New South Wales government administration increased four-fold during the first six decades of the twentieth century and, with the growth in population came increasing community expectations. This tells how the Public Service Board became responsible for employing staff for this burgeoning administrative corps.

This is Volume One of an authoritative two-volume work containing biographies of the 13 Colonial Premiers to 1901 and the 26 State Premiers in the 20th century, up to and including Bob Carr. The portraits are detailed, scholarly and entertaining. Each has a real depth of scholarship while remaining sufficiently concise to satisfy those seeking a quick overview of particular periods or facets of NSW political history.Volume One's authors includes acknowledged experts on 19th century Australia such as John Bennett, Geoffrey Bolton, Alan Powell and Martha Rutledge. Volume One and Volume Two are available as individual purchases or as part of the Set. A NSW Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government publication.

The Australian Study of Politics provides the first comprehensive reference book on the history of the study of politics in Australia, whether described as political studies or political science. It focuses on Australia and on developments since WWII, also exploring the historical roots of each major subfield.

New South Wales government administration increased four-fold during the first six decades of the twentieth century with population growth and greater community expectations. Employment of staff for this burgeoning administrative corps and teaching service became the responsibility of the Public Service Board. The Board exerted rigid centralised control over every aspect of administration. The result was a moderately efficient, loyal and conformist bureaucracy structured around fixed routines, where innovation was not encouraged.

Who would imagine that democracy in NSW was won through fierce political battles and street rallies? The Southern Tree of Liberty sheds light on this turbulent and violent period in Australian history. For twenty years, the advocates of democracy mobilised the working class and fought hard to bring popular rule to the colony. The elites, on the other hand, used their legislative powers to halt this march towards liberty, most notably in the Constitution of 1853. There were many colourful characters involved in the push for self-government: Charles Harpur, the native-born poet who wrote ‘The Tree of Liberty (A Song for the Future)’; Johann Lhotsky, the revolutionary who spent five years in an Austrian prison; Ben Sutherland, the English upholsterer who formed the first working-class political organisation and edited its newspaper; William A Duncan, the Scots Catholic who created a network of radical intellectuals; · Henry Macdermott, the Irish-born ‘friend of the people’; and Edward J Hawksley, the radical journalist who was part of every democratic campaign from 1840. These characters and more are covered in Irving’s engagingly written and thoroughly researched book. The Southern Tree of Liberty highlights the contribution of the democrats to public life and shows how their struggles made possible the democratic advances that followed after 1856.I ask no more than “the birthright of a British subject”, namely the privilege of voting on the same grounds as would entitle me to vote in my native land … Henry Macdermott, 1842They had to decide whether they would have the rights of Britons or that vile and bastard democracy which had led to so many evil results in different parts of the world. ... James Macarthur, 1842… it is a grievance for the working man to be totally unrepresented; to have the nominal form of elective privileges whilst he is legislated for by a class entirely antagonistic to his interests and his claims. ... Guardian newspaper, 20 July 1844 A NSW Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government publication.

Behind every government there is an impressive team of hard-working lawyers. In Australia, the Solicitor-General leads that team. A former Attorney-General once said, 'The Solicitor-General is next to the High Court and God.' And yet the role of government lawyers in Australia, and specifically the Solicitor-General as the most senior of government lawyers, is under-theorised and under-studied. The Role of the Solicitor-General: Negotiating Law, Politics and the Public Interest goes behind the scenes of government – drawing from interviews with over 45 government and judicial officials – to uncover the history, theory and practice of the Australian Solicitor-General. The analysis reveals a role that is of fundamental constitutional importance to ensuring both the legality and the integrity of government action, thus contributing to the achievement of rule-of-law ideals. The Solicitor-General also works to defend government action and prosecute government policies in the court, and thus performs an important role as messenger between the political and judicial branches of government. But the Solicitor-General's position, as both an internal integrity check on government and an external warrior for government, gives rise to competing pressures: between the law, politics and the public interest. The office of the Solicitor-General in Australia has evolved many characteristics across the almost two centuries of its history in an attempt to navigate these tensions. These pressures are not unique to the Australian context. The understanding of the Australian position provided by this book is informed by, and will inform, comparative analysis of the role of government lawyers across the world.

This book traces the historical development of the network utilities sector in Australia (communications, rail, gas, electricity, water supply, and sewerage services). It looks across industries, time periods and the state and federal jurisdictions, to identify what motivated the various governments to establish these enterprises and what issues arose. The book is therefore informed by the relationship between politics and society on the one hand and economic history on the other; as well as the efforts of governments in Australia to promote economic growth and the wealth of Australians. The main focus of the book is to identify and analyse the following two main questions: (i) What were the main drivers and motivations for governments establishing government-owned business in the network utilities sector? (ii) To what degree were these government-owned businesses successful at achieving the aims of these governments? In doing so the inherent characteristics of these industries are identified, in terms of their need for rights of way, network effects, the monopoly characteristics, and the potential for stimulating growth.