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The position of departmental secretaries has been under debate. There are claims they have been politicised; they have been placed on term appointments. This article examines the careers of departmental secretaries for the last 50 years. It illustrates the changes in their length of tenure, age of departure, mobility and qualifications. The recent profile shows the need for debate about the position and the future of departmental secretaries.

Contracting has moved from the margins to the centre of public management. Significant sections of the public workforce, from benefits delivery to corporate services, now find their functions open to tender. Governments prefer to concentrate on policy analysis and development, leaving service delivery to the market. As purchasers rather than providers, governments are redefining the role and scope of the state. But are Australian governments ready for this shift to contracting? Do they possess the full array of control and reporting mechanisms necessary if contracting is to deliver its promised benefits? There are significant difficulties finding evidence that answers such questions. Yet on the basis of concerns discussed across Australian jurisdictions, it appears contracting has developed so quickly it outstrips the capacity of government to monitor what is happening, and so learn from mistakes. In time governments will become better at maintaining accountability for contracted functions, because experience reduces the risks of moral hazard.

The Handbook of Mathematics Teacher Education, the first of its kind, addresses the learning of mathematics teachers at all levels of schooling to teach mathematics, and the provision of activity and programmes in which this learning can take place. It consists of four volumes. Volume 1 presents research and theoretically informed perspectives on Knowledge and Beliefs in Mathematics Teaching and Teaching Development. The chapters together address the "what" of mathematics teacher education, meaning knowledge for mathematics teaching and teaching development and consideration of associated beliefs. As well as synthesising research and practice over various dimensions of these issues, the volume offers advice on 'best practice' for teacher educators, university decision makers, and those involved in systemic policy decisions on teacher education. There are four sections. The first, about mathematics discipline knowledge for teaching, contains chapters on mathematics discipline knowledge from both East Asian and Western perspectives, with separate chapters addressing primary/elementary teacher education and secondary teacher education, along with a chapter on approaches for assessing this mathematics knowledge of prospective teachers. The second section describes ways of thinking about how this mathematical knowledge is used in teaching. It includes chapters on pedagogical content knowledge, on knowledge for and about mathematics curriculum structures, the way that such knowledge can be fostered with practising teachers, on a cultural analysis of mathematical content knowledge, and on beliefs about mathematics and mathematics teaching. The third section outlines frameworks for researching issues of equity, diversity and culture in teaching mathematics. The fourth section contains a description of an approach to methods of researching mathematics