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Key values of the Democratic Audit of Australia    (published: 5/2002)
   posted: 20/05/2002
Author(s): Barry Hindess (Australian National University)
Category:
Democracy is usually understood as involving popular control and political equality. Nevertheless, there are some obstacles to popular control and political equality which many democrats hold to be important. A democratic audit can make a more effective contribution to political debate if it takes account of these complexities.

Key values: Reply to Hindess and Uhr    (published: 5/2002)
   posted: 21/05/2002
Author(s): Damian O'Leary (Australian National University)
Category:      (pages: 3)  
Damian O'Leary enters the Hindess-Uhr debate on key values of the Democratic Audit of Australia.

Key values: Comments on Hindess paper    (published: 5/2002)
   posted: 21/05/2002
Author(s): John Uhr (Australian National University)
Category:
John Uhr comments on Barry Hindess's paper on key values of the Democratic Audit.

Comments on Hindess, Uhr, and O’Leary    (published: 5/2002)
   posted: 29/05/2002
Author(s): John Dryzek (Australian National University)
Category:
John Dryzek comments on the Hindess-Uhr-O'Leary debate on key values of the Democratic Audit of Australia.

Key values: Comments on Hindess, Uhr, O’Leary and Dryzek    (published: 5/2002)
   posted: 30/05/2002
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category:
Marian Sawer re-enters the debate on key values of the Audit.

Talking point: Voter turnout    (published: 9/2002)
   posted: 1/09/2002
Author(s): Democratic Audit (Australian National University)
Category: ; Electoral      (pages: 2)  
Australians tend to be complacent about voter turnout, because of the high turnout which is feature of compulsory enrolment and voting. There are reasons, however, to disturb this complacency. First, the very low voter turnout for elections in which voting is not compulsory. And second, Australia's high voter turnout for parliamentary elections evaporates if we measure voter turnout against the voting age population rather than against registered voters.

Federalism and democracy    (published: 9/2002)
   posted: 1/09/2002
Author(s): Graham Maddox (University of New England)
Category: Constitution/federalism; - Audit paper
In the very moment of its invention, federalism was pitted against democracy. How can a system which in Australia is acknowledged on all sides to be a peculiar impediment to traditional Labor - and indeed to progressive Liberal - politics, be said to be conducive to democracy? Any objective audit of democracy will have to engage with the anti-democratic bias of the theory of federalism as well as the issues of democratic accountability that federalism presents.

Reforming the parliament    (published: 9/2002)
   posted: 1/09/2002
Author(s): John Uhr (Australian National University)
Category: Parliament; Accountability
This paper (prepared for a conference on 'Constitutional and Parliamentary Reform for South Australia') advocates ten measures for reform, which cover the three activities that are central to an effective Parliament: representation, legislation and accountability. The aim is to identify opportunities for an independent Parliament to exercise greater self-regulation and to take greater responsibility for the governance of South Australia.

What is a house of review?    (published: 9/2002)
   posted: 1/09/2002
Author(s): John Uhr (Australian National University)
Category: Parliament; - Audit paper
This paper argues that review at its most basic means legislative review, including reviews which take the policy initiative and set appropriate legal standards for government. It draws lessons from ACT Government arrangements and those of the Senate. The paper concludes with a warning about misapplying concepts of review.

Democracy and the constitution    (published: 10/2002)
   posted: 31/10/2002
Author(s): Elaine Thompson (University of New South Wales)
Category: Constitution/federalism; - Audit paper
This paper points to both liberal democratic and anti-democratic elements in the Australian Constitution before arguing that it should be read in the context of High Court interpretations and in such a way as to take account of the central theme of voting by the people.

Question Time: Questionable questioning with few answers    (published: 11/2002)
   posted: 14/11/2002
Author(s): Ken Coghill (Monash University)
Category: Parliament; - Audit paper
Outrageous behaviour leading to 'sin-binning', accusatory statements masquerading as questions, replies that do not answer, attacks on political opponents claiming to be answers to questions: is it any wonder Question Time is questioned as an accountability mechanism? Democracy requires that Question Time be restored to its fundamental role in the scrutiny of Government through simple reforms that would transform the behaviour of Members and Ministers.

Federalists can be Democrats and Democrats ought to be Federalists: A response to Maddox.    (published: 1/2003)
   posted: 1/01/2003
Author(s): Andrew Parkin (Flinders University)
Category: Constitution/federalism; - Audit paper
In this response to Maddox's paper on 'Federalism and Democracy' (available below), Parkin points to a range of democratic attributes which, in his view, are likely to be enhanced by a federal system of government. He argues that these should be investigated as part of the Democratic Audit of Australia.

The normalisation of corporate contributions to political parties: A threat to democracy    (published: 1/2003)
   posted: 24/01/2003
Author(s): Joo-Cheong Tham (University of Melbourne)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; - Audit paper; Incumbency benefits
Joo-Cheong Tham argues that recent government proposals to increase the threshold for disclosing the identity of political donors, and to raise the ceiling for tax-deductibility, are fraught with problems. The proposals would advantage wealthy political donors and further increase their political access vis à vis the less well off, hence reducing political equality. Further, raising the disclosure threshold would increase the level of secrecy and the potential for corruption and undue influence.

Audit news: Citizens not disengaged    (published: 4/2003)
   posted: 1/04/2003
Author(s): Pat Seyd (University of Sheffield)
Category: - Breaking news/external links; NGOs/participation; Public opinion
Professor Pat Seyd, member of the International Advisory Committee of the Democratic Audit of Australia, finds that citizens are not as disengaged as has been assumed. See also this version.

Ghosts of the civil dead: Prisoner disenfranchisement    (published: 5/2003)
   posted: 9/05/2003
Author(s): Graeme Orr (Griffith University)
Category: Felon disenfranchisement; Electoral; - Audit paper
One significant group of Australian citizens is in large part excluded from voting. They are persons under sentence of imprisonment. The paper questions the various grounds advanced for this exclusion. It notes the recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn prisoner disenfranchisement but concludes that prospects for reform in Australia are limited. See other papers on felon disenfranchisement

Compulsory Voting    (published: 6/2003)
   posted: 4/06/2003
Author(s): Lisa Hill (University of Adelaide)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper; Public opinion
Australia's system of compulsory voting enjoys high levels of community acceptance but has its critics. This paper argues that compulsory voting serves the value of equality of political opportunity as well as maintaining high voter turnout. It ensures that voting is not confined to the more prosperous members of society and preserves political community as well as acting as a buffer against social isolation.

Lessons from the Hollingworth affair    (published: 6/2003)
   posted: 17/06/2003
Author(s): George Winterton (University of New South Wales)
Category: Constitution/federalism; Accountability; - Audit paper
The Affair has, this paper argues, crystallized what had for some time been immanent, but perhaps not obvious: the public's sense of ownership and demand for accountability of this once obscure and remote, but now prominent, public office.

Reform of the Senate    (published: 7/2003)
   posted: 9/07/2003
Author(s): Harry Evans (Clerk of the Senate)
Category: Parliament; Accountability; - Audit paper
Harry Evans comments on the Prime Minister's recent proposals to 'reform' the Senate. He notes that the proposals aim at ensuring Government legislation is passed and rejects claims that the Government has a mandate to get its way. Attempts by the Labor Party to water down the Howard proposals are unsatisfactory. And the community is unlikely to agree to change.

