They’ve been summarised and analysed by Canberra Times correspondents Peter Martin, Danielle Cronin, Andrew Fraser, Emma Macdonald, David McLennan and Ross Peake.

Some of the papers are notable for what they omit. The discussion paper on Australia’s economy includes no mention of taxation. And Japan, the world’s third biggest economy and Australia’s biggest customer, has been left off of the graph showing the evolution of the global economic landscape. The US, China and the UK are on it, just as they are on the Prime Minister’s present overseas tour…

Here’s their summary of the Governance topic’s background paper…

Australia is a world leader in the turn out of registered voters at elections, but we may not be getting a good deal from our elected representatives.

The working group chaired by the head of News Limited John Hartigan will be asked whether ordinary people’s views are heard in the Cabinet room, whether governments are too sensitive to opinion polls and whether they get their information from the right places.

The background paper raises the need for a bill of rights and also talks about the way in which interactive technology can change the nature of political engagement.

The role of lobbyists, think tanks and the media are open for discussion as well as the role and limits of freedom of information laws.

The paper asks whether the right structures are in place to ensure that decisions are made in the interest of the nation, rather than just the interests of political victory.

It asks whether we need an Australian head of state, whether the structure of federalism is the right one, and whether the parliament needs fixed terms.

It says that increasing public expectations of government will require an increasingly skilled and flexible public service.

The full background paper is available as a PowerPoint [928k] presentation (!) and a PDF file [260k]. And here’s a local copy of the PDF file in case the official website vanishes.

The paper ends with a list of discussion questions:

• How can we increase the participation of citizens in policy debate and decision-making?
• How could public trust and confidence in politicians be improved?
• Is parliament sufficiently accountable to the public? If not, what reforms are needed?
• What is the appropriate role of the judiciary in the Australian democracy? Is the current procedure for judicial appointments appropriate?
• What does the public have a right to know and what sort of information does the government have a right to keep secret? What accountabilities should bind both government and the media?
• What does it mean to be an Australian citizen, particularly in a multicultural context?
• What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our democracy? How should our rights be protected?
• How should individuals and the state share responsibility for community problems like climate change, lifestyle-related diseases etc?
• How could modern communications technology be used to improve access to information, citizen engagement and community awareness?
• What can be done to increase the quality and number of people wanting to enter the public service? What about politics?
• How can the current system of federal and state responsibilitiesbe improved to achieve (a) better delivery of services and industry; (b) better outcomes for the economy; (c) more cost effective use of public funds?
• Is there a need for constitutional reform?

Is there anything obvious missing from this list? Any slant?