Do Australians want parties to fulfil their election promises? Not as much as listening to people or experts.

This post is based on Voters’ preferences for party representation: Promise-keeping, responsiveness to public opinion or enacting the common good recently published in the International Political Science Review. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0192512118787430 Annika Werner is Research… Continue reading →

Female Comediennes are Changing Politics

They say, ‘laughter is the best medicine.’ This is true in politics as well as daily life. In fact, the rules of laughter (when are we allowed to laugh, how much can you… Continue reading →

Senate vacancy rules, turnover and the party professionalisation of the Senate

Senate casual vacancies are not rare occurrences in Australia.  Since 1901, there have been some 140 such events. The first senate casual vacancy arose within less than 18 months of the establishment of… Continue reading →