ATSIC elections and democracy: administration, self-Identification, participation and representation    (published: 7/2003)
   posted: 24/07/2003
Author(s): Will Sanders (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; Accountability; - Audit paper
Following a review of the five rounds of ATSIC elections Will Sanders concludes that, on grounds of electoral administration, participation and representation, ATSIC deserves support as a reasonably democratic attempt to develop an elected national Indigenous representative structure. ATSIC elections do seem to be fairly 'full, free and fair'.

Regulating election polls    (published: 8/2003)
   posted: 29/08/2003
Author(s): Olof Petersson (Democratic Audit of Sweden)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper; Public opinion
Professor Petersson writes that the fear of undue influence on voters is the reason why many democracies have discussed and quite a few have decided to regulate the publication of election polls. Yet such action raises several difficult questions. Do polls really influence voting behaviour? Is a total or partial ban on election polls compatible with basic democratic principles such as the freedom of the press? And could a national embargo on the publication of polls really be effective in a world of Internet and global media?

Report 1: How well does Australian democracy serve migrant Australians?    (published: 11/2003)
   posted: 1/11/2003
Author(s): James Jupp (Australian National University)
Category: Focussed Audits; Rights; NGOs/participation
An audit of the democratic rights of immigrants has found Australia does a good job of protecting citizens, but places the human rights of refugees and other non-citizens at risk. According to the report, 'Australian democracy can claim successes but must also admit failures in its implementation of a liberal, democratic, multicultural society providing equitable access to influence and to public goods for all its citizens'.

Freedom of the press in Australia    (published: 11/2003)
   posted: 19/11/2003
Author(s): Chris Nash (University of Technology, Sydney)
Category: Media; Constitution/federalism
The Australian constitutional framework for freedom of the press is weaker than in other liberal democracies, the commercial pressures are strong and the legislative and financial impact of recent national governments on public media alternatives has been detrimental. Therefore, this paper argues, the terrain on which the contest for freedom of expression and the press occurs is hostile to the public compared to other liberal democracies. Nonetheless, there is a strong commitment to the role of an independent, querulous media in some sections of the Australian press.

Democracy, communication and money    (published: 11/2003)
   posted: 19/11/2003
Author(s): Sally Young (University of Melbourne)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Money has become central to the process of political communication in Australia. Australian politicians believe that TV advertising and direct mail are key means of persuading citizens and winning votes. This paper argues that incumbents are now being given massive advantages in their ability to afford these favoured method of political communication through government advertising and parliamentary entitlements.

Democracy news: They do things differently there . . . democracy in Western Australia    (published: 11/2003)
   posted: 26/11/2003
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Parliament; Electoral; - Audit paper
Rural weighting of votes in Western Australia has long been a matter of contention and generally seen as out of step with the democratic principle of one-vote one-value. Now it will continue as a consequence of a High Court decision on 13 November 2003. State government attempts to introduce public funding have also been abandoned after a populist campaign by the West Australian newspaper.

Government by regulation: A case of democratic deficit?    (published: 12/2003)
   posted: 4/12/2003
Author(s): Ernst Willheim (Australian National University)
Category: Parliament; Accountability; - Audit paper
Parliamentary procedures for tabling and disallowance of delegated legislation, together with restrictions on the remaking of regulations that have been disallowed, enable considerable scrutiny of the Executive. However, Government action in November 2003 to excise by regulation off-shore islands from Australia's migration zone highlights deficiencies in these procedures. The paper recommends changes designed to enhance democratic control over the regulation-making powers of the Executive.

Comparison of two party preferred votes and seats won at House of Representatives    (published: 1/2004)
   posted: 21/01/2004
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral
Single member electorate voting systems, like the one we have for the House of Representatives, favour the big parties. In addition, as the proportion of votes won by a major party increases, its share of seats increases exponentially. What happens when the ALP or the Coalition's share of the vote has increased over the period from 1949 to 2001 can be seen in the graphs attached to this paper.

Report 2: Australian electoral systems - How well do they serve political equality?    (published: 2/2004)
   posted: 1/02/2004
Author(s): Graeme Orr (Griffith University)
Category: Focussed Audits; Electoral; Political Finance/Govt Advertising
In a detailed audit of Australia's electoral systems, Grame Orr asks who should be able to vote, what kinds of voting systems should be adopted, who we should be able to vote for, how campaigning might be better regulated, and how money politics and incumbency benefits can be controlled.

Democratic and electoral shifts in Queensland: Back to first past the post voting    (published: 2/2004)
   posted: 1/02/2004
Author(s): John Wanna (Griffith University)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper
In democratic terms, the use of optional preferential voting in Queensland appears to empower the voter, allowing individuals to decide whether or not to allocate preferences to some or all candidates. But in the hands of parties anxious to maximise their electoral advantage, optional preferential voting risks becoming a de facto first-past-the-post system-in which candidates can be elected with around 35 per cent of the formal vote. Optional preferential voting has the potential, then, to inflate majorities while penalising the most divided side of politics.

Auditing the independence of the Auditor-General    (published: 3/2004)
   posted: 12/03/2004
Author(s): Ken Coghill (Monash University)
Category: Accountability; Public service/statutory bodies; - Audit paper      (pages: 6)  
The independence of the Auditor-General is now accepted as one of the important elements of accountability in democratic parliamentary systems like Australia. How well does the independence of Australia's Auditors-General measure up though? This paper assesses each Australian jurisdiction, focusing particularly on the Commonwealth and the Australian Capital Territory.

Federalism and democracy: A reply to Parkin    (published: 3/2004)
   posted: 12/03/2004
Author(s): Graham Maddox (University of New England)
Category: Constitution/federalism; - Audit paper
In this response to Andrew Parkin's paper, Maddox argues that federalism is designed to favour the status quo and to inflict automatic defeat on majorities. He concludes: if democracy is not for the benefit of legally constituted majorities, indeed over time for the whole people, how can it justify the name at all?

For and against a bill of rights    (published: 4/2004)
   posted: 1/04/2004
Author(s): George Williams (University of New South Wales)
Category: Rights; Constitution/federalism; - Audit paper
There are strong arguments for and against a Bill of Rights (either statutory or constitutional) for Australia. These have been set out by people such as Peter Bailey, Justice Michael Kirby and Michael Zander. Their main arguments are summarised.

Reforms to the Victorian Legislative Council    (published: 4/2004)
   posted: 7/04/2004
Author(s): Brian Costar (Monash University)
Category: Electoral; Parliament; - Audit paper
Brian Costar argues that the passage of the Constitution (Parliamentary Reform) Act 2003 by the Victorian parliament may prove to be a watershed in the evolution of Victorian bicameralism. The new Act provides for the most extensive set of changes to the State’s constitutional arrangements since 1856.

Contact between Australian MPs and their constituents     (published: 6/2004)
   posted: 1/06/2004
Author(s): Pipa Norris (Harvard University)
Category: Public opinion; Electoral; - Audit paper
Pippa Norris of Harvard University and a Member of the Democratic Audit of Australia's International Advisory Committee, asks: 'Are Australian MPs in touch with constituents?' One of the most important features of representative democracy is the strength of the linkages between citizens and elected representatives. It is commonly thought that the electoral system, particularly the ballot structure used when citizens cast a vote, plays an important role in this process.

