tag=1 data=Time to focus on Malaysia's vision. by Peter Brent tag=2 data=Brent, Peter tag=3 d... more tag=1 data=Time to focus on Malaysia's vision. by Peter Brent tag=2 data=Brent, Peter tag=3 data=ABM, tag=4 data=13 tag=5 data=10 tag=6 data=August 1993 tag=7 data=106-110. tag=8 data=SOUTH-EAST ASIA tag=10 data=Our fast-growing neighbour has set itself some impressive goals for the next 30 years. Even if it doesn't quite reach them, this dynamic country has much to interest Australian business. tag=11 data=1993/5/9 tag=12 data=93/0559 tag=13 data=CAB
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Australia led the world in electoral admini... more In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Australia led the world in electoral administration. South Australia was the first jurisdiction anywhere to develop a professional, robust and independent election management body, with salaried electoral officials, and to pursue continuous, state-initiated enrolment. After Federation in 1901, the new Australian Electoral Office, largely based on the SA model, continued the tradition. One unique and defining feature was the strong, permanent role of divisional returning officers-'Electoral Kings', in the words of the first Australian Chief Electoral Officer. The 'Kings' were an integral component of much that was good about Australia's way of running elections. However, this structure is no longer the most appropriate for an organisation like the Australian Electoral Commission. It has long outlived its usefulness and is holding the AEC back. And, perhaps ironically for an organisation with a long record of resistance to political interference, it is House of Representatives politicians, of all major parties, that are restraining the AEC from adopting sensible arrangements.
How should authorities deal with a fast-growing electoral roll that hasn't translated into a comp... more How should authorities deal with a fast-growing electoral roll that hasn't translated into a comparable lift in voting? The Australian ballot: voters at the Yirara polling place in Alice Springs. Australian Electoral Commission Deep beneath the statistical returns for last year's federal election lurks a troubling indicator. Our tradition of compulsory voting is set to collide with technology, with unpleasant consequences for hundreds of thousands of Australians. The problem isn't the record low turnout rate among voters, although it's related to that. The official House of Representatives figure for the 2016 election was 91.0 per cent, down from 93.2 per cent in 2013 and the lowest turnout since the introduction of compulsory voting in 1924.
Could one divisive figure decide the result? It's come to this? Greens leader Richard Di Natale d... more Could one divisive figure decide the result? It's come to this? Greens leader Richard Di Natale during the debate on the marriage equality plebiscite in the Senate yesterday. Lukas Coch/AAP Image The same-sex marriage referendum caravan has meandered into the home straight and, barring a successful High Court challenge, Australian opinion pollsters will soon be grappling with estimating voter turnout by demographic, as overseas counterparts have for decades. The ballots will be sent out in early September and the final results announced in mid November.
Jeremy Corbyn's critics might brand him a populist, but that doesn't explain how both major parti... more Jeremy Corbyn's critics might brand him a populist, but that doesn't explain how both major parties attracted surprisingly big shares of the vote in last week's British election
The spectre of a major political party "losing its base" is popular in political commentary. It's... more The spectre of a major political party "losing its base" is popular in political commentary. It's usually applied to the Labor Party, but in recent weeks, with the Abbott government remaining stubbornly behind in opinion polls, it has been wielded against the Coalition. One version appeared after the Howard government was elected in 1996. The vital contribution of "Howard's battlers," a group of working-class people attracted by the Liberal leader's social conservatism and repelled by Labor's preoccupation with inner-urban elites, became an article of faith. Part of Labor's base seemed to have shifted to the conservatives. The analysis was mostly built on a pea-and-thimble trick: comparing voting patterns at elections won by the Coalition with those won under Labor leaders Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. It's hardly surprising that the Coalition won many seats in 1996 that Labor had held between 1983 and 1993: this is the very definition of winning power. A meaningful comparison would have looked to an earlier period of Labor opposition, for example under the Fraser government.
