Why it’s hard to beat sitting MPs in elections
Sitting parliamentarians rarely lose elections. While incumbents have a publicly funded head-start, challengers rely on donations to fund their election campaigns, which is why political donation reform needs to ensure everyone should be able to afford a ticket to run in an election.
This was recorded on Friday 23rd June 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute
Guests:
Bill Browne, Director, Democracy & Accountability Program, the Australia Institute // @Browne90
Elizabeth Morison, Researcher, the Australia Institute // @morison_liz
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
You might also like
Eight things you need to know about the Government’s plan to change Australian elections
And eight ideas to improve it
Gender parity closer after federal election but “sufficiently assertive” Liberal women are still outnumbered two to one
Now that the dust has settled on the 2025 federal election, what does it mean for the representation of women in Australian parliaments? In short, there has been a significant improvement at the national level. When we last wrote on this topic, the Australian Senate was majority female but only 40% of House of Representatives
South Australia’s leap into the unknown with political finance changes
July 1 marked a dramatic change in how political parties and candidates are funded in South Australia.


