The curious case of Julian Assange

Over the last few months there has been an enormous amount of material written in Australia and abroad about Julian Assange and the possible legal consequences that may flow from the publication of classified government material on his now famous WikiLeaks website. Similarly, and coinciding with this interest in WikiLeaks, there has been a huge amount of speculation in the media about his alleged sexual activities in Sweden earlier in the year and about the case being prepared by the Swedish public prosecution office in relation to a number of alleged sexual offences. This FlagPost entry will not draw upon such speculation or attempt to add to it. Rather, it will simply examine the ambit of Sweden’s sexual crimes legislation as it may apply to Assange.

New paper on revenue forecasting accuracy and the independence of forecasters

Thiess Buettner and Bjoern Kauder have released a paper in the September 2010 edition of the journal Fiscal Studies on government revenue forecasting practices and the consequences of forecasting performance. The object of analysis is the one-year ahead deviation of the forecast from the actual outcome, and various descriptive statistics. Revenue forecast errors for twelve OECD countries (including two competing institutions in the United States, the Congressional Budget Office which deals with the legislative branch of government, and the Office of Management and Budget, which is a part of the executive branch) are examined using panel data estimation techniques.

When is government paternalism justifiable?

A core assumption of liberal societies is that individuals are the best judge of their own interests and therefore are best placed to make choices about how to live their lives. But what if a choice—say, to take adictive drugs or to smoke—is likely to be detrimental to the person involved? Can governments be justified in interfering with individual choices in the interests of the person concerned? This question is examined in the new Parliamentary Library Research Paper, Paternalism in social policy—when is it justifiable? 

Department of Health's FOI release - challenges ahead for health reform

Various government departments have made publicly available incoming government briefs that have been released under Freedom of Information. Despite sections of the briefs having been blacked out they provide an insight into the workings of government and the advice provided to Ministers in the post-election environment. The Department of Health and Ageing’s (DoHA) incoming government brief provides an overview of the health system and arrangements for implementing health reforms begun during the previous parliament. The brief also lists key decisions for the Minister to make in the first four months.

Islamic finance

In October 2010, the Board of Taxation published a discussion paper on the Review of the Taxation Treatment of Islamic Finance. This discussion paper was in response to the Australian Financial Centre Forum (AFCF) which recommended in its November 2009 report that the impediments to Islamic finance in Australia be considered by the Board of Taxation. The AFCF was established in September 2008 by the then Assistant Treasurer to discuss options for positioning Australia as a leading financial services centre. This post presents some of the key characteristics of Islamic finance and the opportunities for reform in Australia.

Perceptions of Australia's health care system

Perceptions of the health care system are difficult to measure and there is very little comprehensive information about how Australians perceive the heath care system. The Menzies Centre for Health Policy and the Nous group recently completed a survey (Menzies-Nous 2010 survey) on Australians' attitudes to the health care system. This is a repeat of the survey completed in 2008, on which the 2010 survey was based.

Market concentration in the banking sector - household loans

Recently, there has been considerable concern amongst politicians, the media and the broader community regarding competition in the Australian banking sector. Specifically, concerns have been raised regarding banks increasing certain lending rates over and above rises in the RBA’s official cash rate, particularly for housing loans. This observation has led to a debate about collusion and ‘price-signalling’ within the banking sector. This post examines data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on market shares and concentration in the household lending sector to see whether there has been any increase in the capabilities of financial institutions to use market power to their advantage.

Sitting days for 2011

The sitting pattern for the House of Representatives was issued on 22 November 2010. In 2011 the House is scheduled to sit for 68 days (or 71 if required). The mean number of sitting days since 1996, in non-election years, is 70.5 days.

Constitutional recognition of Indigenous people

During the course of the election campaign both major parties made announcements about constitutional recognition of Indigenous people. The Coalition promised to hold a referendum at the 2013 election on the wording of a preamble in the Constitution to recognise Indigenous Australians, and the ALP promised to set up an expert panel to build support for the constitutional recognition of Indigenous people.  

Opposition Youth Allowance bill referred to committee

A Private Member's Bill, introduced by Senator Fiona Nash, seeking to make it easier for students in inner regional areas to qualify for Independent Youth Allowance has been referred to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee for inquiry and report by 15 February 2011. The purpose of the bill, the Social Security Amendment (Income Support for Regional Students) Bill 2010, is to require that the eligibility criteria for students on Independent Youth Allowance from very remote, remote and outer regional areas be extended to include inner regional students.