Australian Journal of Political Science, Mar 1, 2006
Australian historical and political science academic accounts of the ‘secret ballot’ often descri... more Australian historical and political science academic accounts of the ‘secret ballot’ often describe it as being designed in Australia and first applied in Victoria in 1856. Narratives often focus on Chartists and radicals finding fertile ground in the New World for ideas that had met insurmountable resistance in the Mother Country. But this concentration on the ‘British story’ has led
Enrolment figures, poll results and pre-survey nerves have encouraged wrong-headed punditry about... more Enrolment figures, poll results and pre-survey nerves have encouraged wrong-headed punditry about marriage equality
His leadership again under threat, the prime minister is locked in a potentially terminal embrace... more His leadership again under threat, the prime minister is locked in a potentially terminal embrace with his party's right, writes Peter Brent Tailspin: prime minister Tony Abbott speaks to the media on Tuesday after a conscience vote for Coalition MPs was debated and rejected in a party-room meeting. Lukas Coch/AAP Image There aren't many votes-either way-in same-sex marriage. A negligible number of people would change their after-preferences support for a major party solely on this issue. Yes, the fact that we lag behind comparable countries is getting embarrassing; it makes the Coalition appear stuck in the last century. But John Howard showed that being a fuddy-duddy didn't have to be politically terminal. Still, when the postmortems on Tony Abbott's prime ministership are delivered, this week's manoeuvre-the joint party-room vote, the sudden idea of a referendum next term-will figure prominently. And if this parliament runs its full length, those postmortems will likely be written before the next election. Yet it was Abbott's insecure hold on his position that drove him towards this backflip. Before continuing, please allow a pedantic terminological indulgence. Despite the almost uniform reporting, "referendum" and "plebiscite" mean the same thing. Using the first to describe a vote to change the constitution, and the second for other matters, is a wholly Australian, and quite recent, invention, possibly evolving out of the 1977 national anthem vote.
John Howard had an enormous stroke of luck, writes Peter Brent. To realise that is to recognise t... more John Howard had an enormous stroke of luck, writes Peter Brent. To realise that is to recognise that imitating him is counterproductive Time to let go: former PM John Howard speaking at Oxford University in 2009. Flickr As his prime ministership convulses through what appear to be its death throes, Tony Abbott barely bothers any more to try to appeal to the Australian public. Like Julia Gillard clinging on for dear life in her final weeks-when she warned of a threat to abortion rights under a Coalition government-Abbott is rallying a particular subsection of his party's ideological base. Times like these seem no longer to be about numbers, but about depth of emotion. The gratuitous, counterproductive dig at "Muslim leaders" in Abbott's national security announcement, and the ferocious parliamentary attack on the president of the Human Rights Commission are aimed at people in the backrooms who already have low opinions of the PM's targets. But survival in the party room, like winning general elections, is all about the calm, considered collection of numbers. A vote is a vote regardless of strength of feeling.
Most thanks and appreciation to my loving and much-loved partner Chris Jarrett, without whose sup... more Most thanks and appreciation to my loving and much-loved partner Chris Jarrett, without whose support, in so many ways, I could not have completed this thesis. Lots of thanks to my supervisor Professor Marian Sawer who wielded carrots and sticks, encouragement and cajolement, to keep me on track, and provided other avenues for me to write publicly. And to that vast repository of knowledge, co-supervisor Emeritus Professor Colin Hughes who was always generous with his time to chat, read, write and encourage, and whose every word was invaluable. I am grateful to the Electoral Council of Australia and its members who financially contributed to this project. Thanks in particular to former chief executive Jim Doyle who knows where all the bodies were buried. And to Michael Maley at the Australian Electoral Commission who was always on hand to help. To the faculty and university, most particularly the busy office staff at Social Sciences. Thank you also to the people at RSSS for the first two years of this PhD. My gratitude as well to all the supportive, interesting people I have met at the ANU and from other universities over the last several years. There are too many to name, but a special thanks to Norm Kelly for squeezing in some last-minute editorial work while he was racing to finish his own thesis. Thank you to my parents, Jean and Bern, and my sisters Jo and Barbara and to Geoff and Georgia and Jimmy for so much editorial and other support. And everyone else who has assisted in some way even if you didn't know it: thank you.
