Picture a candidate out on the hustings today. In Western Sydney, he or she visits a kindergarten and shares messages about spending public money on teachers and after-school care. Later that day the candidate dons a hard hat and talks about a commitment to jobs and making sure the engine room of industry is there...Continue reading
newDemocracy Foundation Research Director Lyn Carson and David Pritchard have their article republished in Le Monde. You will be able to translate the webpage here. The print copy is reproduced here.
Today elected representatives take the tough decisions about public finances behind closed doors. In doing so, democratic politicians rely on the advice of financial bureaucrats, who, often, cater to the political needs of the elected government. Politicians rarely ask voters what they think of budget options. They are no better at explaining the reasons for...Continue reading
At the beginning of this month, I appeared before the federal parliamentary committee tasked with a number of questions, including political donations and campaign advertising. I politely proposed that politicians, when trying to regulate these matters, might be seen as both poacher and gamekeeper. I suggested that a citizens’ jury might help with that. What...Continue reading
This week, we’re looking at the way politics has been invaded by mass culture. Content has become, at best, incidental to the real story, which is the entertainment-value of the political spectacle itself.
Dealing with disqualifications will require constitutional amendment, says head of panel on electoral matters. The inquiry examining the citizenship crisis in Australia’s parliament is considering the use of a random assembly to decide how best to repeal or replace the constitution’s disqualification of dual citizens. Linda Reynolds, chair of the joint standing committee on electoral...Continue reading
Many of us believe that democracy delivers our collective wisdom. The ascendancy of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States has jolted that faith. Trump’s victory epitomises the challenge of the popular vote.
Many of us believe that democracy delivers our collective wisdom. The ascendancy of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States has jolted that faith. Trump’s victory epitomises the challenge of the popular vote. Elections are synonymous with democracy, but it is disconcerting to see how poorly that tool is serving us now. The...Continue reading
We come from different political backgrounds and views but we share one strong central belief — our political system appears to be broken. It’s time to fix it and we hope this is the year that the fix starts. We need to try some bold ideas. Tinkering with the edges won’t repair a toxic system...Continue reading
Australia has just conducted “probably our boldest electoral experiment since the military conscription plebiscites of 1916 and 1917”, in the words of Liberal Senator Dean Smith, the author of the private member’s bill that will now carry the result of the marriage plebiscite into law. “At a time when public faith in political institutions is...Continue reading