The main emphasis is on the financial relations between central and local government in the United Kingdom. The opportunity is taken to draw on the large amount of information published in 1976 as a consequence of the first major official inquiry into local finances for some fifty years. Attention is also given to the financial implications of the proposals for devolution of power to new Scottish and Welsh Assemblies.

The problems of the education of officers in the armed services are at present the subject of vigorous debate within official and service circles in Australia. To what extent do officers in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force need to be provided with a full-fledged academic education in order to fulfil their responsibilities in the modern world? How can the demands of an academic education be reconciled with those of the inculcation of soldierly virtues and skills?

From at least the time man first controlled fire he has made use of land and water, plants and animals, and has encroached on the natural balance of his universe. Now increases in population and developments in technology threaten that balance, and there is a special urgency to define the problems of nature conservation and to find solutions to them. This book is a stocktaking of the natural resources of the Pacific region, resources subject to competing demands. To establish their most effective use thus requires evaluation in social and scientific, economic and political terms.

With the possibility, in July 1970, of having to use force against rioting civilians - land squatters near Rabaul - the Australian Army in New Guinea entered a new era in which its activities are bound to be the subject of close scrutiny as the country moves towards independence. After filling in the historical background of the Pacific Islands Regiment, Dr O'Neill sets out to examine the present role of the Army in Papua-New Guinea: defence against external attack, maintenance of law and order, training of loyal, non-political soldiers, and the civic action program.

In an era of socialist transition such as China is undergoing, the policies of the Chinese Communist Party in its relations with the capitalist world market are of necessity both complex and crucial. On the one hand the Party has sought to oppose capitalism as forcefully as possible, and on the other it has attempted to contain its hostility within such parameters as are necessary to prevent outright imperialist attack.

This Canberra Companion will be as welcome to the local resident confronting a dull weekend as it will be to the visitor to the city. It goes beyond the usual range of tourist activities to describe places that are interestingly different to visit, unusual things to do, attractive walks to take. Clear directions and absorbing background information make a welcome blend of the practical and the entertaining, while the wide range of activities suggested offers plenty of choice to suit all tastes.

Australian goldminers were among the first white men to have sustained contact with Papua New Guineans. Some Papua New Guineans welcomed them, worked for them, traded with them and learnt their skills and soon were mining on their own account. Others met them with hostility, either by direct confrontation or by stealthy ambush. Many of the indigenous people and some miners were killed. The miners were dependent on the local people for labourers, guides, producers of food and women. Some women lived willingly in the miners' camps, a few were legally married, and some raped.

This book examines some of the ways in which politics and government have influenced the growth and shape of cities. It shows how urban growth affects economic and social welfare and the administration of all kinds of public services. It also asks how ordinary city dwellers can have more say in the way our cities grow in future. The chapters on the relation between planning, politics and popular participation raise issues of wide interest throughout an increasingly urbanised world.