Above-the-line voting—How democratic?    (published: 6/2004)
   posted: 1/06/2004
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper
Audit team member Marian Sawer's article, 'How democratic are our elections?', published in the Australian Review of Public Affairs (formerly The Drawing Board).

Extracts from a forthcoming book on citizenship in Britain    (published: 4/2004)
   posted: 1/06/2004
Author(s): Pat Seyd (University of Sheffield)
Category: NGOs/participation; Public opinion
Professor Pat Seyd, member of the International Advisory Committee of the Democratic Audit of Australia, has released major new findings that show citizens are not as disengaged as has been assumed in much of the recent literature on western democracies. See also this version.

Australia's first bill of rights    (published: 4/2004)
   posted: 1/06/2004
Author(s): George Williams (University of New South Wales)
Category: Rights; - Audit paper
George Williams follows-up his commentary on the pros and cons of a Bill of Rights by commenting on Australia's first Bill of Rights, as passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly. Coming into force in the Australian Capital Territory on 1 July 2004, the ACT Bill of Rights will be known as the Human Rights Act.

Public sector board appointments    (published: 7/2004)
   posted: 1/07/2004
Author(s): Meredith Edwards (University of Canberra)
Category: Public service/statutory bodies; - Audit paper; Accountability
Meredith Edwards of the National Institute of Governance at the University of Canberra considers appointments to public sector boards in Australia and identifies opportunities for reform drawing on experiences from abroad.

Electronic voting in the ACT    (published: 7/2004)
   posted: 1/07/2004
Author(s): Phillip Green (ACT Electoral Commissioner)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper      (pages: 4)  
Phillip Green, the Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commissioner, reflects on the ACT experience with electronic voting (PDF).

A senator for expat Australians    (published: 7/2004)
   posted: 1/07/2004
Author(s): Andrew Leigh (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; Parliament; - Audit paper      (pages: 3)  
Andrew Leigh, a recently returned expat now calling the Economics Program in the Research School of Social Sciences at the ANU home, proposes that expatriate Australians should have their own Senator to represent their interests (PDF).

The voting rights of prisoners    (published: 7/2004)
   posted: 4/07/2004
Author(s): Brian Costar (Monash University)
Category: Felon disenfranchisement; - Breaking news/external links
Brian Costar of the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University, argues in Australian Policy Online that in restricting the voting rights of prisoners, the Senate has undermined a fundamental democratic principle.
Postscript: The Labor Party's amendment on prisoner franchise proved to be unworkable, requiring new legislation. Under the Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Prisoner Voting and Other Measures) Act of August 2004 prisoners serving a sentence of three years or more will be disenfranchised.
See also Rick Hasen's audit paper 'Ending Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States: Litigation or Legislation?'

Report no. 3: Corruption and democracy in Australia    (published: 8/2004)
   posted: 12/08/2004
Author(s): Barry Hindess (Australian National University)
Category: Focussed Audits; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Accountability      (pages: 82)  
Barry Hindess from the Democratic Audit Team notes in his detailed study, Corruption and Democracy in Australia, that corruption 'is a more substantial problem than Australia’s impressive performance on conventional international measures would seem to indicate'.

Trade agreements and democratic values    (published: 9/2004)
   posted: 1/09/2004
Author(s): John Quiggin (University of Queensland)
Category: Accountability; - Audit paper      (pages: 5)  
In the wake of the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement, John Quiggin of the University of Queensland discusses the impact of trade agreements on democratic values.

How Democratic are Australia's elections?    (published: 5/2004)
   posted: 1/09/2004
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; - Breaking news/external links
Audit team member Marian Sawer's article, 'How democratic are our elections?', published in the Australian Review of Public Affairs (formerly The Drawing Board).

Ending felon disenfranchisement in the United States: Litigation or legislation?    (published: 9/2004)
   posted: 1/09/2004
Author(s): Richard L. Hasen ((Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, CA)
Category: Felon disenfranchisement; - Audit paper; Electoral      (pages: 4)  
Following his recent study trip to Australia, electoral law specialist, Richard L. Hasen of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles reports on recent developments in felon disenfranchisement in the United States. See also Sandey Fitzgerald's audit paper 'Ending Felon Disenfranchisement - What Voting Rights Should Prisoners Have?'

Democratic Audit of Australia    (published: 9/2004)
   posted: 1/09/2004
Author(s): Brett Bowden (Australian National University)
Category: - Breaking news/external links
Brett Bowden's 'Auditors move in on Australian Democracy and find no room for complacency', published in On Line Opinion: Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate, is a brief overview of the Democratic Audit’s aims and achievements.

Election campaign and party financing in Canada    (published: 9/2004)
   posted: 1/09/2004
Author(s): Anthony M Sayers (University of Calgary), Lisa Young (University of Calgary)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Electoral; - Audit paper      (pages: 10)  
Anthony M. Sayers and Lisa Young of the University of Calgary take a comparative look at political party funding in Canada and Australia.

The leaders debate: How democratic?    (published: 9/2004)
   posted: 16/09/2004
Author(s): John Uhr (Australian National University)
Category: Media; Electoral; - Audit paper
Following his appearance on ABC’s Lateline program on Monday 13th September to discuss the 'great debate' between Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Mark Latham, John Uhr of the ANU provides further commentary on the state and future of leadership debates.

Political databases and democracy: Incumbency advantage and privacy concerns    (published: 10/2004)
   posted: 1/10/2004
Author(s): Peter van Onselen (Edith Cowan University)
Category: Parties/Independents; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Australia’s major political parties operate powerful databases using information contained on the lectoral roll about every Australian voter. Starting with the raw data on each constituent provided by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), political parties attempt to build a picture including political leanings and interests, for the primary purpose of winning elections.

Making voters’ voices’ heard? Citizens’ initiated referendums in New Zealand    (published: 10/2004)
   posted: 24/10/2004
Author(s): Elizabeth McLeay (Victoria University of Wellington)
Category: Constitution/federalism; Accountability; - Audit paper      (pages: 6)  
Drawing on the recent experiences of New Zealand, Elizabeth McLeay of Victoria University of Wellington discusses the success, or otherwise, of Citizens’ Initiated Referendums in New Zealand.

Above the line Senate voting    (published: 11/2004)
   posted: 1/11/2004
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; Parliament; - Audit paper
Peter Brent of the ANU takes a look at above-the-line Senate Ticket voting and the practice of 'preference swapping' to see how a Party with only 1.9 per cent of the vote in the 2004 election manages to get elected to the Senate.

Terrorism and the democratic response: a tribute to the European Court of Human Rights    (published: 11/2004)
   posted: 1/11/2004
Author(s): Michael Kirby (High Court of Australia)
Category: - Breaking news/external links; Rights
On Thursday 11 November 2004, the Hon Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG, Justice of the High Court of Australia, delivered at the ANU the National Europe Centre’s annual Robert Schuman Lecture for 2004. Titled ‘Terrorism & The Democratic Response: A tribute to the European Court of Human Rights’, Justice Kirby has kindly made the lecture available to the Democratic Audit.

