Australian democracy demands a proper debate

Australian democracy is failing to deal with the complex interrelationships between coal and climate change, regional security interests, human rights and trade but today’s political culture of slogans and disengagement from proper debate and scrutiny makes it harder still.

Constitutional change is hard for good reason

Constitutional change in Australia is always an uphill battle, but that is no reason to shirk it. Instead, it should be a spur to produce better proposals for constitutional change, develop strong and clear arguments for reform, cultivate widespread public support and undertake vigorous, but honest, campaigns.

Strengthening Australian leadership in regional institutions

The Australian prime minister’s first foreign policy speech last week repositioned Australia as a creative middle power that seeks to develop a regional security architecture. For this he deserves credit, though the test is to realise these ambitions.

Young Australians champion freedom and democracy in designing constitutional change

120 high school students from around Australia met in Canberra for the 24th National Schools Constitutional Convention. The new preamble for the constitution they drafted spoke to their current concerns and plans for the future.

2025 will be like 2019 – only more so

The international scene has been grim for some time, and there’s little prospect of it improving. Indeed recent trends of authoritarian bluster and democratic decline are set to intensify, plunging the world ever closer to crisis.

Australia takes the fossil option

Progressive parties’ best hope for making inroads into these electorates in the future may be investing greater thought into the notion of a ‘just climate transition’ for fossil fuel jobs.

“Congestion busting” in the public service

Scott Morrison’s decision to put himself directly in charge of the public service underlines his interest in seeing more innovative policy and better delivery from an institution that’s soft pedaled on both for some time.

Australia’s election silences call for mandatory debates

A federal election debates commission should be created to ensure debates become a permanent, scheduled element of every federal election.

What next for Scott Morrison?

Political science and election history offer some clues as to why the pundits failed on election night and Scott Morrison inched towards a famous victory, but what – if anything – will he do with power now?

What next for Labor?

Anthony Albanese will face some tricky choices given the need to redouble Labor’s appeal to middle class suburbia while keeping left wing and progressive activists on board.

Voter aspiration powered the Coalition victory

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s message of aspirational individualism resonated with voters, leaving the polls behind and leaving Labor contemplating a reshaped agenda.

Mending the opinion polls

Election opinion polls are like penalty shoot-outs at a World Cup final: there’s huge pressure to get it right and we remember the big misses most of all. Better opinions polls are more expensive, because pollsters must make more effort to get a representative and honest sample of voters, but it’s a price worth paying in the future.