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Power Without Responsibility? Ministerial Staffers in Australian Governments fro

A raft of recent political scandals in Australia has generated widespread media and public interest in the role and accountability of ministerial staffers, and their impact on relations between ministers and their public service advisers. Such scandals include the notorious ‘Children Overboard’ affair and the more recent AWB imbroglio. In Power Without Responsibility Anne Tiernan describes the contemporary working environment of political staffers, their formal and less formal roles, the challenges they face, and the forces that have escalated the growth in their numbers and influence.

Afghan Government officials and police arrive in Gizab via helicopter after the town was secured by Afghan and ISAF forces in support of a community uprising against the Taliban.
The Taliban has been ousted from a northern Oruzgan town and local government has been restored thanks to a community uprising supported by Australian Special Forces soldiers and their Afghan partner force, the Provincial Police Reserve (PPR).
In the northern Oruzgan town of Gizab, ten members of the Taliban were confirmed to have been killed in a series of firefights commencing on 21 April which saw the SOTG, the PPR, and locals take on the insurgents who were intimidating the population through violence. No members of the SOTG, PPR or locals were hurt in the battle, providing a sign of hope for the people of Gizab.
With community leaders and Government officials from Oruzgan taking the lead and the Australian and Afghan forces providing security and guidance over the ensuing days, a large meeting was held in the centre of the town to nominate a new Gizab District Governor, a new Chief of Police and their deputies. The groundswell of popular support from the townspeople culminated in an impromptu ceremony in the middle of the town to raise the Flag of Afghanistan. During this, Australian personnel managed to conduct an Anzac Day dawn service at Gizab. (Photo Courtesy Australian Government Department of Defence)

Australia is considering adopting a filter on the 'whole' internet for all Australians - an effective firewall before it get's to Australian's computers. Nocleanfeed is a movement to stop this 'cleanfeed' policy.

In the laugh-filled tradition of THE FULL MONTY, THE CASTLE is a hilarious comedy treat critics hailed as one of the year's funniest movies! Even though there's an airport practically running through their backyard, the eccentric Kerrigan clan loves their humble home. But when the airfield needs room to expand, the government says that the Kerrigans have to go! With an irresistable charm and irrepressible humor everyone is sure to enjoy, the hilarity then really takes flight when this funny family decides to stay and fight for their beloved "castle" ... no matter how far the conflict goes!

The title of The Castle refers to a ramshackle suburban tract house so close to an airport that planes fly mere yards above the roof. Worse than that, it's built on a toxic landfill and right beside humming high-power lines. But to patriarch Darryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) and his dim-witted but cheerful brood it's home. Darryl has devoted himself to constantly improving it with modifications like a false chimney that, as he brags to a man sent to estimate the value of the property, makes the house look more picturesque. When the owners of the airport serve Darryl notice that his home is being compulsorily purchased, Darryl hires a small-time lawyer and pursues his case all the way to the Australian Supreme Court. This Australian box-office smash wasn't as successful as The Full Monty in American theaters, but it has something of the same buoyant spirit. The Castle actually plays better on the small screen; its relationship with its characters is much like the farcical intimacy of classic British sitcoms like Fawlty Towers, in which crazed behavior is balanced by the genuine warmth of the whole cast. Caton in particular is a sweet, engaging presence; Darryl Kerrigan is a fool, but a fool with dignity, and he carries you through the movie. --Bret Fetzer