Wasted votes? Informal voting and the 2004 election    (published: 11/2004)
   posted: 3/11/2004
Author(s): Sally Young (University of Melbourne)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper
Money has become central to the process of political communication in Australia. Australian politicians believe that TV advertising and direct mail are key means of persuading citizens and winning votes. This paper argues that incumbents are now being given massive advantages in their ability to afford these favoured method of political communication through government advertising and parliamentary entitlements.

Level democratic playing field—You must be joking    (published: 11/2004)
   posted: 12/11/2004
Author(s): Peter Andren (Independent Federal Member for Calare)
Category: Incumbency benefits; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; - Audit paper
Peter Andren, the Independent Member of Parliament for Calare, offers a critique of the advantages of incumbency at election time, taking particular aim at the use and abuse of parliamentary 'entitlements'. He also puts forward some thought-provoking proposals for reform.

Senate voting - speech to the Senate    (published: 11/2004)
   posted: 14/11/2004
Author(s): Bob Brown ((Leader of Australian Greens))
Category: Electoral; - Breaking news/external links      (pages: 3)  
On Thursday 9 December 2004, Senator Bob Brown gave the second reading speech on his Private Senator’s Bill designed to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The Bill addresses some of the democratic issues associated with Senate ticket voting. These issues have been highlighted in previous Democratic Audit discussion papers by Peter Brent and Marian Sawer. The text of Senator Brown’s speech as recorded in Hansard is reproduced here.

The role of the media in the public disclosure of electoral funding    (published: 12/2004)
   posted: 1/12/2004
Author(s): Robin Tennant-Wood (Australian National University)
Category: Media; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; - Audit paper      (pages: 11)  
Focusing on the issue of transparency and disclosure in party funding, or the seeming lack thereof, Robin Tennant-Wood of the ANU analyses the 'symbiotic relationship' between Australian political parties and the Australian media (PDF).

Determining parliamentary parties—A real status symbol    (published: 12/2004)
   posted: 15/12/2004
Author(s): Norm Kelly (Australian National University)
Category: Parliament; Parties/Independents; - Audit paper      (pages: 4)  
Norm Kelly, a former Member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia and a soon to be member of the Political Science Program at the Australian National University, looks at the advantages that follow when minor parties achieve parliamentary party status (PDF).

A SLAPP in the face of democracy    (published: 12/2004)
   posted: 20/12/2004
Author(s): Sharon Beder (University of Wollongong)
Category: Rights; NGOs/participation; - Audit paper      (pages: 3)  
Sharon Beder from the University of Wollongong takes a look at the increasing use of ‘Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation’, or SLAPPs, by corporations against individual citizens and groups for exercising their democratic rights (PDF).

The independence of statutory bodies   
   posted: 1/01/2005
Author(s): ()
Category: Public service/statutory bodies; Accountability; - Breaking news/external links
Implementation of the recommendations of the Uhrig Report may be proceeding slowly but it threatens to damage the autonomy of the statutory bodies from Government and so effectively undermine their purpose. Whilst the stated aims of the Report are to improve the accountability of these bodies, this is to be achieved by strengthening the control of the Government over their operations, with little attention paid to the role of Parliamentary oversight.

The Uhrig Report is discussed in more detail in a paper by Roger Wettenhall.

The Parliamentary Library has produced a briefing paper on the report: briefing paper on the report

Audit values: Reflecting the complexity of representative democracy    (published: 1/2005)
   posted: 1/01/2005
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: ; - Audit paper
Marian Sawer considers the two principles inspiring the international democratic audit framework - (1) popular control over decision-making and (2) political equality in the exercise of that control. There are good reasons to add (3) human rights/civil liberties and (4) deliberative democracy, to highlight the tensions experienced in many western democracies with the rise of populism. Majoritarian interpretations of popular control and political equality are competing with other values associated with representative democracies, as seen in the recent Norwegian audit.

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
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.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman—Time for independence?    (published: 1/2005)
   posted: 14/01/2005
Author(s): John T D Wood (International ombudsman consultant and former Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman.)
Category: Public service/statutory bodies; Accountability; - Audit paper      (pages: 6)  
John T D Wood, an international ombudsman consultant, and former Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman, looks at the role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Office, one of the largest in the world in terms of the volume of complaints heard. While it has greatly enhanced the accountability of government to individual citizens, he notes however, that its effectiveness has been curbed through resource cutbacks and conflicts of interest in funding arrangements (PDF).

What price integrity? Funding Australia’s integrity systems    (published: 2/2005)
   posted: 1/02/2005
Author(s): A.J. Brown (Griffith University), Brian Head (Griffith University)
Category: Public service/statutory bodies; Accountability; - Audit paper
A. J. Brown and Brian Head compare the level of resources different Australian governments give to anti-corruption watchdog agencies. On the combined measures of staffing and budget (as percentages of total public sector), Queensland agencies are best resourced, followed by NSW and Western Australia. Victoria, a perennial straggler since 1990, has now overtaken the Commonwealth.

Parliamentary terms    (published: 2/2005)
   posted: 7/02/2005
Author(s): Norm Kelly (Australian National University), Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Parliament; Electoral; - Audit paper      (pages: 4)  
Marian Sawer and Norm Kelly consider the length of terms in Australian parliaments. Traditionally terms have been for three years, but in recent decades terms have been extended to four years in most parliaments. There has also been a trend to stipulating a fixed term or election date.

Western Australia’s state election: democracy in action?    (published: 2/2005)
   posted: 21/02/2005
Author(s): Peter van Onselen (Edith Cowan University)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper
In the lead-up to Western Australia's state election on 26 February, Edith Cowan University lecturer Peter van Onselen comments on issues relating to the level of democracy present in the state's electoral process. Issues addressed include malapportionment, prisoner voting, public funding and media coverage.

History of electoral provisions for local government in South Australia    (published: 3/2005)
   posted: 1/03/2005
Author(s): Jade Bruss (State Electoral Office, South Australia)
Category: Electoral; Parliament; - Audit paper
Did you know that: Proportional representation was first used in 1840 for the Municipal Corporation of Adelaide election (the first municipality established in Australia); South Australia was the first colony to give women the vote in local government elections – in 1861; The first woman elected to local government in Australia was Susan Grace Berry, elected to Brighton Council in South Australia in 1919 (five years after women were allowed to stand as candidates); You can find out more about the history of local government in South Australia from this comprehensive account and chronology of legislative change by Jade Bruss, formerly of the South Australian State Electoral Office.

Freedom of Information law in need of an overhaul    (published: 3/2005)
   posted: 1/03/2005
Author(s): Dennis O'Brien (Partner at Law Firm Minter Ellison)
Category: Rights; Accountability; - Audit paper
Last month, the Audit referred to the recent AAT decision to uphold the ‘conclusive certificate’ issued by the Federal Treasurer to block access to Tax Office reports on the effects of bracket creep. This month, Dennis O’Brien, a partner at Minter Ellison, has written a paper - Freedom of Information Law in Need of Overhaul. An abbreviated version of the paper also appears in this month’s Public Sector Informant. Mr O’Brien argues that Australia’s FOI laws need to be reviewed and updated, including the removal of the conclusive certificate provision for internal working documents, adoption of FOI best practice, and a review of the fees and charges that can be used to impede access to information.

