Flag politics and Australia Day debates are shaping up to be key themes in conservative political discourse in the months ahead.
- Emeritus Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University
Australia was a trailblazer from the inception of International Women’s Year. But despite the gains, there are still forces pushing back against women’s empowerment.
The Bureau of Statistics is considering scaling back the scope of Australia’s time-use survey in a way that will make it difficult to tell how much time we spend caring for children.
It’s widely acknowledged that the way parliamentary staffers are allocated is problematic – yet a recent review did not seize the opportunity to fix it.
Australia needs to rein in the ever-increasing role of private money in federal elections with caps on political advertising and donations.
No gaffes, no real surprises – the third leaders’ debate was a fairly predictable affair, save for the testy conclusion
The Conversation’s experts analyse the first Morrison-Shorten debate, with a focus on the key policy issues and the leaders’ performances.
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie said Australia is one of the few countries in the world to accept foreign political donations. Is that true?
Australia is lagging behind other countries in adopting practical measures to achieve gender balance in public decision-making.
Unlike similar democracies, Australia neither limits political donations nor campaign expenditure by political parties at the federal level.
The Australian parliament is not a very representative place – but the bigger problems is the poor quality of its deliberations.
Thanks to quotas, the proportion of women in parliaments across the world has nearly doubled in the past 20 years.
It is unfortunate that it is only scandals and the perception of corruption or criminal involvement that prompt moves to reform Australia’s political finance regime.
Protests on Anzac Day, rather than being ‘utterly alien to Australians’, have a long tradition and embody the democratic right to dissent for which the troops fought.
Election 2013 Essays: As the federal election campaign draws to a close, The Conversation asked eminent thinkers to reflect on the state of the nation and the challenges Australia – and whichever party…
On June 24, 2010, Australia’s first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, was sworn into office by Australia’s first female governor-general, Quentin Bryce. The iconic photographs of that day spoke of…
MEDIA & DEMOCRACY: In the latest instalment of The Conversation’s week-long series on how the media influences the way our representatives develop policy, Marian Sawer examines the need to regulate…
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