New rules of the game

This article briefly outlines the Howard Government's changes to the Integrity Act by considering the inclusiveness of the electoral roll; the impact of early roll closure and why it wasn't as early as expected; whether unusually low admission rates of provisional votes cost Labor seats and affected the Senate result; how important individual incumbency was, buttressed as it was by expanded allowances for sitting members; why little can yet be said about the new funding and disclosure regime; and why this regime needs to be reformed

Australia's curious coalition

While there exists a large and expanding comparative literature on coalition formation and government, it either ignores or seriously distorts the Australian experience, despite coalitions having been in power nationally for 60 of the past 88 years. Most authors have been content to follow the lead of Giovanni Sartori's contention that in Australia there exists not a coalition but a coalescence because 'the permanent alliance between the Liberal and Country (National) Party is such that the two parties do not compete, in the constituencies, against each other'. Both contentions are erroneous, but have proved influential. While it is true that the Australian variant does not closely resemble the coalition models of Europe and elsewhere, and sometimes gives the appearance of a single party, it is, nonetheless, a coalition and deserves to be analysed as such. This article locates Australian coalitionism within the broader comparative literature by focusing on the following: coalition formation and termination; ministerial allocation; coalition agreements; policy similarities and differences and the impact of coalition on policy-making; the power of a coalition Prime Minister or opposition leader; the tension between a coalition and a strong Westminster-style cabinet system; and the impact of Australia's federalized party organization on the national coalition. The key argument of the article is that Australia exhibits a tight and closed form of coalition

The 2006 Victorian state election : maintaining Labor

This article does not have an abstract

Vic MPs to vote on Shaw suspension

The Victorian Parliament will vote today on a motion to suspend the independent balance of power MP Geoff Shaw. The Government says the motion is the most "sophisticated and appropriate" way to deal with Mr Shaw for abusing his parliamentary privileges. But the Labor Opposition is vowing to oppose the motion and instead push to have the Frankston MP expelled

Democracy under siege for the sake of a few pennies

Special Minister of State Senator John Faulkner delivered a rousing speech the official opening of the Museum of Australian Democracy in the Old Parliament House building on May 9 in praise of Australian democracy and how the museum (and adjacent Electoral Education Centre) would allow us "to learn more about, and to engage with, (our) strong democratic tradition". The museum lived up to his praise---it is a must-see on any visit to the national capital and the large crowd in attendance was fired with democratic enthusiasm. Alas, for some of us this lasted only until budget day the following Tuesday. Buried at the bottom of page 73 of the portfolio statement dealing with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) were the words "the AEC has been asked by Government to find savings measures of $6.1 million over four years including the closure of the Melbourne and Adelaide Electoral Education Centres". So, as the Minister opened one civics education door, he closed two others

The effect of proportional representation in the Legislative Council of Victoria

Abstract not available

John McDonald: a remorseful premier

John "Jack" McDonald was Victoria's third and last Country Party premier and from the end of his term in December 1952 until October 1992 his party was to play no part in the executive government of the State. Typically, McDonald's government (1950-1952) did not enjoy a majority in either the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council and was maintained in office first by the Labor Party and then, briefly, by the Liberal and Country Party (L&CP) (which was what the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party was called at the time). Yet, in contrast to previous administrations, the McDonald government achieved a number of policy innovations including the establishment of the Gas and Fuel Corporation, the Mental Hygiene Authority, the Soil Conservation Authority, the Milk Board and a new transport ministry and department. Reflecting the influence of the Labor Party, the government enacted significant amendments to the Factory and Shops Act. While an attempt to create a Greater Melbourne Council was defeated, McDonald achieved a major constitutional reform in bringing universal suffrage to the Legislative Council. Despite these initiatives, Labor became impatient with McDonald's procrastination on electoral redistribution and voted in the upper house with the Electoral Reform League (ERL) to deny supply on 21 October 1952. At the subsequent election on 6 December 1952 the Labor Party won an absolute majority of seats