting. Since Australia has, arguably, the best managed and tolerated compulsory voting regime in the world, the pro ....Is Compulsory Voting Defensible? If it can be demonstrated that, under the right conditions, compulsory voting is an acceptable solution to the escalating problem of declining turnout in industrialised, voluntary-voting systems, then the Australian regime will provide the ideal starting point from which to produce guidelines for the successful adoption and management of compulsory voting. Since Australia has, arguably, the best managed and tolerated compulsory voting regime in the world, the project has potentially enormous national significance in terms of publicising, promoting and exporting our electoral expertise. The project will also position Australian scholarship at the forefront of rapidly expanding global interest in the practice.Read moreRead less
Assessing the Role of Political and Regulatory Risks for Foreign Investors: A Multi-Country Study of Four Industry Sectors. This project will benefit Australian enterprise engaged in investment activities in Asia by providing them with the necessary methodological and analytical systems to identify, measure and assess political and regulatory risks to their investment interests. By doing so, the project will increase the investment transparency of Asia's emerging economies and thus the ability ....Assessing the Role of Political and Regulatory Risks for Foreign Investors: A Multi-Country Study of Four Industry Sectors. This project will benefit Australian enterprise engaged in investment activities in Asia by providing them with the necessary methodological and analytical systems to identify, measure and assess political and regulatory risks to their investment interests. By doing so, the project will increase the investment transparency of Asia's emerging economies and thus the ability of Australian enterprise to operate efficiently in institutionally complex and competitive offshore environments. This will benefit Australia's economy by strengthening Australia's national economic security and the safety of Australia's national savings invested in the region.Read moreRead less
Temporary Migration To and From Australia: Changing Patterns, Causes and Implications. As is the case in other traditional migration countries, Australian international migration is undergoing a paradigmatic shift whereby temporary migrations are assuming unprecedented scale and diversity. However the bulk of immigration research in Australia remains locked in to an earlier paradigm in which permanent settlement was dominant. This study analyses the nature of the temporary flows and the forces ....Temporary Migration To and From Australia: Changing Patterns, Causes and Implications. As is the case in other traditional migration countries, Australian international migration is undergoing a paradigmatic shift whereby temporary migrations are assuming unprecedented scale and diversity. However the bulk of immigration research in Australia remains locked in to an earlier paradigm in which permanent settlement was dominant. This study analyses the nature of the temporary flows and the forces driving them with a view to developing more contemporarily relevant theory to explain them. It assesses the demographic, social and economic impacts of temporary migration and draws out the policy implications in the Australian context.Read moreRead less
Circular Migration in Asia, the Pacific and Australia: Empirical, Theoretical and Policy Dimensions. Few issues have been more significant in contemporary Australia than international migration. It is of fundamental importance to Australia's future as it faces the global economic downturn, ageing, climate change and an ever-changing relationship with its Asia-Pacific neighbours. In the past Australia's migration relationship with its region has been almost totally seen as a source of skilled s ....Circular Migration in Asia, the Pacific and Australia: Empirical, Theoretical and Policy Dimensions. Few issues have been more significant in contemporary Australia than international migration. It is of fundamental importance to Australia's future as it faces the global economic downturn, ageing, climate change and an ever-changing relationship with its Asia-Pacific neighbours. In the past Australia's migration relationship with its region has been almost totally seen as a source of skilled settlers. However this relationship is increasingly a more complex one. Migration will continue to be fundamental to the nation's economy, society and security and this study seeks to provide an evidence base for better policy and practice in immigration and development.Read moreRead less
Linkages Between Temporary and Permanent Migration in Australia. Australia's economy and society has benefited from immigration more than any OECD country during the postwar era. Moreover it will continue to be of great significance to national prosperity, productivity and sustainability. However paradigmatic changes are occurring in global international migration systems and if Australia is to continue to maximise benefits from immigration it must continually modify its policies to accommodat ....Linkages Between Temporary and Permanent Migration in Australia. Australia's economy and society has benefited from immigration more than any OECD country during the postwar era. Moreover it will continue to be of great significance to national prosperity, productivity and sustainability. However paradigmatic changes are occurring in global international migration systems and if Australia is to continue to maximise benefits from immigration it must continually modify its policies to accommodate those changes. The present project seeks to contribute to this effort by providing a better understanding of the contemporary migration system. Such understanding is a necessary pre-requisite for the timely formulation of effective immigration and settlement policies and programs.Read moreRead less
