While there have been many different studies on public inquiries, Royal Commissions and Public Inquiries in Australia provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of public inquiries in Australia. It is based on rigorous and in-depth analysis spanning several decades, and has required patient and painstaking work in defining and identifying different federal public inquiries and monitoring their performance over the last 100 years. ROYAL COMMISSIONS AND PUBLIC INQUIRIES IN AUSTRALIA will be of interest to all who seek to better understand the particular role of public inquiries and what their continued appointment tells us about trends in Australian government generally.' From the Foreword by Professor John Wanna, The Sir John Bunting Professor of Public Administration, Australian National University. ROYAL COMMISSIONS AND PUBLIC INQUIRIES IN AUSTRALIA provides the first comprehensive overview of the extent, use and impact of Commonwealth public inquiries appointed since 1901. Specifically, this new book:* defines 'public inquiries,' and delineates them from other advisory bodies;* details trends in public inquiry numbers since Federation and compares these to overseas jurisdictions;* classifies the different types and forms of public inquiries;* explains public inquiry procedures, powers and associated legislation;* analyses why public inquiries are appointed and their roles in the political system;* assesses their impact on public policy; and,* explores the continuing and future roles of public inquiries. Covering public inquiries appointed by the Commonwealth government since Federation, particular attention is given to those public inquiries appointed during the last thirty years, when inquiry numbers increased markedly. References to numerous inquiries throughout the book are supplemented by detailed case studies of key public inquiries, including royal commissions and appointed by different governments. This authoritative book has been written by an expert in the field. Lecturer Dr Scott Prasser has worked in federal and state governments in senior policy and research advisory positions. ROYAL COMMISSIONS AND PUBLIC INQUIRIES IN AUSTRALIA will be a valuable reference for those interested in a widely used, but often neglected, advisory instrument of modern government that continues to influence many areas of public policy.

Royal commissions and permanent commissions of inquiry.

Now in its 26th year of publication, the fifth edition of Advocacy in Practice is an authoritative and reliable guide for professionals to the art of advocacy. This highly esteemed work has once again been written by the authoritative and well-respected author James L Glissan, QC, and provides useful and practical checklists for examination, cross and address. It also details when and what objections may be taken, and constructive hints and techniques for dealing with difficult witnesses, opponents and judges. Restored to this edition are the classic cross-examinations from great advocates of the past, as well as a new chapter on general techniques of advocacy, which enlarge the scope of the work beyond the practising lawyer to encompass all areas of practical advocacy.

Investigating Corruption and Misconduct in Public Office Second Edition provides accessible, authoritative and practical information about anti-corruption agencies. It discusses the substantive principles underpinning propriety and impropriety, public office and corruption. It complements this coverage with practical principles, techniques and strategies for investigating and preventing corruption. Upon its initial publication in 2004, this work quickly became a significant point of reference in relation to the laws, principles, jurisdictional structure and practical operation of anti-corruption legislation and agencies in Australia. This long-awaited Second Edition has been significantly restructured and updated. It reflects more than a decade of activity by commissions of inquiry and state-based crime commissions, and by governments legislating in relation to public integrity, public trust obligations, corruption offences, organized crime and other matters. Features include expert analysis of the common law, legislative schemes for public corruption investigation and prevention bodies (such as the ICAC), and detailed analysis of the powers, investigative processes, and methodologies of corruption investigation.

On 15 April 2020, the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess was established by letters patent issued by the Governor under the Special Commissions of Inquiry Act 1983 (NSW). The Special Commission was led by Bret Walker SC. The terms of reference for the Special Commission, set out in the letters patent, required the Commissioner to inquire into and report on:- The knowledge, decisions and actions of Ruby Princess crew, medical staff and the ship operator, Princess Cruises, with respect to cases or potential cases of respiratory infections on the ship.- The information provided to, communications between, and decisions and actions of Commonwealth and NSW agencies, including the Australian Border Force, the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, NSW Health, the NSW Police Force, NSW Ambulance and the Port Authority of NSW.- Policies and protocols applied by Princess Cruises and Commonwealth and NSW Government agencies with respect to managing suspected or potential COVID-19 cases.- Communications by Commonwealth and NSW Government agencies to passengers disembarking the Ruby Princess.- Any other related matters that the Commissioner considered appropriate.In conducting the Inquiry, the Commissioner had regard to the global COVID-19 pandemic and: the departure from Sydney of the Ruby Princess on 8 March 2020; the voyage of the Ruby Princess between 8 March and 19 March 2020;the docking and disembarkation of the Ruby Princess at Sydney on 19 March 2020; and subsequent efforts to diagnose and treat, and to contain the community transmission of COVID-19 by, Ruby Princess passengers.The Special Commission was given special powers under Division 2 of Part 3 of the Special Commissions of Inquiry Act 1983 (NSW) to conduct the Inquiry.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report, published by the U.S. Government and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in early 2011, is the official government report on the United States financial collapse and the review of major financial institutions that bankrupted and failed, or would have without help from the government. The commission and the report were implemented after Congress passed an act in 2009 to review and prevent fraudulent activity. The report details, among other things, the periods before, during, and after the crisis, what led up to it, and analyses of subprime mortgage lending, credit expansion and banking policies, the collapse of companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the federal bailouts of Lehman and AIG. It also discusses the aftermath of the fallout and our current state. This report should be of interest to anyone concerned about the financial situation in the U.S. and around the world.THE FINANCIAL CRISIS INQUIRY COMMISSION is an independent, bi-partisan, government-appointed panel of 10 people that was created to "examine the causes, domestic and global, of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States." It was established as part of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009. The commission consisted of private citizens with expertise in economics and finance, banking, housing, market regulation, and consumer protection. They examined and reported on "the collapse of major financial institutions that failed or would have failed if not for exceptional assistance from the government."News Dissector DANNY SCHECHTER is a journalist, blogger and filmmaker. He has been reporting on economic crises since the 1980's when he was with ABC News. His film In Debt We Trust warned of the economic meltdown in 2006. He has since written three books on the subject including Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity (Cosimo Books, 2008), and The Crime Of Our Time: Why Wall Street Is Not Too Big to Jail (Disinfo Books, 2011), a companion to his latest film Plunder The Crime Of Our Time. He can be reached online at www.newsdissector.com.