The 2014 Victorian State Election

Victoria is earning a reputation for producing surprising election results. According to political commentators and the opinion polls, the 1999 election was expected to return the Coalition Government and the 2010 election was expected to return the Labor Government, yet neither did. Even though the polls had long placed Labor ahead of the Coalition, the party’s election to office at the 2014 election was still regarded as a significant outcome. This was because of the removal of the Coalition Government after only one term in power, when history has shown us that governments in Victoria are often likely to consolidate their position at their first return to the ballot box. It had been more than half a century since Victoria experienced a single term government, in 1952-55, and it was a casualty of the split of the Australian Labor Party. It should be noted however, that the close numbers in the Legislative Assembly in the last Parliament — 44 Coalition, 43 Labor and one Independent, and the redistribution of the state’s electoral boundaries, meant that Labor required a notional uniform swing of only around 1 per cent to gain government. The election result was that Labor secured government by obtaining a total of 47 seats in the 88 seat Parliament with a swing of 3.6 per cent on a two-party preferred basis. This election is also historic for the election of two representatives of the Greens Party into the Legislative Assembly: the first time the party has won seats in the Lower House in Victoria. Also, notable, was the election of an Independent in what had been a very safe National Party seat (Shepparton). The make-up of the Legislative Council after the election was also significantly changed. Neither of the major parties won a majority in the Upper House, and the Greens and four other minor parties won ten seats between them. As stated earlier, this paper provides a description and analysis of the results the 2014 Victorian state election, set out in three main sections. Part A of the paper provides some context to the outcome of the election by examining the redistribution of Victoria’s state electoral boundaries, and key issues during the life of the 57th Parliament. Part B of the paper provides an overview of the election campaign, the leaders’ debate, preference deals, social media, key policies, and polls data in the lead up to, and during the campaign. This section also includes a brief overview of the minor parties. Part C of the paper examines the outcomes of the election in both houses and how the parties fared. It also contains a short section on women MPs, new and departing MPs, voter turnout, and the number of candidates contesting the election. Part C also provides statistical tables for each district and region and additional tables and information on relevant voter statistics

Public opinion polls

This paper examines public opinion polling in Australia and in other jurisdictions, and functions as a guide to interpreting polling results. Public opinion polls, particularly those released in the lead up to an election, stimulate considerable debate and speculation amongst the media, the public and politicians. Opinion polls essentially attempt to capture public opinion, or the public’s mood, on a given issue at a particular moment in time. Opinion polls are regularly conducted on voting intentions and leadership preferences, but can be undertaken on any social or commercial matter that the polling groups or commissioners of such polls determine. The study of public opinion polling has drawn on journalism and market research and also attracts scholars of history, sociology, psychology and communications. The primary focus of this research paper is public opinion polling in its political context. The paper is designed as an introduction to the study of public opinion and opinion polling and to provide Parliamentarians with a guide to interpreting and understanding opinion polls, their strengths and limitations. It looks specifically at polling groups in Australia, but also draws on developments and information from other jurisdictions. It cannot, in the space available, provide a comprehensive account of every aspect of this large topic, which has received an extensive amount of research. It does aim to draw on the most salient elements of that research, to assist Members in their duties. This paper begins in Part A by briefly examining the development of the concept of ‘public opinion’, which importantly underpins the activity and industry of opinion polling. Part A then provides an overview of opinion polling and its modern development, beginning with the first ‘straw’ polls conducted in the 1820s. The essential distinction between quantitative and qualitative methods is discussed. Part B examines the many factors - methodological, social and situational - that account for variations in poll results, while Part C provides a guide to the main polling groups in Australia. Part D examines the impacts of opinion polls in terms of elections, politicians, policy, polling failures and successes, and the role of journalists. This section also briefly looks at other forms of polling, including exit polls, focus groups, and the controversial practice known as ‘push polling’. Part D concludes by considering recent developments in measuring public opinion, such as social media, internet polling, real-time debate tracking and betting markets. Members are reminded that the DPS Library Research Service maintains an intranet sub-site devoted to presenting Victorian political opinion poll results

Politicizing the personal: reading gender-based violence in rape survivor discourse

