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Last December's riots in Sydney's south raised once again the ongoing controversy over Australia's version of multiculturalism. The author of this article argues that 1970s multiculturalism, whatever its strengths then, needs to be revisited and revised to allow for a stronger affirmation of our common humanity. (Contains 9 endnotes.)

This article explores the news management practices of the first Rudd government (2007-2010) and the extent to which they were responsible for both the government's initial success and its later decline and the subsequent replacement as Prime Minister of Kevin Rudd. Based on confidential interviews with 15 media advisers who worked for ministers in the first Rudd government, the article draws conclusions about the nature of the 'permanent campaign' and the double-edged nature of spin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 2013 federal election in Australia, the role of Rupert Murdoch and his newspapers in the nation's politics became a matter of major public controversy for the first time in some years. This accords with both popular belief and the academic literature that suggests Murdoch has a long history of political intervention through the use (or threatened use) of his media power in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. This article examines the relationship between Rupert Murdoch and the Labor governments from 2007 to 2013. It describes the campaigning role of his newspapers in attacking key policies of the first Rudd government and the subsequent Gillard government. It then explores the front page headlines that influenced the tone of the 2013 election campaign and which saw the issue of media ownership and bias emerge as a topic of widespread discussion. Ultimately this article explores Murdoch's motivations for campaigning against Kevin Rudd, including the claim that News Corporation stood to gain financially through the election of a Liberal-National coalition government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ‘mining tax ad war of 2010’, which contributed to the removal of a first-term Labour prime minister and shaped Australia's Minerals Resource Rent Tax. In particular, it examines the uses, ethics and consequences of advocacy advertising, which is an under-explored aspect of communication power. The article identifies advocacy advertising as an increasingly prevalent technique used by corporations and lobby groups to influence public policy in Australia. In conclusion, the article focuses on the regulatory environment for such campaigns and the areas of future research that might help to safeguard democratic practices. 本文讨论了2010年的矿税广告战，该战把第一任期的工党领袖拉下了马，并造就了澳大利亚矿产资源租赁税。作者特别分析了广告宣传作为一种没太被研究的通讯权力的用途、伦理和结果。本文指出广告宣传日益成为公司和游说集团用以影响澳大利亚公共政策的流行工具。作者最后集中讨论了这类竞争的管制环境，以及有助于保护民主实践的未来研究领域。 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Partisan behaviour and abuses by intelligence and security agencies have often been attributed to the fact that agencies have become 'out of control' or 'rogue elephants'. But a detailed empirical study of the politicization of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) over ten years shows that the agency was not 'out of control' but very much under the control of its minister. The partisan use of security information arose from directives issued through the 'democratic' control exercised by a government. On the basis of this study, prevention of abuses by tighter governmental control is unlikely to work. A combination of government control, autonomy of the agency and independent scrutiny by an inspector-general is more likely to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the Australian Labor Party (ALP), with reference to the country's communist party. Indepth look at clandestine political activity within the Communist Party of Australia (CPA); Information on the recruitment of ALP members by the CPA; Discussion on the effects of the united front policy.

The article contemplates on the near-defeat suffered by the Labor government of Australia in the just-concluded 2010 parliamentary elections. It explains how the fiasco puts to light three traits of Australian politics, namely, the firm hold of conservatism in the country, the plan to push through with a mining tax, and the agreement entered into by the Green and Labor parties. It shows how Labor did poorly in each of the three issues. It declares that the results of the elections will force the government to rethink its policies.

The author offers his view on the revival of the Left which was the focus of the conference of activists and thinkers at Deakin University in Australia. He argues that the Left's weakness is the crisis of ideas and values which expresses alternatives and the rise of the Right shows that social change is depending on political ideas embedded in moral and intellectual framework. The author stresses that the Left lacks framework because it only has issues and campaigns instead of projecting a vision. He adds that there is an old Left in which its critique is based on material deprivation and the need for redistribution and the new Left, which is based on unsustainability of the economy and the empty affluence it is creating.