Democracy in the European Union    (published: 4/2005)
   posted: 1/04/2005
Author(s): Richard Bellamy (University of Essex)
Category: Rights; - Audit paper; Accountability
The creation of the European Parliament raises question in relation to democracies that transcend national boundaries. In this discussion paper, Professor Richard Bellamy looks at the rights-based v public interest dichotomy as it applies to the legitimacy of the European Union.

Political donation changes favour the rich and increase the risk of corruption    (published: 1/2005)
   posted: 1/05/2005
Author(s): Joo-Cheong Tham (La Trobe University)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
The major Australian parties rely heavily on corporate donations to finance their election campaigns. Tham argues that this threatens Australian democracy in various ways and proposes criteria to use in developing options for reform.

Public confidence in Australian democracy    (published: 5/2005)
   posted: 1/05/2005
Author(s): Scott Brenton (Australian National University)
Category: Public opinion; - Audit paper; NGOs/participation
Scott Brenton examines data from the 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes and the 2004 Australian Electoral Study, in considering whether there is declining confidence in Australia's democratic institutions. The paper examines issues of democracy, government, politicians, parliaments, the legal system and public servants.

Canadian elections - How democratic?    (published: 6/2005)
   posted: 1/05/2005
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper
Professor Marian Sawer, Political Science Program, The Australian National University (PDF) Marian Sawer of the Democratic Audit team argues that since above-the-line voting was introduced for the Australian Senate in 1984 there has been concern over what happens with preferences under this system.

Report no. 5: Representing the disadvantaged in Australian politics: The role of advocacy organisations    (published: 5/2005)
   posted: 1/05/2005
Author(s): Bronwyn Dalton (University of Technology, Sydney), Mark Lyons (University of Technology, Sydney)
Category: Focussed Audits; Rights; NGOs/participation
The Audit's fifth focused Audit report has been produced by Bronwen Dalton and Mark Lyons, from the Centre for Australian Community Organisations and Management at the University of Technology, Sydney. In recent years, there has been debate and criticism over the influence that NGOs may have on public policy decisions. This report assesses the roles of NGOs, looking both at their external impacts through public participation and involvement in policy processes, and also at NGOs’ internal structures that provide varying degrees of democratic participation for their members. Representatives of a selected number of NGOs were interviewed for the report.

Open Government – missing the target by a country mile    (published: 5/2005)
   posted: 5/05/2005
Author(s): Rick Snell (University of Tasmani)
Category: Accountability; Rights; - Audit paper
The cost of Freedom of Information requests continues to be a focus of discussion following Denis O’Brien’s paper in March. Now, Rick Snell (University of Tasmania) discusses the ACT government’s actions in this area – both as an initiator and recipient of FOI requests, and its belief that responding to FOI requests is not part of a government’s normal work.

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
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.

State upper houses    (published: 6/2005)
   posted: 1/06/2005
Author(s): Bruce Stone (University of Western Australia)
Category: Parliament; Electoral; - Audit paper
In this paper Bruce Stone audits State upper houses and finds electoral reform is the key to improved performance in legislative review and executive scrutiny but some houses are simply too small to be effective.

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
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.

How democratic is parliament? A case study in auditing the performance of parliament    (published: 6/2005)
   posted: 30/06/2005
Author(s): John Uhr (Political Science Program, Research School of Social Science, ANU.)
Category: Parliament; Accountability; - Audit paper
John Uhr provides an Audit of Australian Parliament. He ranks the various components with a high, medium or low score against the four key values of the IDEA framework – political equality, popular control of government, civil liberties and human rights and public deliberation. Uhr considers the Senate in a positive light, with particular reference to proportional representation, scrutiny of legislation and the committee system. He rates negatively the low number of private members’ bills, questions surrounding ministerial responsibility, the nature of Question Time, particularly in the House of Representatives, and the government’s proposals relating to political donations. Uhr argues that, when the Howard government gains control of the Senate on 1 July 2005, a major concern is that it might use its majority in the Senate to reduce democracy within Parliament.

Review of the first year of operation of the Human Rights Act 2004    (published: 6/2005)
   posted: 30/06/2005
Author(s): Helen Watchirs (ACT Human Rights and Discrimination Commissioner)
Category: Rights; - Audit paper; Parliament
The ACT is the first Australian jurisdiction to have a Bill of Rights. One year after its commencement, the ACT Human Rights and Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Helen Watchirs, finds that its biggest impact has been in influencing the formulation of government policy and legislation.

The Senate changeover - Implications for democracy    (published: 5/2005)
   posted: 1/07/2005
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Parliament; Accountability; - Audit paper
With the changeover of Senators on 1 July 2005, Marian Sawer looks at democratic issues posed by government control of both houses of the Australian Parliament, particularly in relation to legislative review and executive scrutiny.

Ending felon disenfranchisement - What voting rights should prisoners have?    (published: 7/2005)
   posted: 1/07/2005
Author(s): Sandey Fitzgerald (Macquarie University)
Category: Felon disenfranchisement; Rights; - Audit paper
In this paper, Sandey Fitzgerald provides new evidence on when and how prisoners have been able to vote in the various Australian jurisdictions and the difficulty of regaining voting rights after sentences have been served. She also discusses the long-standing ideological divide on the issue.

The Legacy of political corruption    (published: 7/2005)
   posted: 1/07/2005
Author(s): Bob McMullan (Federal Member for Canberra)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Breaking news/external links
In a recent speech at an ALP regional conference, ALP Member for Canberra, Bob McMullan MP attacked four benefits of incumbency that are threatening the integrity of our democratic system. The issues addressed were - government advertising campaigns; printing and postage allowances; political donation disclosure and tax deductibility; and proposed changes to electoral enrolment regulations. A new challenge for Labor in opposition: to overcome the legacy of political corruption.

The ACT Human Rights Act 2004: Impact on case law, legislation and policy    (published: 7/2005)
   posted: 1/07/2005
Author(s): Gabrielle McKinnon (Australian National University)
Category: Rights; - Audit paper; Parliament      (pages: 10)  
Following the first anniversary of the ACT Human Rights Act 2004 , Gabrielle McKinnon examines the impact of the legislation on rights protection in the ACT. Her review covers impact on the courts, on legislation and on policy development.

Beyond Australia’s First Bill of Rights: engendering public debate     (published: 7/2005)
   posted: 1/07/2005
Author(s): Katharine Gelber (University of New South Wales)
Category: Rights; - Audit paper; Public opinion      (pages: 9)  
So far in Australia only the ACT has a Bill of Rights. Katharine Gelber looks at current gaps in rights protection and at how to win support for rights-based legislation. She draws on recent surveys of civic knowledge and social attitudes to argue there is already a pool of public support for the ideals associated with rights protection.

What is happening to Australian democracy?    (published: 7/2005)
   posted: 1/07/2005
Author(s): Fred Argy (Australian National University)
Category: Incumbency benefits; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; - Audit paper      (pages: 5)  
In this discussion paper, Fred Argy addresse the issue of incumbency advantages in government by examining the use of taxpayers' money for political advertising campaigns. The paper has a particular focus on the federal government's current industrial relations campaign, and argues that public money should not be used for 'proposed and unlegislated' policy changes.

Do Australians have equal protection against hate speech?    (published: 8/2005)
   posted: 1/08/2005
Author(s): Simon Rice (Australian Lawyers for Human Rights)
Category: Rights; Media; - Audit paper
Simon Rice examines the very different levels of protection against hate speech that exist in different Australian jurisdictions. He highlights Australia’s unfulfilled international obligation to legislate against religious vilification and the interesting stance adopted by the NSW government on the subject.