tag=1 data=Time to focus on Malaysia's vision. by Peter Brent tag=2 data=Brent, Peter tag=3 d... more tag=1 data=Time to focus on Malaysia's vision. by Peter Brent tag=2 data=Brent, Peter tag=3 data=ABM, tag=4 data=13 tag=5 data=10 tag=6 data=August 1993 tag=7 data=106-110. tag=8 data=SOUTH-EAST ASIA tag=10 data=Our fast-growing neighbour has set itself some impressive goals for the next 30 years. Even if it doesn't quite reach them, this dynamic country has much to interest Australian business. tag=11 data=1993/5/9 tag=12 data=93/0559 tag=13 data=CAB
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Australia led the world in electoral admini... more In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Australia led the world in electoral administration. South Australia was the first jurisdiction anywhere to develop a professional, robust and independent election management body, with salaried electoral officials, and to pursue continuous, state-initiated enrolment. After Federation in 1901, the new Australian Electoral Office, largely based on the SA model, continued the tradition. One unique and defining feature was the strong, permanent role of divisional returning officers-'Electoral Kings', in the words of the first Australian Chief Electoral Officer. The 'Kings' were an integral component of much that was good about Australia's way of running elections. However, this structure is no longer the most appropriate for an organisation like the Australian Electoral Commission. It has long outlived its usefulness and is holding the AEC back. And, perhaps ironically for an organisation with a long record of resistance to political interference, it is House of Representatives politicians, of all major parties, that are restraining the AEC from adopting sensible arrangements.
How should authorities deal with a fast-growing electoral roll that hasn't translated into a comp... more How should authorities deal with a fast-growing electoral roll that hasn't translated into a comparable lift in voting? The Australian ballot: voters at the Yirara polling place in Alice Springs. Australian Electoral Commission Deep beneath the statistical returns for last year's federal election lurks a troubling indicator. Our tradition of compulsory voting is set to collide with technology, with unpleasant consequences for hundreds of thousands of Australians. The problem isn't the record low turnout rate among voters, although it's related to that. The official House of Representatives figure for the 2016 election was 91.0 per cent, down from 93.2 per cent in 2013 and the lowest turnout since the introduction of compulsory voting in 1924.
Could one divisive figure decide the result? It's come to this? Greens leader Richard Di Natale d... more Could one divisive figure decide the result? It's come to this? Greens leader Richard Di Natale during the debate on the marriage equality plebiscite in the Senate yesterday. Lukas Coch/AAP Image The same-sex marriage referendum caravan has meandered into the home straight and, barring a successful High Court challenge, Australian opinion pollsters will soon be grappling with estimating voter turnout by demographic, as overseas counterparts have for decades. The ballots will be sent out in early September and the final results announced in mid November.
Jeremy Corbyn's critics might brand him a populist, but that doesn't explain how both major parti... more Jeremy Corbyn's critics might brand him a populist, but that doesn't explain how both major parties attracted surprisingly big shares of the vote in last week's British election
The spectre of a major political party "losing its base" is popular in political commentary. It's... more The spectre of a major political party "losing its base" is popular in political commentary. It's usually applied to the Labor Party, but in recent weeks, with the Abbott government remaining stubbornly behind in opinion polls, it has been wielded against the Coalition. One version appeared after the Howard government was elected in 1996. The vital contribution of "Howard's battlers," a group of working-class people attracted by the Liberal leader's social conservatism and repelled by Labor's preoccupation with inner-urban elites, became an article of faith. Part of Labor's base seemed to have shifted to the conservatives. The analysis was mostly built on a pea-and-thimble trick: comparing voting patterns at elections won by the Coalition with those won under Labor leaders Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. It's hardly surprising that the Coalition won many seats in 1996 that Labor had held between 1983 and 1993: this is the very definition of winning power. A meaningful comparison would have looked to an earlier period of Labor opposition, for example under the Fraser government.
