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In 1950 the first four Solomon Islanders were nominated for the Advisory Council. Further constitutional reforms were made between 1960 and 1978, slowly preparing the Protectorate for a transfer of power through a unitary state operating under the Westminster system. British policy was guided by previous colonial experiences in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and to a limited extent by local circumstances, particularly through constitutional review committees. This paper addresses three central questions. Did Solomon Islanders make their own decisions when establishing the structure of their constitution and parliament, or were these decisions made for them by British and other advisers? What attempts were made to include Indigenous political structures in the governing process? To what extent did events elsewhere influence Solomon Islands political development?

Parliamentary Inquiries into the adequacy of child protection services, as well as best practice care and service delivery in child protection, have been a dominant feature of contemporary Australia in recent times. The direct voices of children and young people in such inquiries are usually missing, despite them being at the very centre of the child protection system and a range of government policies. In this paper we reflect upon this issue and consider why these voices are absent and what factors and barriers limit their inclusion. A review of relevant literature and empirical data indicates that the structures, agendas and processes of such Inquiries are intrinsically adult-oriented endeavours in which the contributions and inclusion of children and young people are not easily accommodated. Through adopting a shift in perspective, orientation and practice, the voices and experiences of children and young people can be included in child protection Inquiries that have critical implications for the quality of their lives and their life chances. Such inclusions uphold the rights of children and young people and support the implementation of government policy in practice.

In June 2010 the Secretary of State for Education in England asked Professor Eileen Munro, Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics, to conduct an independent review of child protection in England. As Professor Munro says in her third and final report, she: ‘sets out recommendations that taken together, will help to reform the child protection system from being over bureaucratised and concerned with compliance to one that keeps a focus on children, checking whether they are being effectively helped, and adapting when problems are identified.’ This article, which is a selective review of the final report, firstly cites the principles of an effective child protection system and then the principles to guide ‘risk-sensible’ decision-making as put forward in the report. It concludes with the 15 major recommendations of the Munro report and makes some comment and comparisons with recent Australian state- and territory-based reviews of child protection services.

In the Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection in New South Wales, Recommendation 16.9 states: ‘Carer allowances should be reviewed periodically by an independent body and should more closely reflect the actual costs to the carer of providing care, according to the varying categories of need’ (Wood, 2008, p. 689). In 2000, estimates of the costs of foster children were developed (the Foster Care Estimates) by an ‘independent body’, the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC). Using a budget standards approach, estimates representing the ‘basic’ subsidy were based on the costs of children not in care and adjusted to more closely reflect the day-to-day cost of fostering children in statutory care. Since 2000, the estimates have been updated annually (using the Consumer Price Index). This article examines the changes to levels of allowances for statutory foster and kinship carers in all Australian jurisdictions over the period 2000–2009. It argues that the use of the internationally recognised budget standards approach to estimate ‘actual costs to carers’ has been accepted by government and more than meets the requirements of Wood's Recommendation 16.9.

This paper considers how various health agencies in New South Wales have responded to the issue of air pollution, particularly in Port Kembla since the end of World War II when levels rose dramatically and residents began calling for something to be done. Several shortcomings surrounding the production of the report of the NSW government-appointed Smoke Abatement Committee in the 1950s created the foundation for a tradition of inadequate research into the effects of industrial contamination on public health, and of legislation which sought to address environmental amenity rather than risks to public health. The reopening of a copper smelter in Port Kembla in 1997 demonstrated a continued policy to relegate the impacts on public health to a low priority consideration and is a damning refl ection on more than fifty years of inquiry.

During 2002, the Australian Education Minister conducted a year-long review of tertiary education under the title Higher Education at the Crossroads. The policy statement arising from that review was released on 13 May 2003. It incorporates a combination of new financial incentives on students and universities, potential expansion of full-fee places, and increased intrusion into university priority setting. The policy statement promised a $A1.5b expansion in funding over four years, with more fully-funded university places, and an emphasis on improving the quality of teaching and learning. The strategy is market-driven and could create a \"fee-culture'\" in Australian universities. Implementation of the new policy is not assured as it has to pass a hostile Senate. The implementation process also carries risks for government and universities. This paper describes the government's proposals and analyses their premises and effects. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).