Police, civilians and democratic accountability     (published: 8/2005)
   posted: 1/08/2005
Author(s): Colleen Lewis (Monash University)
Category: Public service/statutory bodies; Accountability; - Audit paper
Colleen Lewis investigates the effectiveness of attempts around Australia to increase the public accountability of the police. Dr Lewis highlights the complex relationship between police and government and the reduction of judicial oversight under anti-terrorism laws.

Revising constituency boundaries in the United States and Australia: It couldn't be more different    (published: 8/2005)
   posted: 1/08/2005
Author(s): Richard Engstrom (University of New Orleans)
Category: Incumbency benefits; Electoral; - Audit paper
Richard Engstrom provides a comparative analysis of the methods used to determine electoral boundaries in the United States and Australia. This paper provides a useful insight into the largely partisan nature of redistribution (redistricting) in the US and highlights the benefits of the more independent nature of Australian electoral commissions.

Theories for understanding government advertising in Australia    (published: 8/2005)
   posted: 1/08/2005
Author(s): Sally Young (University of Melbourne)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
In this paper, Sally Young assesses propaganda theory in relation to the current debate on the use and possible misuse of government advertising by incumbent Coalition and Labor parties. In particular, Dr Young comments on the relationship between governments, as major advertisers, and the editorial content of media outlets.

How effective has the United Nations Human Rights system been in promoting human rights observance by Australian governments?    (published: 8/2005)
   posted: 1/08/2005
Author(s): Elizabeth Evatt ()
Category: Rights; NGOs/participation; - Audit paper
Elizabeth Evatt provides a synoptic overview of the varying degrees to which Australian governments have signed up to and implemented international human rights treaties. Justice Evatt identifies a range of issues arising from failure to respect the views and findings of independent treaty bodies, turning the Executive and the Parliament into the sole arbiters of compliance with human rights standards.

Whistleblowing and the media - transparency the biggest casualty    (published: 9/2005)
   posted: 1/09/2005
Author(s): Helen Ester (Central Queensland University)
Category: Media; Accountability; - Audit paper
Expanding on the issue of protection of sources, Helen Ester looks at a range of factors affecting the Press Gallery's role in public accountability. These include not only government pursuit of whistle-blowers but also a weak FOI regime making journalists overly dependent on leaks and a hollowing out of the press gallery, meaning many gallery journalists are relatively inexperienced.

Up, up & away in my beautiful balloon … some questions of media policy    (published: 9/2005)
   posted: 1/09/2005
Author(s): Frank Morgan ()
Category: Media; - Audit paper
Frank Morgan responds to a recent speech by Senator Helen Coonan, Federal Minister for Communications, on proposals to change Australia’s media ownership laws. He discusses how new technology has changed the way we receive and digest news and information.

COAG and the limits of parliamentary scrutiny    (published: 10/2005)
   posted: 1/10/2005
Author(s): Linda Botterill (Australian Defence Force Academy)
Category: Constitution/federalism; Accountability; - Audit paper
Linda Botterill examines the role of Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in the wake of the controversy over ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope’s publication of the Draft Anti-Terrorism Bill. She shows how the issue is a symptom of the way in which decision-making is becoming increasingly centralised through COAG and Premiers and Chief Ministers are committing their governments to action without first exposing policy to parliamentary scrutiny and debate.

Human rights and the use of national security information in civil proceedings    (published: 10/2005)
   posted: 1/10/2005
Author(s): John von Doussa (Human Rightsand Equal Opportunity Commission)
Category: Rights; - Audit paper
The Hon John von Doussa, President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, considers the human rights implications of the recent amendments to the National Security Information Act 2004. He finds that the Act potentially compromises Australia's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The draft Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005    (published: 11/2005)
   posted: 1/11/2005
Author(s): James Jupp (Australian National University)
Category: Constitution/federalism; Rights; - Audit paper
At the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on 27 September 2005 draft anti-terrorism legislation drawn up by the Howard Government was provided by the Prime Minister on an 'in confidence' basis and agreed in principle by State Premiers and Territory Chief Ministers.

Anti-Terrorism Bill lacks adequate oversight mechanisms    (published: 11/2005)
   posted: 1/11/2005
Author(s): Chistopher Michaelsen (Australian National University)
Category: Rights; Accountability; - Audit paper
In a new paper for the Democratic Audit of Australia, Christopher Michaelsen criticizes the lack of accountability and scrutiny in the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005, introduced into Federal Parliament on 2 November 2005. He argues that the 28 new anti-terrorism laws introduced since September 2001 have generally lacked effective judicial and parliamentary review mechanisms and that the new bill has the same shortcomings. The article recommends the establishment of an independent monitoring body.

The end of ATSIC    (published: 11/2005)
   posted: 1/11/2005
Author(s): Larissa Behrendt (University of Technology, Sydney)
Category: Rights; - Audit paper
Larissa Behrendt, Professor of Law and Indigenous Studies at University of Technology, Sydney, looks at the background to the abolition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). She argues that, in spite of some shortcomings, ATSIC made an important democratic contribution and its demise has left much of the Indigenous community lacking a voice in policy debates.

The Anti-Terrorism measures and democratic debate    (published: 11/2005)
   posted: 1/11/2005
Author(s): Jenny Hocking (Monash University)
Category: Rights; Accountability; - Audit paper
In a new paper for the Democratic Audit of Australia, Jenny Hocking of Monash University criticises the new anti-terror measures and their potential impact on political scrutiny and debate.

Ethics in public service    (published: 12/2005)
   posted: 1/12/2005
Author(s): Andrew Podger (Institute of Public Administration Australia)
Category: Public service/statutory bodies; - Audit paper; Accountability
Andrew Podger, National President of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) and former Public Service Commissioner, considers the role of ethics in the Australian Public Service.

Senate proportionality    (published: 12/2005)
   posted: 1/12/2005
Author(s): Scott Brenton (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; Parliament; - Audit paper
Scott Brenton (ANU) analyses the relative lack of proportionality in the Senate, and some possible improvements.

Small parliaments    (published: 12/2005)
   posted: 1/12/2005
Author(s): Richard Herr (University of Tasmania)
Category: Parliament; Accountability; - Audit paper
Richard Herr (UTAS) considers some of the problems associated with small parliaments, in a new paper for the Democratic Audit of Australia.

Victoria to establish a human rights and responsibilities charter   
   posted: 1/12/2005
Author(s):
Category: Rights; - Breaking news/external links
Following a six month inquiry, Victoria is set to become the first State to establish a charter of human rights and responsibilities. The inquiry, conducted by an independent panel, received more than 2500 submissions.

Link is to the Executive Summary.

The Youth Electoral Study (YES)    (published: 12/2005)
   posted: 1/12/2005
Author(s): Kathy Edwards (University of Sydney), Murray Print (University of Sydney), Lawrence Saha (Australian National University)
Category: - Breaking news/external links; Electoral; Public opinion
Kathy Edwards, Lawrence Saha and Murray Print introduce the YES Project, which examines the attitudes of young Australians towards politics, democracy and voting. This report for the Democratic Audit of Australia discusses features of the democratic process that discourages young Australians from participating, as well as the ways that they do participate.

