Progressive Conversation

Ever wondered why the Nationals have ten times as many seats as the Greens with less than half the votes? It’s all in the Gerrymander.

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Kate M 10 comments

Earlier this week I wrote about inaccuracies in our voting system which are impacting who wins government. I showed how the LNP have held government far more often than Australia’s voting preferences suggest they should – and how if we had used a more accurate model in the 2016 election, Bill Shorten might be PM now instead of Malcolm Turnbull.

Elections

Would we have an LNP government now if we used the NZ provisional voting system?

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Kate M 12 comments

If you look back at the last thirty Australian Federal Elections, the Australian Labor and Liberal National Parties have won the countrywide two-party preferred vote exactly fifteen times each. If our electoral system were accurately translating Australian voters’ wishes into election outcomes – as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in February that it should – then this would mean that the ALP would have

The Politician’s Guide to Democracy: Part One – Five things Democracy is NOT (#ItsTime)

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Kate M 10 comments

Are you a Politician who can’t get his own way? Have you put forward perfectly reasonable policies to the people of your country – only to hear the whiny cries of your ungrateful constituents? Are you trying to get some legislation through parliament, but find that those unreasonable Politicians in opposition won’t play ball? Are you sick of people ignoring your

Balance of Power Meter: 2016 Federal Election Results Tracker

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Kate M 6 comments

Final Update on 8 July at 8:30am (with mini update on 9 July at 6:30pm) I’m calling it folks. I’m packing up my election ‘night’ desk for another three years. While there are still a number of seats that have to be finalised, it would take such a dramatic shift in voting trends moving forward that the outcome is pretty

Elections

The disillusioned voter’s guide to making a difference with your vote

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Kate M 14 comments

You wouldn’t know there was an election coming where I live. There’s no posters on poles, no pollies hanging around on the streets, no letterbox drops, no text messages and no robocalls. If you didn’t follow the news, you wouldn’t even know there was an election on. This is in stark contrast to the New England electorate – home to Deputy PM Bananaby Joyce

Was Brexit really democracy in action? (#ItsTime)

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Kate M 7 comments

Over thirty-three millions Brits exercised their democratic right to have a say in whether Britain should remain in the EU or leave last Thursday. But did they? Was the Brexit vote democracy in action – or politics at its worst? Democracy is a serious business Democracy is a serious business – as the people of the UK were reminded last week. About eight

The ‘other’ House: A strategic guide to really making your vote count. (For progressive voters’ eyes only.)

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Kate M 3 comments

You don’t hear much about the election for the ‘other House’ in our Federal Parliament – the Senate. There’s no polls predicting who will win. Parties don’t do a special launch of their State/Territory Senate candidates. You don’t get letterbox drops or see State Senate candidates plastered on our local electricity poles. And yet the outcome of the Senate election will have a huge

What if our politicians had to tell the truth? (#ItsTime)

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Kate M 11 comments

Imagine a world where our politicians suffered real consequences when they mislead the public with a lie. A world where politicians had to work together like civil adults – instead of tearing each other apart like badly behaved toddlers. In other words – imagine a world where politicians had to live by the same standards that we do. For too long

It’s Election Christmas!! Enjoy it while you can…

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Kate M 2 comments

Election Christmas comes but once every three years. And this year, thanks to some naughty little Senate Elves who wouldn’t do what Santa Turnbull wanted, Election Christmas has come early!! Hooray!! For a brief – but extremely long – two month period, the fine Citizens of Australia no longer have to worry about the age of entitlement being over, or

Elections

Australia’s Economic Growth Index hits a record low

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Kate M Leave a comment

Amidst the noise of politicians talking about their plans for economic growth this week, the announcement that Australia’s Leading Economic Index has hit an all time low has gone largely unreported. The Westpac Leading Economic Index – which has been running since 1985 – is widely considered to be one of the best predictors of Australia’s economic growth. It is released monthly, and put

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