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States often face immigration 'control dilemmas' between popular pressures for tighter immigration controls versus economic pressures for more liberal work visa controls. Using a systematic process analysis of recent policy developments in Australia, this article argues that the Howard government's large expansion of 'wanted' forms of immigration hinged upon its ability to control 'unwanted' forms of immigration. The concept of 'control signals' is introduced to account for the government's success in exiting an immigration control dilemma, which allowed it to pursue skilled immigration reforms that would have otherwise proven difficult. A research agenda is established for examining the conditions under which the use of control signals is likely to be successful and for applying the concept to other realms of public policy where states face control dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perhaps the most potent symbol of the Howard government's faith in New Public Management (NPM) was the Job Network. Interrogating the Rudd government's replacement package, this article assesses whether the recent restructuring of employment services constitutes a post-NPM environment. It is argued that there are major post-NPM elements, seen most clearly in: the softening of jobseeker sanctions; greater deliberation on policy direction and results; a more inclusive employment super-ministry and reliance on other 'horizontal' governance reforms; and enhanced government resources for multiple-disadvantage clients. However, categorising these changes as post-NPM is problematic because the steering mechanism remains the market-based contract, a central NPM characteristic. Theoretical difficulties in applying paradigmatic concepts to services provide additional barriers to conclusive assessments, though the Rudd government's employment services regime provides a basis for taking stock in the post-NPM debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to perform two tasks. It seeks to first detail the changes to the industrial relations system entailed in WorkChoices (set against the background of previous Howard government policies in this field), analyse the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU's) campaign against it and the Australian Labor Party's (ALP's) industrial relations policy in response to it, and belated changes to WorkChoices. Second, it seeks to examine the extent to which WorkChoices (and the industrial relations issue) was decisive in Howard's defeat. This will be done by using Newspoll surveys to plot the revival of ALP electoral support against salient events leading up to the election, drawing upon early post election assessments and existing studies, and also examining the results of the Australian Election Study 2007 to see whether this new evidence confirms the importance of industrial relations in the election outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 2007, Australia's relatively liberal citizenship eligibility requirements were modified, ostensibly to improve the value of citizenship by restricting access to it. A key change involved the introduction of a citizenship test. This article tracks its development and implementation. We challenge claims of overwhelming support for the test, explore the discourses around the “Australian values” being tested, and outline the process by which the legislation was enacted (during which a number of principles of parliamentary democracy were compromised). Using evidence from politicians' speeches, we argue the citizenship test served to re-direct the Australian imagination away from a nascent “multicultural” identity, back to one redolent of the times of the “White Australia Policy”, confidently celebrating connections with an Anglo-Saxon heritage, the European Enlightenment, and Judeo-Christian roots. As such it was a key aspect of the 1996–2007 Howard Government's retreat from multiculturalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies the specific concept of “nation” that informed John Howard's politics from his time as Liberal Party leader in the second half of the 1980s to the final years of his 1996–2007 prime ministership. It compares and contrasts the constitutive, procedural and multicultural models of nation to show Howard's continuing commitment to a constitutive understanding of the Australian nation. He endeavoured to give this understanding expression at the policy level by explicitly moving against the multicultural concept of nation that had informed Australian policy from the late 1970s. The Citizenship Test, introduced in his final year of office, is presented as the final move in this departure from multiculturalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at politics in Australia in 2007. Changes made to the cabinet of Prime Minister John Howard are reviewed, noting the replacement of Minister for the Environment and Heritage Ian Gordon Campbell by Malcolm Bligh Turnbull. A chart is presented which compares the number of seats in the Australian House of Representatives won by political parties during the election of November 24, 2007, including the National Party, the Green Party, and the Labor Party. Several major issues in national politics are discussed, including the Workplace Relations Amendment Act, Howard's election loss to Kevin Rudd, and political leadership.

Upon winning the 1996 election, John Howard became the first Australian prime minister to codify his understanding of individual ministerial responsibility by publishing A Guide on Key Elements of Ministerial Responsibility. This article examines how this ministerial code of conduct was applied to significant allegations of ministerial impropriety that occurred during the 1996–2007 Howard era, and highlights the relationship between the media, the Prime Minister's response and the ultimate outcome. It finds that Howard's early rigorous application of the Guide to allegations of conflicts of interest involved political pain and instigated its decline. Howard retreated, redefined ministerial responsibility as requiring deliberate wrongdoing and raised the threshold required for a minister's dismissal. His inability to firmly apply the Guide to instances of ministerial misconduct betrays the traditional view that ministers are responsible for their own actions. The contemporary practice is that ministers do not resign for departmental failures for which they are not personally responsible, irrespective of the gravity of that wrongdoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on Australia's foreign policy from July to December 2007, which coincided with and impacted the results of political campaigns in the country. Prime Minister John Howard and Kevin Rudd's Australian Labor Party (ALP) were the main forces of the campaign. The most prominent foreign policy issues of the campaign were the Iraq war, Afghanistan, the South Pacific, climate change, and the place of the U.S. in Asian-Pacific politics. The case of Mohammed Haneef, who was arrested for his alleged involvement in terrorist attacks in Great Britain, is discussed. Issues such as Australia's position on the Iraq war and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan were also important campaign issues.

