Ethics and government: Preliminary considerations

This symposium reproduces several of the papers presented during the intern ational conference sponsored by the Queensland University of Technology Cen tre for the Study of Ethics, at Parliament House, Brisbane, 11-13 February, 1999. The theme of the conference was 'Government and Business: integrity and Accountability' The papers have been revised following discussions with in a research colloquium associated with the conference. They were initiall y presented within a strand entitled 'Competition, Marketisation, Public Se rvices and Public Ethics' which explored ethical issues far contemporary go vernment within different national contexts (New Zealand, the United Kingdo m, Malaysia and Australia) around the impact of economic policies that have reframed the role of government primarily as a servant of the internationa l market.(1)