Parliamentary sitting dates – 2008

posted: 20/12/2007

Author(s): Andrew Murray (Australian Democrats) Category: Accountability; Parliament; Parties/Independents download The Rudd government has announced the federal parliamentary sitting dates for 2008. There is an increased number of sitting days for the House of Representatives, however the move to Friday sittings has not been extended to the Senate. Democrats' Accountability Spokesman Andrew Murray comments.

Peter Andren: An independent way in Australian politics    (published: 8/2007)	posted: 29/08/2007
Author(s): Tim Payne (Former Chief of Staff to Peter Andren MP) Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; Parties/Independents download Following Independent MP Peter Andren’s announcement that cancer has forced him to withdraw from active politics, his former Chief of Staff Tim Payne reviews his parliamentary career.

Gender goes missing from NSW politics    (published: 5/2007)

posted: 25/05/2007

Author(s): Tony Smith () Category: - Audit paper; Parliament; Parties/Independents download In a new Audit paper, Tony Smith analyses the representation of women in the New South Wales parliament following the election on 24 March 2007. He argues that the Coalition’s failure to make greater inroads into the Labor government’s majority can, in part, be attributed to their failure to promote women candidates in winnable seats and to their weakness on gender issues.

Rethinking Westminster: South Australia’s cabinet experiment    (published: 10/2006)

posted: 26/10/2006

Author(s): Norman Abjorensen (Australian National University) Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Parties/Independents download In a new paper for the Democratic Audit of Australia, Norman Abjorensen, ANU, considers the South Australian experiment of including non-Labor members in the Labor cabinet. The move marks a significant break with the Australia’s Westminster tradition but has evidently paid dividends for the government.

Democracy: The wrong message    (published: 8/2006)

posted: 30/08/2006

Author(s): Harry Evans (Clerk of the Senate) Category: - Audit paper; Parties/Independents; Parliament download President Bush’s strategy for promoting democracy is leading to the vigorous imposition of majority rule in some parts of the world. Harry Evans, Clerk of the Senate, argues that developments in the USA and Australia might reinforce the view that democracy is about complete power for elected governments and the squashing of opposition.

Enforcing party democracy    (published: 4/2006)	posted: 24/04/2006
Author(s): Anika Gauja (University of Sydney) Category: Parties/Independents; Accountability; - Audit paper download Anika Gauja, University of Sydney, considers the need for regulations requiring political parties to adopt internal democracy. Drawing on examples from abroad, she concludes that, in spite of objections, the arguments for requiring greater intra-party democracy are compelling.

Independent Candidate Advisory Network    (published: 2/2006)

posted: 28/02/2006

Author(s): Category: Parliament; - Breaking news/external links; Parties/Independents http link In October 2005, the three independents in the House of Representatives - Peter Andren, Tony Windsor and Bob Katter - founded the Independent Candidate Advisory Network (ICAN) to encourage and assist independents to get elected to state and federal parliaments. The website was launched this month. Among the ICAN website's features is an ' Independent's Tool-Box', a guide to everything from getting nominated to managing the campaign budget and handling the media. Two weeks ago, the organisation featured in a Senate Committee question from Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce to the Australian Electoral Commissioner.

Increased political donations - Recipe for corruption    (published: 11/2005)

posted: 1/06/2005

Author(s): Peter Andren (Independent Federal Member for Calare) Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Parties/Independents; - Audit paper download Peter Andren MP follows up on the proposal to increase the disclosure threshold for donations to political parties and to raise the tax deductibility limit. He argues the changes will further erode democracy. Andren’s comments can be viewed here.  See also Joo-Cheong Tham’s recent analysis below.

Getting elected as an Independent: Electoral laws and party favouritism    (published: 5/2005)

posted: 5/05/2005

Author(s): Jennifer Curtin (Monash University) Category: Electoral; Parties/Independents; - Audit paper download Although Australia has a high number of independent parliamentarians compared to other democracies, there isn’t necessarily a level playing field when competing with party members and candidates. Jennifer Curtin (Monash University) highlights various ways in which Independents and independent candidates are disadvantaged through Australia’s various electoral systems and parliamentary processes.

Report no. 4: Australian political parties in the spotlight    (published: 1/2005)

posted: 1/01/2005

Author(s): Brett Bowden (Australian National University), Peter Brent (Australian National University), Dean Jaensch (Flinders University) Category: Focussed Audits; Parties/Independents download Among key concerns identified by the authors, the focussed audit of Australia's major political parties draws attention to the lack of transparency in party funding, and the troublesome issue of internal party democracy.

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