AQ - Australian Quarterly Volume 80 Issue 6

Imagining a Future for Public Education Sean David Burke there has been an increase in enrolments in private schools in recent years. In response it has been suggested that we need to 'support' public education. the debate plays out in the media as if it is a polrised system. It may be, however, that the depper problems confrontin schooling are the same in each sector and across the board. If it is the case that there are common challenges in every school, then could schooling as a whole be organised in a different and more suipportive manner, regardless of sector?     Download the complete article (287kb .pdf)

  You will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this document. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, it is available as a free download from www.adobe.com 

Democracy in Place: Parochial Politics and the 2008 Local Government Election
Ian Willis

The 2008 New South Wales local government elections were held across the state on Saturday 13 September against the background of a meltdown of the State Labour government. There was the sacking of Matt Brown, the police minister, the dismissal of Noreen Hay and the removal of the incumbent premier, Morris Iemma. It was predicted by some that this turmoil would play out at the local government elections. It failed to do so: what happened?

The Way Forward
Val Wake

Imagine a world where people trade in an agreed currency, where the exchange rate is established by common consent, where trade in non-capital assets, like debt, is discourage and people deal in rela capital assets. The stock market remains essentially as it is - a casino - but no longer an indicator of the state of world economies. Is such a utopia as described possible. This article discusses a possible way forward out of the world financial crisis.

Burma's Mythical Isles
Andrew Selth

Since the Early 1990s, Burma's Coco Island group in the norther Indian Ocean has attracted the attention of activists, journalists and academics, most of who seem convinced that one island at least is the site od a major Chinese signals intelligence collection station. as these claims proliferate, they gain credibility, to the extent that they are now accepted by many observers to be established fact. Even though none of these claims have been based on reliable evidence, this myth continues to distort analyses of Burmas's foreign relations and the strategic environment of the Asia-Pacific region.

Review Essay: Death, Disaster and Dynasty: 'Blood' as Political Metaphor
Tony Smith

Victorian Young Tall Poppy, Dr Sarah Meachem
Dr sarah Meachem

Pakistan: A Divided Nation
Rachel Morris

To order this or other issues of AQ, or to subscribe, please contact us.