A tourism demand model for Fiji, 1970-2000

Despite the growing importance of the tourism industry, little is known about the determinants of tourism demand in Fiji. The major findings of analyses of the 1970?2000 period are that growth in income in Fiji?s main source countries for tourists leads to an increase in visitor arrivals, while relative prices and substitute prices negatively impact visitor arrivals in the long run. This implies that Fiji needs to maintain price competitiveness. Empirical evidence was also found that coups impede the short-run growth of the industry.

An empirical analysis of sugarcane production in Fiji, 1970-2000

Fiji is a small island country in the South Pacific. Sugar is its oldest industry, being in the vanguard of economic growth and development for over a century. Today the oldest industry, not only in Fiji but also in the South Pacific Island countries, is shrivelling and is poised on the precipice of collapse. The literature to date has singled out expiring land leases and the inability of the government to resolve this issue as the key to the current calamity. This paper aims to estimate a sugarcane production model for Fiji, delineating the short-run and long-run determinants. It expands the Cobb-Douglas production function in specifying the sugarcane production model and uses time series data (1970-2000) in estimating it. The major findings are that area harvested and fertiliser (capital), labour force and prices paid to sugarcane farmers have made positive contributions to sugarcane production in both the short- and long-run. The finding on the statistical significance of area harvested has direct relevance to the current land problems in Fiji. It is envisaged that the results will appeal to Fijian policy makers and that a speedy solution to the problem of expiring and non-productive use of sugarcane land will be achieved.

Serving the community : a biography of two primary teachers in rural Victoria 1922-1970

This biographical history investigates the formative influences, motivations and professional lives of wife and husband Ellen Cahalane Jennings (nee Murray) and Joseph Kevin Jennings in the context of their career as employees of the Victorian Education Department.

Celluloid dreaming : cultural myths and landscape in Australian film 1970-1990

Examines the way in which cultural myths in selected Australian feature films of the 1970s and 1980s reflect changing attitudes towards nationalism, Australian identity, gender roles, mateship and how the Australian settler culture defines (or fails to define) its relationship with indigenous Australians.

Tax planning, avoidance and evasion in Australia 1970-2010 : the regulatory responses and taxpayer compliance

This article examines tax avoidance strategies used by Australian taxpayers over the last four decades and analyses the regulatory responses by the government, noting a move away from the ‘command-and-control’ approach of the 1980s towards one of ‘responsive regulation’ and ‘meta risk management’. It is argued that despite inherent complexity issues, this regulatory approach has nevertheless contributed to the fostering of trust and a perception of fairness in the Australian tax system.

The place of scandal : Lara Bingle and Brendan Fevola

Over the period of a few short weeks in 2010 Australian media coverage and public discussion was dominated by news of a ‘sex scandal’ involving two high-profile celebrities – Lara Bingle (model and then fiancée of the vice-captain of the Australian cricket team Michael Clarke), and the Australian rules football ‘bad boy’ Brendan Fevola. The scandal began with the publication of a pixellated photograph in the popular Australian women’s magazine, Woman’s Day, of a naked and apparently unconsenting Bingle in the shower, which was allegedly taken by Fevola during a brief affair years previously and distributed via his mobile phone. This article examines the constructions of women’s sexuality, gender and celebrity scandal in mainstream media coverage of this event. Attending to the Australian news media’s discursive constructions of Bingle’s sexual behaviour, this research begins to map the ways in which celebrity scandals in the mainstream media provoke wider debate about ‘gender appropriate’ conduct (sexual and otherwise).