After the 2010 election, independent crossbenchers negotiated for 17 days with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to decide who to support.

Election campaigns come and go, but some go faster than others.

Last election, independent Kylea Tink won the seat of North Sydney on a primary vote of 25%.

Australians are rightfully proud of compulsory voting, which ensures widespread participation in elections.

Complaints about the brevity of three-year parliamentary terms are common in Australia.

A cornerstone of the Australian election experience is tucking into a democracy sausage after casting your ballot on election day.

Every Australian parliament – federal, state and territory – has had a speaker from a party other than the one in government at some point.

For many journalists, the past – specifically the past before 1945 – is a foreign country. Election coverage is replete with references to “firsts” or “milestones” that assume that Australian history began in the post-war period. But a longer view would help us better understand the political processes around us. Journalists described the 2010 federal

In the 2022 election, the count in the seat of Brisbane was on a knife edge.

Independent MPs are not new to Australian politics.

It’s funny that we call single-party government “majority” government, because no one party or coalition has won a majority of the first-preference or primary vote since 1975.

In the 2025 Australian election there will be about 120,000 registered voters per elected MP.

Robust debate is better than mealy-mouthed bipartisanship. Televised leaders’ debates can be a good thing if they illustrate the choices facing voters.

Sometimes parties part ways with their candidates.

Labor says it will push to double the number of senators for the ACT if re-elected. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told ABC Canberra: “it’s certainly something we all support”.

Governance at Australia’s universities is in a dire state.

Not so long ago, former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was branded “Mr Harbourside Mansion”, a moniker bestowed upon him by his own side of politics.

The Albanese government’s attempt to rush through major changes to Australian elections has been delayed in the Senate – at least until February, perhaps forever. As Australia Institute research identified serious flaws, risks and loopholes in the legislation, delay is welcome – but bittersweet, because electoral reform is needed to increase confidence in politics and democracy. Good

‘Tis the season for poor process, rushed law-making and railroaded parliaments. With the end of the year rapidly approaching, governments have lost patience for democratic niceties like consultation, parliamentary reviews and public hearings.

There’s a lesson for the federal government from Labor’s narrower than expected defeat in the Queensland election: voters embrace progressive policies that address cost of living pressures.

Peter Dutton and Donald Trump have a knack for political division. There’s no doubt that stoking fear and the politics of division can be brutally effective, but the last thing Australia needs is to import the damaging culture wars of the American far right, dominated by bonkers conspiracy theories adhered to by militant acolytes untroubled

Next month, the Albanese government is due to announce its proposed changes to Australian electoral laws. It has been a long road. The minister responsible, Senator Don Farrell, had planned to introduce the laws by the end of last year.

Canberra doesn’t really have a fossil fuel industry, which perhaps explains why we lead the country in decarbonising our economy.

There are no parallels for the first debate of the 2024 US presidential election cycle.

Today, in a surprise development likely weeks in the planning, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was able to leave the United Kingdom for the first time in more than a decade after reaching a plea deal with the US government.