Off the Charts // Democracy & Accountability
A picture tells a thousand words and Off the Charts is where you’ll find the charts and graphs that tell the most interesting stories. Across all the areas the Australia Institute covers, we give you the pictures that help you understand what is really going on in the world.
June 2025
Major parties have never relied more on preferences
At the 2025 federal election, the Albanese Labor Government won over 55% of the two-party preferred vote. The two-party preferred vote, called 2PP, measures whether Australians preferred their Labor candidate or their Liberal–National Coalition candidate. 55% of the 2PP is the party’s best result since 1943. This high 2PP vote disguises a relatively low first-preference
For major party leaders, the Greens, independents and minor parties are the closest threat
Nearly a quarter of all seats in the federal parliament are now “non-classic” seats, where first and second is no longer a fight between the two major parties.
The 2025 federal election is the first where a major party received fewer votes than independents and minor parties.
While the May election result was remarkable for the low vote share going to the major parties, it was just the most recent of a very long trend.
_May 2025
End of the LNP Coalition would makes this the largest crossbench in the post-WWII era
A large crossbench might seem unusual, but before WWII they were commonplace in Australia.
April 2025
Now that there are no safe seats – the ‘bellwether seat’ is no more.
Media analysis shows that the decade from 2007 was the bellwether era, but that era has now passed
February 2025
The major parties, not the independents are the big spenders at election time
The government says the electoral laws changes are about limiting big spending by independents, but community independents spent less per seat than the major parties at the 2022 federal election.
.December 2024
An Australian whistleblower rewards scheme could reduce white-collar crime while raising billions in revenue
It is not often we can look to America for good public policy – but they have one good idea about helping encourage corporate whistleblowers while also raising revenue.
October 2024
The steady decline of voters choosing the major parties is reshaping Australian politics
Over the past 40 years the share of votes going to independents and minor parties has risen in both state and federal elections.
.December 2023
The Wellbeing Framework needs to come up with more trustworthy ways to measure “Trust in Institutions”
The Wellbeing Framework attempts to measure how well Australians trust their institutions. Unfortunately, the government seems to have chosen measures designed to tell a good story.
June 2023
In Australian politics, the advantage of incumbency is worth millions
While campaign finance reform can, if done well, reduce the role of money in elections, poorly-designed changes to campaign finance rules risk providing yet more power to incumbents.
March 2023
New South Wales needs to end its addiction to the pokies
NSW has one poker machine for every 88 people – more than 10 times the amount in Western Australia
Curated by
Off the Charts is curated by Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work.
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