Right to farm laws

In the lead up to the 2015 State election it was reported in The Land that the Coalition Government and NSW Farmers had entered into “an unprecedented” memorandum of understanding. Among the “key commitments” entered into were the reform of biodiversity laws and consideration of “proposals for a Right to Farm policy during 2015”. In July 2014, at its annual conference, NSW Farmers passed a motion calling for “right to farm” legislation. Based on an article by Graham Brown, a NSW Farmers’ executive councillor, that argument seems to have two main aspects: primarily, granting immunity to farmers from litigation involving nuisance complaints, in particular those arising from the interface between the “smelly, sometimes noisy” realities of farming and “expanding urban centres”; and secondarily, providing protection from regulatory imposition by governments, State and local, referred to as “hindrances” to land use, including the placing by local councils of e-zones over agricultural property. The article by Graham Brown concluded: "In the face of extractive issues, expanding urban centres and red and green tape on-farm, protecting and promoting our farmers’ ability to conduct business, manage the landscape, provide environmental stewardship and grow food, must be supported in legislation." The case was expressly adopted on 23 June 2015 by Robert Brown MLC of the Shooters and Fishers Party. He spoke in favour of “right to farm” policy and, calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the issue, Mr Brown argued that: "The increasing trend of urban sprawl has presented some grim implications when the interests of agriculture clash with the lifestyle expectations of semi-rural property owners on the fringes of urban areas, or indeed in whole regions of New South Wales." This e-brief discusses the history and purpose of “right to farm” laws and their application in the US and Canada. The position in Australia is also discussed, as is the question of the place of such laws in the broader context of the system of planning legislation.&nbsp

ICAC v Cunneen: the power to investigate corrupt conduct

A majority of the High Court has dismissed appeal from the decision of the NSWCA relating to the powers of the Independent Commission against Corruption under the Independent Commission against Corruption Act 1988 (NSW). Introduction Since its establishment in 1988, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has been a major feature of the NSW political landscape, never more so than during the years of the 55th Parliament, from 2011 to 2015. Weekly, often daily, new claims and findings of corruption were made, across the entire political landscape, from State to local politics, affecting the public and private sectors alike; in ICAC v Cunneen, ICAC’s reach extended into the legal profession. Margaret Cunneen SC is the State’s Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor. In brief, that case concerned the powers of the ICAC to investigate allegations that Ms Cunneen, along with her son Stephen Wyllie, with the intention of perverting the course of justice, counselled her son’s girlfriend, Sophia Tilley, to pretend to have chest pains to divert police from conducting a blood alcohol test at the scene of an accident. The alleged conduct did not concern the exercise of Ms Cunneen’s official functions as a Crown Prosecutor. ICAC contended that the alleged conduct was corrupt conduct because it could adversely affect the exercise of official functions by the investigating police officers and by a court that would deal with any charges arising from the motor vehicle accident. The nub of the legal argument was whether such allegations constitute “corrupt conduct” under the ICAC Act 1988. In the relevant circumstances, by section 8(2) of the Act, the conduct at issue could constitute “corrupt conduct” if it could “adversely affect” the exercise of official functions by a public official

Employment protection legislation, multinational firms and innovation

The theoretical effects of labour regulations such as employment protection legislation (EPL) on innovation is ambiguous, and empirical evidence has thus far been inconclusive. EPL increases job security and the greater enforceability of job contracts may increase worker investment in innovative activity. On the other hand EPL increases adjustment costs faced by firms, and this may lead to under-investment in activities that are likely to require adjustment, including technologically advanced innovation. In this paper we find empirical evidence that both effects are at work - multinational enterprises locate more innovative activity in countries with high EPL, however they locate more technologically advanced innovation in countries with low EPL.Innovation, employment protection, multinational firm location

Product market reforms, labour market institutions and unemployment

We analyze the impact of product market competition on unemployment and wages, and how this depends on labour market institutions. We use differential changes in regulations across OECD countries over the 1980s and 1990s to identify the effects of competition. We find that increased product market competition reduces unemployment, and that it does so more in countries with labour market institutions that increase worker bargaining power. The theoretical intuition is that both firms with market power and unions with bargaining power are constrained in their behaviour by the elasticity of demand in the product market. We also find that the effect of increased competition on real wages is beneficial to workers, but less so when they have high bargaining power. Intuitively, real wages increase through a drop in the general price level, but workers with bargaining power lose out somewhat from a reduction in the rents that they had previously captured.Product market regulation; competition; wage bargaining; unemployment.

Intoxication and the criminal law

It was recently reported that, in response to ‘the soaring incidence of alcohol-related violence across Sydney’, the New South Wales government is considering changes to the liquor laws and also to the criminal law of intoxication. Specifically, all pubs, clubs and bottle shops would have to close at 2 am. The report also said the changes would remove intoxication as a defence or a mitigating factor in crime – particularly assaults. Instead, drunkenness would become an ‘aggravating factor’ in sentencing. This paper looks at current arrangements and options for change

Child pornography law update

This e-brief updates the paper Child Pornography Law published in August 2008. Specifically, it reviews the proposals for reform relating to child pornography recommended in Penalties Relating to Sexual Assault Offences in New South Wales, a report by the NSW Sentencing Council, chaired by Supreme Court Judge James Wood. The report is in two volumes: Volume One sets out the Sentencing Council’s views and recommendations on the relevant issues; Volume Two is devoted to statistical analysis. The report was released on 25 October 2008

The location of innovative activity in Europe

In this paper we use new data to describe how firms from 15 European countries organise their innovative activities. The data matches firm level accounting data with information on the patents that those firms and their subsidiaries have applied for at the European Patents Office. We describe the data in detail.International investment and multinational firms; technological change and research and development; fiscal policies and behaviour of economic agents