© 2014 Rachel Sarah Jo MacreadieRape is about power. Women writing about their experiences of rape often find that the disempowering effects of rape continues into the aftermath when they face a hostile environment that frequently denies and silences their experience. Even where rape circumstances fit within the definitions of the ‘standard rape narrative’, survivors must still compete against victim-blaming attitudes, rape myths and cultural silencing. In order to find an audience to bear witness to the trauma, women often have to perform according to social expectations, modify their emotions to be accepted and dilute any politically disruptive messages. To cultivate an awareness of the complex and multifaceted influences and power dynamics shaping the rape story, I examine the development and production of survivor discourse. I argue for the value in conceptualizing three primary ‘gatekeepers’ of the rape story (cultural, literary and judicial) that force a particular kind of story to emerge, which can lead to survivor narratives paradoxically perpetuating rape myths and recuperating dominant discourses. In the last few decades, disciplines of criminology, social psychology, linguistics, and legal studies have used a variety of social research methodologies to enhance understandings of rape myths and the context within which survivors make sense of their experience. Nonetheless, published autobiographical texts remain an underutilized resource that can offer further insight into the influence of readers and the literary market in shaping the rape story. My methodological approach engages a feminist critical analysis of Alice Sebold’s Lucky (2002 [1999]), Frances Driscoll’s The Rape Poems (1997) and Jamie Kalven’s Working with Available Light (1999) positioned within a socio-legal conceptual framework and informed by an understanding of trauma. These texts diverge from conventional ways of representing the rape story, compelling their audience to understand rape as prevalent and everyday gender-based violence. They resist the redemptive narrative arc, thereby politicizing their individual stories and challenging the complicity of the community. Driscoll also rejects narratives of ‘personal growth’ that position rape as a difficult personal experience which one can overcome by adopting a survivor mentality. I include Kalven’s memoir of his wife’s rape to examine the nuances of power, privilege and the competition over the meaning of rape for survivors. I argue that while Kalven makes a case for rape to be considered torture, his account is troubling as he takes ownership of his wife’s story and enacts discursive violence by producing a text that disempowers the survivor. This constrains the political potential of his memoir. Far from individualizing the rape story, a critical analysis of these diverse texts illustrates how survivor narratives can challenge rape myths, victim culpability and dominant discourses. Throughout this thesis I argue for the value of reading autobiographical texts alongside rape scholarship to facilitate an engaged understanding of the way discourses on rape are mutually reinforcing and are produced and reproduced across a range of discursive sites

An introduction to parliamentary privilege

This paper examines the law and practice of parliamentary privilege both in Australia and in other jurisdictions. It contains a discussion of the historical background to parliamentary privilege, defines the key elements of privilege, and examines the issues and tensions associated with parliamentary privilege

2010 Victorian state election

  An analysis of the Victorian state election which took place on 27 November 2010. This paper provides an overview of the election campaign, major policies, opinion polls data, the outcome of the election in both houses, and voter turnout. It also includes voting figures for each Assembly District and Council Region. Image: \u27Parliament House, Melbourne\u27, Pesky Phooey / flick

Equal Opportunity Bill 2010

A discussion of the Equal Opportunity Bill 2010, which repeals the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 and responds to the Gardner Report and the SARC Inquiry. This paper provides an overview of the main changes to the Equal Opportunity Bill 201

Guest Size Limitation in Metal-Organic Framework Crystal-Glass Composites

Metal-organic framework crystal-glass composites (MOF CGCs) have previously been formed by embedding crystalline MIL-53(Al) within a ZIF-62 glass (agZIF-62) matrix. Here we highlight thermal stability considerations in the formation of MOF CGCs, and subsequently report the synthesis of two novel MOF CGCs, by incorporating MIL-118, and UL-MOF-1 within agZIF-62. These new materials, alongside the prototypical MOF CGC formed using MIL-53(Al), were studied using scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and gas sorption techniques. The gas uptake in composites formed from MIL-118C and UL-MOF-1 is largely dominated by the agZIF-62 matrix, suggesting that to improve the porosity of the MOF CGC, the matrix porosity must be improved, or a percolation threshold must be overcome.</p

A national approach to greenhouse gas abatement through blue carbon management

© 2020 There is increasing interest in protecting, restoring and creating ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems (BCE; mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses) to sequester atmospheric CO2-C and thereby contribute to climate change mitigation. While a growing number of countries aspire to report greenhouse gas emission and carbon sequestration changes from these ecosystems under voluntary international reporting requirements, few countries have domestic policy frameworks that specifically support the quantification and financing of carbon emission abatement through BCE management. Australia, as home to approximately 5–11% of global blue carbon stocks, has a substantial interest in the development of blue carbon policy. Here we assess the potential inclusion of blue carbon within Australia\u27s Emissions Reduction Fund, emphasizing issues and approaches that have global relevance. We used a participatory workshop of scientific experts and carbon industry stakeholders to identify blue carbon management actions that would meet the requirements of the Fund. In total, twelve actions were assessed for their greenhouse gas emission abatement potential and the ability to measure abatement reliably, using a combination of available data and qualitative and quantitative methods, including expert knowledge. We identify and discuss the five most relevant and promising activities, encompassing the protection, restoration and creation of mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses. On a per area basis, mean abatement intensity of organic carbon (Corg) was highest for the (re)introduction of tidal flow resulting in establishment of mangrove (13–15 Mg Corg ha−1 yr−1) and tidal marsh (6–8 Mg Corg ha−1 yr−1), followed by land use planning for sea-level rise for the creation of new mangrove habitat (8 Mg Corg ha−1 yr−1). The avoided disturbance of existing mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses has the twofold benefit of avoiding remineralisation of existing stocks, plus the future annual abatement associated with the net sequestration of atmospheric CO2-C as Corg with the continued functioning of these BCE. Our approach offers a template that uses best available information to identify options for carbon abatement through management of coastal landscapes, and details current knowledge gaps and important technical aspects that need to be considered for implementation in carbon crediting schemes