Advertising the inquiry

The inquiry was initially advertised in The Australian and The Australian Financial Review on 28 January 2005 . The inquiry was also advertised in the House of Representatives ‘About the House’ fortnightly advertisement in The Australian on 9 February, 23 February and 9 March 2005 .

The Committee wrote to relevant Australian Government Ministers and to state and territory governments. In addition, the Committee wrote to a range of organisations, including professional associations, unions, major industry groups, academics, media organisations, businesses and individuals.

In total, 6 Media Releases were sent, advertising the launch of the inquiry and each set of public hearings.

Evidence to the inquiry

The Committee received 77 submissions and 3 supplementary submissions. These submissions are listed in Appendix B.

The Committee received 94 exhibits to the inquiry, which were provided as attachments to written submissions, received during public hearings or sent to the Committee by other parties. These are listed in Appendix C.

Public hearings

The Committee held eight public hearings across Australia in Canberra , Sydney , Melbourne and Perth . A videoconference was held with witnesses in Brisbane . The Committee called 107 witnesses. These witnesses are listed in Appendix D.

Transcripts of hearings

At the public hearings over 500 pages of evidence were recorded by Hansard. The transcripts and the submissions, which have been published, are available for inspection from the Committee Office of the House of Representatives, the National Library of Australia or on the inquiry website at: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ewrwp/index.htm