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This article focuses on a hitherto underexplored but increasingly important area of public expenditure: act of grace payments. Act of grace payments are voluntary, highly discretionary gifts of money made by the executive in the absence of any legal duty to do so. The expenditure on such payments in Australia has been significant, and a lack of transparency creates serious risks to integrity. Further, the cases of Pape v Federal Commissioner of Taxation, Williams v Commonwealth and Williams v Commonwealth [No 2] have transformed the constitutional framework for public expenditure. Accordingly, this article conducts a fine-grained analysis of the constitutional legality of act of grace payments at the Commonwealth, state and territory levels. The authors argue that there are significant constitutional issues with act of grace payments at the Commonwealth level, and that many state-based act of grace payments are likely to be illegal. To address these issues, and to reduce the risk that payments will be made illegally, the authors recommend several legislative and soft law changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the phenomenon of Australian 'street libraries'. Enthusiasts have suggested that they contribute to their communal fabric, providing increased sociability and promoting reading and literacy. Street libraries have been associated with 'placemaking' activities. Seen as part of the 'gift' economy, their 'Take a book. Give a Book. Share a Book.' motto promotes their role in recycling. International research has contested some of these claims, with some critics suggesting their role in addressing 'book deserts' is limited, that they represent a highly individualised paternalism by social and economic elites, and they are associated with the neoliberal assault on public libraries. This paper finds mixed evidence in support for the views of advocates and critics. Australian street libraries are skewed towards localities with the highest socio-economic measures of advantage. They are less 'interventions' into the landscape, as associated with private ownership. Street librarians are not, however, disproportionately urban, and their maintainers have greater economic diversity than their 'elite' characterisation would imply. Street libraries can be seen as an example of a gift economy, recycling about $11 million in value in 2021. In addition, some social capital advantages in establishing and maintaining a street library can be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For contracts made from 1 July 2016, the new CGT withholding regime will require a purchaser of high-value Australian land from a non-resident vendor to withhold and pay up to 10% of the purchase price to the Commissioner. The new withholding rules can potentially apply regardless of the vendor's tax residency status. Deeming provisions are in place to captur e acquisitions fr om residents unless an A TO-issued clearance certificate is obtained. The regime is not limited to purchases and can apply to transactions for which there is no cash consideration, such as gifts, matrimonial property settlements, deceased estate distributions and in-specie trust distributions. Without appropriate action, the regime has the potential to operate as a de facto gift or death duty on high-value transfers of land without cash consideration. This article examines the operation of the new rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Events of 2014, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland, have sharpened focus on the relation between money and politics, with calls for increased regulation of donations to, and expenditure by, political parties. This is despite the existence of other features of our political system seeking to limit corruption, like disclosure laws, anti-corruption bodies, independent media, and Australia's standing as one of the least corrupt countries. This paper considers whether caps on political donations and limits on election spending are consistent with the Australian Constitution. The High Court has found that document requires freedom of political communication. This is subject to laws passed to further a legitimate objective, where their impact on the freedom is proportionate to a legitimate objective. Here, likely justifications for such restrictions are the need to reduce corruption and to create a level playing field. This article challenges both arguments, suggesting such restrictions are constitutionally invalid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines three recent high-profile cases involving gifts and benefits to police. The cases, two from Australia and one from England, involved both frontline officers and senior managers. The analyses track the unfolding scandals, and how they were investigated and evaluated by official inquiries. In two of the cases, gifts and hospitality were enmeshed with wider forms of corruption. The official inquiries identified how gratuities undermined public confidence in the impartiality of police, and how inappropriate gifts and benefits were facilitated by liberal policies and deficient leadership. The paper concludes by arguing that police need to adopt a highly restrictive policy on gratuities, and follow through with effective forms of compliance management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the legal framework governing the conditional donation of gifts and biobanking in Australia. Topics include the use of tissue banks for medical research purposes, the use and ownership of donated tissue, and the res nillius rule. Information is provided on the law governing tissue donation.

The article focuses on Australian Aboriginal peoples in Australia and their traditional contact behaviour. It mentions that these indigenous peoples have either expanded or lost contact with the people from other countries as well as from their trading partners. Meanwhile, Aboriginal nations have set rules for each tribe in dealing with strangers, involving negotiations through clan spokesmen. Strangers are required to wait on the territory border and to offer gifts to their hosts on arrival.

This study investigates the antecedents to clothing disposal methods in two countries: Scotland and Australia. Increasing volumes of textiles are disposed of in landfill sites to the detriment of the environment. Extant research has identified the influences affecting an increased rate of purchasing and the trend to keep clothing for an ever shorter time. As such, it is imperative to examine the factors that affect consumers' choice of clothing disposal method as limited research has been undertaken in this area of socially responsible consumption. The results of a survey administered to a sample of female consumers in the two countries identify antecedents of three forms of clothing disposal methods: selling through eBay or second-hand shops, giving away to family or friends or donating to charities. Findings show differences between the countries regarding clothing disposal behaviour. Nevertheless, general recycling behaviour was found to be the strongest predictor for donating to charities in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines arguments raised in favour of and against electoral reforms proposed in Australia related to campaign finance. It analyses whether corporate donations should be treated differently from individual donations to political parties and candidates and considers whether foreign donations should be accepted at all. It explores the issue of whether imposing caps on electoral campaign spending helps to control campaign costs and inequalities between candidates and parties.

In this study, participants' memory for charitable acts, including the amounts they donated to charity and the frequency of such donations, and also the processes associated with the recall of charitable acts was explored. Participants were Australian students who earned money for responding correctly to a decision-making task and then were given the opportunity to make a donation to a charity. Five weeks later they attempted to recall how much they had donated. Recall of the amount donated produced significant overestimations. A 2nd study examined estimates of donating frequency, and results suggested that the frequency of donating was overestimated. The discussion focuses on the validity of survey data on donation size and frequency and the processes associated with the recall of charitable acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the results of an Australian study of public attitudes to police gratuities. Police attitudes to acceptance of gratuities; Theoretical perspectives on gratuities; Slippery slope theory; Inappropriate favoritism; Community relations; Case for individual discretion; Types of gratuities; Reasons for approval or non-approval of police acceptance of gratuities.

This article offers global medical news briefs. Maternity payments are believed to have spurred a baby boom in Australia. Global casualties from land mines and unexploded remnants of war increased to 7,328 in 2005, an increase of 11% from 2004. Stanford University Medical Center in California has banned its doctors from accepting gifts from pharmaceutical companies.