Biographical note

Dr Rodney Smith is a senior lecturer in the Discipline of Government and International Relations and the Graduate School of Government at the University of Sydney. He is the author of Australian Political Culture (2001) and The New South Wales State Election 1999 (2000), as well as a number of articles and chapters on Australian politics. He edited three editions of the popular textbook Politics in Australia between 1989 and 1997. Dr Ariadne Vromen is a lecturer in Government at the University of Sydney. Her co-authored book, Powerscape (2005), presents a new approach to the study of Australian politics. She has published articles in The Australian Journal of Political Science, City and Community, Contemporary Politics, Third Sector Review and The Journal of Youth Studies. Dr Ian Cook teaches and researches political theory, politics and the internet and Australian politics at Murdoch University. He is the author of three books - Reading Mill (1998), Liberalism in Australia (1999) and Government and Democracy in Australia (2004) - as well as a number of articles in journals such as Prometheus, Social Alternatives, and the Australian Journal of Political Science.