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This website is in imminent danger of being shut down. It has been online since 1995, but the personal circumstances of the owner, Malcolm Farnsworth, are such that economies have to be made. Server costs and suchlike have become prohibitive. At the urging of people online, I have agreed to see if Patreon provides a solution. More information is available at the Patreon website. If you are able to contribute even $1.00/month to keep the site running, please click the Patreon button below.


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Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2002

This is the text of an Explanatory Memorandum issued by the Attorney-General, Daryl Williams, explaining the purposes of the anti-terrorism legislation.

Explanatory Memorandum from the Attorney-General, Daryl Williams.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2002 amends the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (ASIO Act) to enhance the capacity of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) to combat terrorism. [Read more…]


A Statistical Analysis Of Question Time

The tabling of a government report into the supposed throwing overboard of children from the Tampa was the dominant issue in Question Time in the House of Representatives this afternoon.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, tabled the report which argued that the government had been misled about the incidient which featured prominently in last year’s election campaign.

The first Questions Without Notice for the 40th Parliament followed the official opening of the Parliament the day before. [Read more…]


The Axemen Cometh

This article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald on November 1, 1997.

It has stood the test of time as an insight into the Howard government’s approach to the public sector.

After serving as head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Max Moore-Wilton went on to be chairman of the Sydney Airport Corporation Limited.

Text of article from the Sydney Morning Herald.

They call him Max the Axe – and a lot more that’s not printable. With the help of other like-minded men, John Howard’s chief bureaucrat is radically changing the philosophy and practice of Australia’s public sector – and the role government plays in our lives. JODIE BROUGH and MICHAEL MILLETT report.

On his first day as the chief executive officer of the Maritime Services Board, Max Moore-Wilton drove into the building’s underground car park. There he encountered a uniformed man who stopped him from parking in the space closest to the lift. [Read more…]