Australia is leading a 2200‑person strong mission to restore law and order in the Solomon Islands. While the operational focus is, rightly, on the force's police component, the force also includes 1500 Australian military personnel as well as 300 military personnel from Pacific island states. All but a couple of hundred are logistic support troops...

A nuclear test by North Korea would alter the security framework of North East Asia in two distinct areas - proliferation and operational restraint.

The current situation in the Solomons has come about because of a lack of economic progress, declining living standards and the weakness of political institutions inherited from Britain. The crisis is symptomatic of the problems of creating a modern state in a Melanesian society where traditional power relations are not always conducive to representative institutions...

In the 2003-04 Budget the federal government proposed changes to the way some fuels are taxed. The proposals, if implemented, would have important consequences. This Current Issues Brief examines the background to the proposals and their possible consequences.

During the 1996 federal election the Coalition announced that it would legislate to allow employees to choose where their superannuation contributions were paid (choice of fund). The current choice of fund bill is the third attempt to implement the 1996 election announcement. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission, in conjunction with the Australian Consumers Association...