Background to this issue can be found in a recent post on Senator Nash's Bill and a related House of Representatives motion introduced by Opposition Whip, Nola Marino (and passed by 74 votes to 70).

High Court ruling on the offshore processing of asylum claims

On 11 November 2010 the High Court delivered its much anticipated judgment in the cases of Plaintiff M61/2010E v Commonwealth of Australia; Plaintiff M69 of 2010 v Commonwealth of Australia [2010] HCA 41. The plaintiffs were asylum seekers intercepted and initially detained on Christmas Island. Although subsection 46A(1) of the Migration Act bars visa applications by such asylum seekers (known as ‘offshore entry persons’ under the Migration Act), the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has the personal discretion to lift the bar under that provision, or to grant a visa under section 195A, if in the public interest. However, neither section imposes a duty on the Minister to consider exercising the discretion.

Private health insurance premium increases

The private health insurance sector has begun its annual process of negotiating premium increases with the federal government. To most, the process of—and indeed the need for—negotiating premium prices with government is a little mysterious. A Background Note prepared by the Parliamentary Library provides an overview of the current process for seeking premium increases. Under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007, private health insurance funds must seek the Minister for Health and Ageing’s approval for all premium increases; and the Minister must publicly disclose reasons for not approving an increase.

Independent review of aid effectiveness

On 16 November 2010, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd announced an ‘Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness’ which will examine the effectiveness, efficiency and strategic direction of Australia’s aid program ‘in line with Australia’s national interests’.  It is expected to be completed by April 2011 and will be the first major review of the program since the Simons Review commissioned by the Howard Government in 1996.

Australian Government funding for schools

A recently published Background Note from the Parliamentary Library shows that Australian Government funding for schools will increase in real terms (in 2008–09 dollars) from $6.9 billion in 1999–00 to $11.5 billion in 2011–12. This means that funding for government schools will increase from $2.8 billion to $4.4 billion and, for non-government schools, from $4.2 billion to $7.1 billion.

Attitudes to same-sex marriage

The Federal Parliament is currently debating a motion on same-sex relationships moved by Adam Bandt—the recently elected Australian Greens party member for the seat of Melbourne. The motion notes there is ‘widespread support for equal marriage in the Australian community’ and calls on ‘all parliamentarians to gauge their constituents’ views on the issue of marriage equality’. As a result of this and other related debate, there is currently great interest in what public opinion polls may be able to tell us regarding changing attitudes towards same-sex marriage.

Australian report on Bisphenol A

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released its report on Bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging and the risks to consumers. The compound BPA has a controversial history. It is suspected of being an endocrine disruptor (a chemical that mimics some of the natural hormones of the human body). It can also be directly toxic at high enough doses. More recent studies have found a range of other possible adverse effects from BPA, but this research is still preliminary and subject to confirmation.

Conscience votes in the federal Parliament

On 29 September 2010 the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, introduced the Restoring Territory Rights (Voluntary Euthanasia Legislation) Bill 2010 into the Senate. All political parties have granted their senators and members a conscience vote on this legislation. This is the first conscience vote in the federal parliament since the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill was debated in 2006.

Opposition seeks changes to eligibility for Youth Allowance for inner regional students

The House of Representatives has passed by 74 votes to 70 a motion by Opposition whip Nola Marino ‘requiring’ the Government to introduce legislation that would make it easier for students in inner regional areas to qualify for independent Youth Allowance. Meanwhile, in the Senate, National Party Senator, Fiona Nash, has introduced a private members bill that seeks to introduce a measure along the same lines as that proposed in Ms Marino’s motion.

This issue has its origins in substantial changes to student assistance that the Rudd-Gillard Government introduced through the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Income Support for Students) Bill 2009.

10th anniversary of the landmark UN convention on Women, Peace and Security

October 2010 marks two important anniversaries for the United Nations (UN)—the 65th anniversary of the UN’s establishment (24 October), and the 10th anniversary of a landmark UN Security Council Resolution (SCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security (31 October). Australia’s priorities and actions towards implementing and promoting SCR 1325 are outlined below.

Parliamentary Library Vital Issues Seminar—Australia’s role and commitment in Afghanistan

This seminar, held on 20 October 2010, featured distinguished speakers Major General Jim Molan AO DSC and Mr Geoffrey Barker who provided contrasting perspectives on Australia’s continued involvement in Afghanistan. The seminar was chaired by Senator Russell Trood.