Against compulsory voting   
   posted: 1/12/2005
Author(s):
Category: Electoral; - Breaking news/external links
In this paper, Derek Chung, Sinclair Davidson, and Tim Fry provide a critique of the arguments in favour of compulsory voting.

Senate Committee criticises government advertising   
   posted: 1/12/2005
Author(s):
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Breaking news/external links
The Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee published its report on Government Advertising and Accountability on 6 December 2005. The Committee found that expenditure on Government advertising has climbed steadily since 1991/92. Furthermore, the official figure of $126.75 million excludes significant areas of related expenditure and so is a serious underestimate of the total cost. The WorkChoices campaign was singled out for particular criticism on the grounds that it was merely pre-legislative propaganda, designed to circumvent proper scrutiny of the proposed legislation.

Amongst the Committee’s recommendations were the strengthening the disclosure requirements, and requiring the Auditor-General to provide independent scrutiny of compliance with regulations.

Link has the full report.

The politics of nuclear waste in the Northern Territory    (published: 11/2005)
   posted: 7/02/2006
Author(s): David Carment (Charles Darwin University)
Category: Accountability; Constitution/federalism; - Audit paper
Professor David Carment reviews the controversy surrounding the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Bill which was introduced into the Federal Parliament on 13 October 2005 and which gives the Commonwealth Government the power to establish a nuclear waste dump on one of three sites in the NT. The Bill gives the Federal Government the power to override the united front provided by the NT’s Labour Government and Liberal opposition to the dump, as well as relevant Aboriginal heritage legislation and the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, and it also gives the Minister significant discretionary powers allowing to do anything further ‘necessary or incidentally required’ to ensure the establishment of the dump and the transport of waste to it. However, he says opposition to the dump in the NT was overstated by its Government, and argues the focus on ‘Territory Rights’ was ‘quixotic’.

Whistleblowers - and governments - need more protection    (published: 2/2006)
   posted: 9/02/2006
Author(s): David Solomon (University of Queensland)
Category: Accountability; Rights; - Audit paper
In a new paper for the Audit, Dr David Solomon, Adjunct Professor of Politics at the University of Queensland, looks at the law protecting whistleblowing, arguing that more protection is needed.

The 2006 Canadian general election    (published: 2/2006)
   posted: 9/02/2006
Author(s): Bill Cross (Carleton University)
Category: Electoral; - Audit paper
Bill Cross, Director of the Democratic Audit of Canada, analyses Canada's federal election. The Conservative Party victory (on 23 January 2006) followed the 'sponsorship scandal' which engulfed the Liberal government. The first-past-the-post system continues to deliver controversial results - the New Democrats won 18 per cent of the vote but only 10 per cent of the seats, the Greens won almost 5 per cent of the vote but no seats, the Liberals won no seats in Alberta despite winning 15 per cent of the vote and the Conservatives were shut out of the major cities despite winning 25 per cent of the vote in Toronto. The new minority Conservative government will be dependent on votes from either the Bloc Québécois or the Liberals to prop it up, so it could be as short-lived as the last Liberal government.

Blair defeated over religious hatred laws   
   posted: 10/02/2006
Author(s):
Category: Rights; Media; - Breaking news/external links

The British Government was defeated in its attempt to introduce laws on religious hatred. The laws were designed to tighten a loophole that protects against discrimination and abuse against racial minorities, and covers Sikhs and Jews, but not Muslims. However, there were concerns that the laws would make legitimate criticism of faith, including much satire, illegal. A high profile campaign, which included high profile comedians such as Rowan Atkinson was waged against it. Ultimately though, despite a significant backbench revolt, the bill was defeated due to a miscalculation by the Labour Party Whips Office, who had thought it unnecessary to bring back a by-election campaign team for the vote. Ironically, the Government was defeated on one of the votes by just one, after the Prime Minister missed it.

The first defeat, by 288 votes to 278, was aimed at ensuring the new laws would not affect the current racial hatred laws. The second vote, which the government lost by 283 votes to 282, said the law should only criminalise 'threatening' behaviour, not things which were just 'abusive and insulting'. It also means people can only be prosecuted if they intend to stir up hatred - not if they are merely 'reckless'.

(No link)

High Court appeal allowed in important FOI case   
   posted: 10/02/2006
Author(s):
Category: Rights; - Breaking news/external links; Accountability
On 3 February 2006 three judges of the High Court (Gummow, Kirby & Hayne JJ) granted special leave to appeal to the High Court against the majority decision of the Full Federal Court in McKinnon v Secretary, Department of Treasury (2005) 220 ALR 587.

The FOI appeal has been financed by News Limited in conjunction with a number of other media organisations. The case concerns the powers of the Administrative Appeal Tribunal to review decisions when a minister has issued a conclusive certificate, claiming the release of documents would be contrary to the public interest.

Independent Candidate Advisory Network    (published: 2/2006)
   posted: 28/02/2006
Author(s):
Category: Parliament; - Breaking news/external links; Parties/Independents
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.

Paradise postponed    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 6/03/2006
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Parliament; Rights; - Audit paper
The Treasurer, Peter Costello, has called for Australia to create the most 'female-friendly environment in the world'. Marian Sawer finds, however, that Australia has just slid to its lowest place ever in the league table of women's representation in national parliaments and a major factor has been the Liberal Party's failure to preselect women.

Damaging democracy?    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 8/03/2006
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; Rights; - Audit paper
Marian Sawer considers Government proposals for early closure of the roll in federal elections. Whilst the Government claims that such a measure is necessary to maintain electoral integrity, she suggests that evidence of fraud is anecdotal at best and is outweighed by effects on the comprehensiveness of the roll.

Let The chips fall where they may    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 8/03/2006
Author(s): Malcolm Mackerras (University of NSW & Australian Defence Force Academy)
Category: Electoral; Electoral; Constitution/federalism
Malcolm Mackerras considers the best way to achieve the principle of 'one vote one value' in Australia and decides that it can only be achieved for the Territories by using the number of voters on the roll rather than population as the basis for distribution. This would give the ACT back its third seat and resolve the problem of the 2004 election when a vote in the Northern Territory was worth twice one in the ACT. It would be consistent with s122 of the Constitution, Mackerras believes.

Speaker impartiality: A response from the Clerk of the House    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 8/03/2006
Author(s): Ian Harris (Speaker of the House of Representatives)
Category: Parliament; Parliament; - Audit paper
Clerk of the House of Representatives, Ian Harris, responds to a Democratic Audit discussion paper on the impartiality of the Speaker. Harris argues that Speaker David Hawker was procedurally correct in refusing to allow a question to be asked of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, De-Anne Kelly, about a letter she had written as a Parliamentary Secretary after her appointment as Minister. Only Ministers and not Parliamentary Secretaries are obliged to answer questions, even if they appear to be undertaking both roles simultaneously!

Government advertising: a parliamentary perspective    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 8/03/2006
Author(s): Harry Evans (Clerk of the Senate)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Harry Evans, Clerk of the Senate, reviews the appropriations process as it relates to Government spending on advertising. He suggests that appropriations are made for ends that are specified only in the vaguest terms. Consequently, little limit is applied to the purposes on which the money may be spent.