The New Paradigm of International Migration to and from Australia: Dimensions, Causes and Implications. Population movement to and from Australia is undergoing a major transformation but much thinking about immigration in Australia remains based on paradigms of the past. Yet debates such as those on immigration's contribution to national population size and growth, the significance of skilled migration, the response to asylum seekers, undocumented movement and the role of temporary versus settle ....The New Paradigm of International Migration to and from Australia: Dimensions, Causes and Implications. Population movement to and from Australia is undergoing a major transformation but much thinking about immigration in Australia remains based on paradigms of the past. Yet debates such as those on immigration's contribution to national population size and growth, the significance of skilled migration, the response to asylum seekers, undocumented movement and the role of temporary versus settlement migration have increased. This study identifies emerging trends of migration, examines global and domestic drivers of the movement in the context of developing migration theory, explores the economic, social and demographic consequences and draws out the implications for immigration and population policy.Read moreRead less
The history of advocacy and guardianship for people with disabilities in Victoria, 1986 - 2006. The history and analysis of the Victorian Office of the Public Advocate will benefit the national community by providing a fuller understanding of guardianship and advocacy in daily action, and of the interaction between people with disabilities and the state. It will make an important contribution to understanding the changing ways that governments act and deliver services. The project will also deep ....The history of advocacy and guardianship for people with disabilities in Victoria, 1986 - 2006. The history and analysis of the Victorian Office of the Public Advocate will benefit the national community by providing a fuller understanding of guardianship and advocacy in daily action, and of the interaction between people with disabilities and the state. It will make an important contribution to understanding the changing ways that governments act and deliver services. The project will also deepen understanding of volunteering, in particular of the role ordinary citizens can play in guarding the rights of their fellow citizens. Read moreRead less
Regulatory Federalism and Public Policy: The Transformation of Australian Intergovernmental Relations. Intergovernmental relations impinge upon most aspects of Australia's public sector, from public finance to policy development, from economic investment to public service delivery. They shape the capacity of government to produce good policies and services- from childcare to aged care, from schools to power stations, from business regulation to environmental management, from workplace safety to ....Regulatory Federalism and Public Policy: The Transformation of Australian Intergovernmental Relations. Intergovernmental relations impinge upon most aspects of Australia's public sector, from public finance to policy development, from economic investment to public service delivery. They shape the capacity of government to produce good policies and services- from childcare to aged care, from schools to power stations, from business regulation to environmental management, from workplace safety to highway maintenance. A better understanding of the changing federal system is essential for improving the benefits - better policies, more efficient programs and more responsive decisions - that Australians expect from their governments.Read moreRead less
Political Risk, Institutions and Regulatory Regimes: Business, Foreign Investment and Public Administration in Asia. Rating accurately the risk environment of emerging economies has always been problematic. Insufficiently developed methodological tools and the lack of institutional and regulatory data make the process imprecise. This project overcomes this problem, developing a new industry based risk assessment system for understanding political risk to commercial activities and foreign investo ....Political Risk, Institutions and Regulatory Regimes: Business, Foreign Investment and Public Administration in Asia. Rating accurately the risk environment of emerging economies has always been problematic. Insufficiently developed methodological tools and the lack of institutional and regulatory data make the process imprecise. This project overcomes this problem, developing a new industry based risk assessment system for understanding political risk to commercial activities and foreign investors in nine of Asia's most rapidly developing economies. The study, one of the first to correlate institutional and regulatory forms to the incidence, severity and recurrence of risk, will deepen our knowledge of political and regulatory institutions in Asia and provide investors with the ability to navigate those environments successfully. Read moreRead less