The Senate has always constituted something of a challenge to Federal governments wanting to implement their legislative programmes. However, that is how it should be, surely – the Senate is supposed to operate… Continue reading
Today political leaders around the globe are increasingly seeking direct input from affected publics. This is especially the case for elected officials engaged in local and regional politics where citizen engagement tends to… Continue reading
For the past 30 years we have all heard about union decline. Membership has collapsed. Labour markets have been decentralized. The Labor Party has even moved to weaken union influence at National Conference… Continue reading
Data-driven fieldwork is rapidly emerging as a significant form of election campaigning in Australia. The recent double dissolution campaign set a new high water mark, with no fewer than six separate fieldwork campaigns… Continue reading
Prior to the 2016 federal election held on 2 July, the Coalition demonstrated a rare degree of collaboration with the Greens and passed changes to reform the electoral process for the Senate. This… Continue reading
At the moment I am revising my chapter on Qualitative Methods for the fourth edition of the text-book Theory and Methods in Political Science. Today I was also invited to referee a paper… Continue reading
At the 2016 Federal election One Nation experienced a political resurrection of the first order with the election of four of its candidates to the Australian Senate – including Hanson herself. In Tasmania,… Continue reading
Non-party interventions can inform or influence the outcome of court cases. For example, in the Tasmanian Dams Case, the High Court permitted the Tasmanian Wilderness Society to make representations about the probable destruction… Continue reading
Perhaps there is no term more misused and abused in Australian politics than ‘mandate’. When in government both the Coalition and the Labor Party insist that they have a mandate ‘from the people’,… Continue reading
About two years ago the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House surveyed the Australian cultural landscape – in terms of things prime ministerial – and started thinking about what we could… Continue reading
