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Multiculturalism has been criticised for emphasising cultural recognition over resource redistribution for minority cultural and ethnic groups. Moreover, critics argue that cultural diversity fails to provide enough common ground upon which to sustain civic nationalism. This paper examines the development of multiculturalist and biculturalist policies in Australia and New Zealand, and argues that these have in fact been justified in terms of a negotiated balance between two civic values: the value of diverse cultural expression, and social justice understood in egalitarian terms. The tension between these values has shaped the debate around multiculturalism in both cases. Both the social justice and value of cultural diversity arguments are deployed to reinforce conceptions of national identity in Australia and New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses approaches to Australian foreign policy in the Pacific Islands that compare political instability in that region to political instability in Africa. The policies of governments in Australia and New Zealand toward political instability in Pacific Island nations such as the 1987 and 2006 military takeovers in Fiji are considered. The 2003 Australian Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands is also noted.

This article aims to explain a hitherto neglected phenomenon: whereas in Australia polls show widespread support for republicanism, most New Zealanders still prefer to retain the monarchy. The main argument of this article is that this difference can only in part be attributed to the polities of the two states or the just slightly varying political cultures. Rather, there are good reasons to assume that the republican shift in Australia was mainly brought about by an intense and lasting public debate on the future of the monarchy 'down under' throughout the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public management reforms in Australia and New Zealand have been proactive in engaging other organisations in developing partnerships and new governance structures, requiring heightened skills in the preparation stage of due diligence and effective regulatory processes to balance divergent interests. There are increasingly blurred boundaries across sectors with both private and charitable agencies providing services for the public good. The pattern of Commonwealth and state relations over the past decade has been centralist, but likely to change with the Labor's renewed sense of civic democracy. The regional contribution of both Australia and New Zealand is more focused and advances policy and implementation in areas as diverse as: security, governance, democratic engagement and climate change. Broader management skills are brought to policy formulation and implementation with lateral movement of employment across sectors, suggesting a new class of public administrator in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]