The article presents information on domestic politics and government in Australia from July to December 2007 for the whole country and individual regions like New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. During that time a general election took place in which Prime Minister John Howard campaigned to keep his position from opponent Kevin Rudd. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting was held on September 2-9, 2008 in Sydney, Australia and foreign leaders from the region came, including U.S. President George W. Bush. The outcome of the elections was that Rudd became Prime Minister of Australia. The election results of the Australian Senate are also discussed.

The Australian federal election on 24 November 2007 ended more than a decade of dominance of the centre-right Coalition government of John Howard. Despite his long reign, Howard leaves surprisingly little legacy in terms of fundamental changes, indeed, the main policy changes were already laid down by the Labor governments in the 1980s and early 1990s. Apart from general discontent with the long serving government, the environment, the close alliance with the US and opposition to work-place legislation led to the Coalitions defeat in an election, in which even the PM lost his seat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Howard era saw a further accumulation of power in Canberra and continued the marginalisation of the States. This essay locates John Howard within Liberal Party tradition and examines the way in which his own values shaped his approach to federalism. Howard identified himself as an economic liberal and as a social conservative (although he might be better thought of as a social liberal.) His commitment to small government and a single market unimpeded by state borders together with his lack of sympathy with regional identity had important consequences for the evolution of the Australian federation after 1996. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era of continuous campaigning, elections are seldom won in the final weeks of the formal campaign period. The 2007 Australian federal election saw voters dispatch a Liberal Party and Nationals Coalition government that had presided over a buoyant economy, and return the Australian Labor Party from the electoral wilderness it had occupied since 1996. The explanation of this revival in Labor's stocks can be traced to the Wheat Board scandal, the unpopularity of the labour market deregulation, and to a series of other political tribulations that the fourth Howard Government faced during 2005 and 2006. Initially their impact was masked by the failure of Labor's parliamentary leadership. But when caucus elected Kevin Rudd and freed him to position Labor as offering fresh ideas and a safe pair of hands, Labor seized a lead in the opinion polls and retained it throughout 2007. Rudd's tactical leadership of his party proved critical. This article describes how the 2007 campaign unfolded and the pattern of events which saw a refashioned ALP win an eighteen-seat lower house majority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at politics in Australia in 2006. Changes made to the cabinet of Prime Minister John Howard are reviewed, noting the replacement of Minister for Defence Brendan John Nelson, Minister for Finance and Administration Nicholas Hugh Minchin, and Minister for Family and Community Services Kay Christine Lesley Patterson. Major political issues in Australia are discussed, including the Workplace Relations Amendment Act of 2005, the removal of Kim Beazley as leader of the Labor Party, and his replacement by Kevin Rudd.

The article looks at politics in Australia in 2005. Topics discussed include the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005, the hanging execution of Australian citizen Nguyen Tuong Van in Singapore, and the record-setting number of days Robert Menzies spent as Prime Minister. The author offers his opinion on politician Mark Lantham, declaring him the worst leader of the Labor Party in history. Changes made to the cabinet of Prime Minister John Howard are discussed, noting the replacement of Minister for Transport and Regional Services John Duncan Anderson by Warren Errol Truss.

The article looks at politics in Australia in 2004. Topics discussed include the leadership of Mark Latham of the Labour party, a free trade agreement between Australia and the U.S., and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. A chart is presented which compares the number of seats held in the Australian House of Representatives by various political parties following the election held on October 9, 2004, including the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party of Australia, and the National Party of Australia. The author offers a list of members of the cabinet of Prime Minister John Winston Howard, including Treasurer Peter Howard Costello, Attorney-General Philip Maxwell Ruddock, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander John Gosse Downer.

The article focuses on several issues concerning national politics in Australia. According to the authors, the year 1999 was filled with debates on taxation reforms, the move for Australia to become a republic, and its dealings with the future of East Timor. The country is dominated by the Liberal party headed by Prime Minister John Howard who strongly voted no to retain the country's status under the queen of Great Britain, while most Australians were in favor of a republic. Furthermore, the article also includes a list of cabinet members of Howard including the number and percentage of parliamentary seats.

The article presents an editorial concerning political decisions made that will affect the indigenous peoples of Australian. The author reports that on June 21, 2007 Australian prime minister John Howard made a firm commitment to revitalize Aboriginal life in the Northern Territory. The author contends that it is the single most important decision for the region in 40 years.