Australian Journal of Political Science, Mar 1, 2006
Australian historical and political science academic accounts of the ‘secret ballot’ often descri... more Australian historical and political science academic accounts of the ‘secret ballot’ often describe it as being designed in Australia and first applied in Victoria in 1856. Narratives often focus on Chartists and radicals finding fertile ground in the New World for ideas that had met insurmountable resistance in the Mother Country. But this concentration on the ‘British story’ has led
Enrolment figures, poll results and pre-survey nerves have encouraged wrong-headed punditry about... more Enrolment figures, poll results and pre-survey nerves have encouraged wrong-headed punditry about marriage equality
His leadership again under threat, the prime minister is locked in a potentially terminal embrace... more His leadership again under threat, the prime minister is locked in a potentially terminal embrace with his party's right, writes Peter Brent Tailspin: prime minister Tony Abbott speaks to the media on Tuesday after a conscience vote for Coalition MPs was debated and rejected in a party-room meeting. Lukas Coch/AAP Image There aren't many votes-either way-in same-sex marriage. A negligible number of people would change their after-preferences support for a major party solely on this issue. Yes, the fact that we lag behind comparable countries is getting embarrassing; it makes the Coalition appear stuck in the last century. But John Howard showed that being a fuddy-duddy didn't have to be politically terminal. Still, when the postmortems on Tony Abbott's prime ministership are delivered, this week's manoeuvre-the joint party-room vote, the sudden idea of a referendum next term-will figure prominently. And if this parliament runs its full length, those postmortems will likely be written before the next election. Yet it was Abbott's insecure hold on his position that drove him towards this backflip. Before continuing, please allow a pedantic terminological indulgence. Despite the almost uniform reporting, "referendum" and "plebiscite" mean the same thing. Using the first to describe a vote to change the constitution, and the second for other matters, is a wholly Australian, and quite recent, invention, possibly evolving out of the 1977 national anthem vote.
John Howard had an enormous stroke of luck, writes Peter Brent. To realise that is to recognise t... more John Howard had an enormous stroke of luck, writes Peter Brent. To realise that is to recognise that imitating him is counterproductive Time to let go: former PM John Howard speaking at Oxford University in 2009. Flickr As his prime ministership convulses through what appear to be its death throes, Tony Abbott barely bothers any more to try to appeal to the Australian public. Like Julia Gillard clinging on for dear life in her final weeks-when she warned of a threat to abortion rights under a Coalition government-Abbott is rallying a particular subsection of his party's ideological base. Times like these seem no longer to be about numbers, but about depth of emotion. The gratuitous, counterproductive dig at "Muslim leaders" in Abbott's national security announcement, and the ferocious parliamentary attack on the president of the Human Rights Commission are aimed at people in the backrooms who already have low opinions of the PM's targets. But survival in the party room, like winning general elections, is all about the calm, considered collection of numbers. A vote is a vote regardless of strength of feeling.
Most thanks and appreciation to my loving and much-loved partner Chris Jarrett, without whose sup... more Most thanks and appreciation to my loving and much-loved partner Chris Jarrett, without whose support, in so many ways, I could not have completed this thesis. Lots of thanks to my supervisor Professor Marian Sawer who wielded carrots and sticks, encouragement and cajolement, to keep me on track, and provided other avenues for me to write publicly. And to that vast repository of knowledge, co-supervisor Emeritus Professor Colin Hughes who was always generous with his time to chat, read, write and encourage, and whose every word was invaluable. I am grateful to the Electoral Council of Australia and its members who financially contributed to this project. Thanks in particular to former chief executive Jim Doyle who knows where all the bodies were buried. And to Michael Maley at the Australian Electoral Commission who was always on hand to help. To the faculty and university, most particularly the busy office staff at Social Sciences. Thank you also to the people at RSSS for the first two years of this PhD. My gratitude as well to all the supportive, interesting people I have met at the ANU and from other universities over the last several years. There are too many to name, but a special thanks to Norm Kelly for squeezing in some last-minute editorial work while he was racing to finish his own thesis. Thank you to my parents, Jean and Bern, and my sisters Jo and Barbara and to Geoff and Georgia and Jimmy for so much editorial and other support. And everyone else who has assisted in some way even if you didn't know it: thank you.
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