Expansive franchise    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 8/03/2006
Author(s): Kate Sullivan (UK Electoral Commission)
Category: Electoral; Rights; - Audit paper
Kate Sullivan of the UK Electoral Commission reviews who can vote in the UK and finds that the franchise is much more expansive in Britain than in Australia.

ALP's electoral reform claims have to be taken with a grain of salt   
   posted: 8/03/2006
Author(s): Gary Nairn (Special Minister of State)
Category: Electoral; Rights; - Breaking news/external links
Gary Nairn, Special Minister for State, has defended the Government’s proposed reforms of the Commonwealth Electoral Act in a piece in The Canberra Times.

Nice work, if you can get it   
   posted: 11/03/2006
Author(s):
Category: Accountability; - Breaking news/external links; Parliament
Anne Davies, Damien Murphy and Elisabeth Sexton report in the SMH on the lack of codes for post-ministerial employment in Commonwealth and NSW jurisdictions. They describe a number of recent cases where Ministers have gone immediately into private sector jobs close to their ministerial portfolios, despite warnings from corruption bodies about the practice. Canada and the United Kingdom, and other Australian jurisdictions such as Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT, have recognised the problem and adopted such codes. In 2004 the Democratic Audit (Report No 3) recommended that codes governing post-separation employment of ministers be adopted in all Australian jurisdictions.

Political donations   
   posted: 11/03/2006
Author(s):
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; - Breaking news/external links
The Australian Electoral Commission's latest political donations disclosures have generated a lot of comment. The single largest donation, $1,000,000 from Lord Ashcroft to the Liberals, was also the most controversial: Ashcroft is a former treasurer, and current Deputy Chairman of the British Conservative Party but also, controversially, holds dual nationality from Britain and the tax haven of Belize, for which he was the permanent representative at the UN. Concern was expressed in Britain about his role in politics there, given his continuing close relationship with a foreign government. Despite claims by the Liberals that Lord Ashcroft has a close affinity with Australia, it seems that he has no particular association with it beyond that of keen visitor. His contribution has naturally raised questions about the role of foreign donations to political parties in Australia.

Crikey has carried a more detailed analysis of the disclosures, including a list of the largest ten donors to Labor and the Liberals:



10 Largest Donors to Liberals



Lord Michael Ashcroft KCMG - $1,000,000.00

Inghams Enterprises Pty Ltd - $200,000.00

Pratt Holdings Pty Ltd - $200,000.00

Village Roadshow Limited - $200,000.00

Croissy Pty Limited - $175,000.00

ANZ Banking Group Ltd - $100,000.00

Mistral International Pty Ltd - $100,000.00

Walker Corporation Pty Ltd - $100,000.00

Wesfarmers Ltd - $100,000.00

JP Morgan Administrative Services Pty Ltd - $82,500.00



Total Receipts: $29,477,988.00



10 Largest Donors to Labor



CFMEU Mining & Energy Division - $470,000.00

Shop Distributive & Allied Employees' Association - $300,000.00

CFMEU Construction & General Division, National Office - $200,000.00

Village Roadshow Limited - $200,000.00

Westfield Capital Corporation Ltd - $175,000.00

Canberra Tradesmen's Union Club - $120,000.00

AMWU - $100,000.00

Inghams Enterprises Pty Ltd - $100,000.00

Pratt Holdings Pty Ltd - $100,000.00

Network Ten Pty Limited - $75,000.00



Total receipts: $29,989,686.00


In The Age, Joo-Cheong Tham, of Melbourne University's Law School and the co-author of the Democratic Audit of Australia's forthcoming report on Political Finance, criticises the role of corporate funding of political parties. He argues that at both State and Federal level, the parties are becoming dangerously reliant on corporate funding, and calls for tighter regulations around disclosure.



In the Sydney Morning Herald , Elisabeth Sexton argues that, in spite of the deluge of information from the AEC, the disclosures are still opaque and important information can remain hidden.

It’s time? Reforming political financing in Australia   
   posted: 20/03/2006
Author(s): Peter van Onselen (Edith Cowan University)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Paper delivered by Peter van Onselen to the Audit's Political Finance Workshop held at the ANU on February 25 2006.

The regulation of election campaign financing in Canada and New Zealand   
   posted: 20/03/2006
Author(s): Andrew Geddis (University of Otago)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Paper delivered by Andrew Geddis to the Audit's Political Finance Workshop held at the ANU on February 25 2006.

The Auditor-General's role in politics   
   posted: 20/03/2006
Author(s): Tony Harris (former NSW Auditor-General)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Paper delivered by former NSW Auditor-General Tony Harris to the Audit's Political Finance Workshop held at the ANU on February 25 2006.

Guaranteed Failure: it's just never the right time for funding reform   
   posted: 20/03/2006
Author(s): Andrew Murray (Australian Democrats Senator)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Paper delivered by Democrats Senator Andrew Murray to the Audit's Political Finance Workshop held at the ANU on February 25 2006.

Political Finance in Australia: a skewed and secret system?   
   posted: 20/03/2006
Author(s): Joo-Cheong Tham (University of Melbourne), Sally Young (University of Melbourne)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Australian and international political finance experts, electoral commissioners, former auditors-general and political party representatives gathered at the Australian National University to workshop the Draft Democratic Audit Report prepared by Joo-Cheong Tham and Sally Young on Saturday, February 25 2006. The Tham/Young Report is still a working draft that has benefited from the workshop process and is set to be a landmark publication on political finance in Australia.

(700 kb PDF)

Government advertising - informational or self-promotional?    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 20/03/2006
Author(s): Graeme Orr (Griffith University)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Paper delivered by Dr Graeme Orr to the Audit's Political Finance Workshop held at the ANU on February 25 2006.

Donations to political parties in the United Kingdom    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 21/03/2006
Author(s): Keith Ewing (Kings College), Navraj Singh Ghaleigh (Edinburgh Law School)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
Paper delivered by Keith Ewing and to the Audit's Political Finance Workshop held at the ANU on February 25 2006.

Relaxing the rules a recipe for growing voter cynicism   
   posted: 27/03/2006
Author(s): Norm Kelly (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; - Breaking news/external links
The Howard Government's electoral reform legislation, shortly to be debated in Parliament, raises serious concerns about the undue influence that political donations have in our democracy. This article by Norm Kelly of the ANU appeared in The Canberra Times on March 27 2006.

Andren ‘grieves’ democracy   
   posted: 28/03/2006
Author(s): Peter Andren (Independent Federal MP for Calare)
Category: Parliament; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; - Breaking news/external links
In a Grievance Debate, Peter Andren MP, independent member for Calare, lamented the lack of scrutiny and review of new legislation by Parliament. He singled out Government advertising for particular criticism. Link is to Hansard transcipt.

Senate Committee independence in question?   
   posted: 31/03/2006
Author(s):
Category: Accountability; Parliament; - Breaking news/external links

The independence of Senate committees has been called into question after Senator Judith Troeth, chair of the Senate Committee that inquired into the Government’s industrial relations legislation admitted that she discussed the findings of the Committee’s report with the office of Workplace Relations Minister, Kevin Andrews, prior to publication. The revelation raises concerns about possible Government involvement in the committee process, and, consequently, the independence of their conclusions.

No link

Proposed changes to electoral law   
   posted: 31/03/2006
Author(s):
Category: Electoral; - Breaking news/external links
Draft legislation bringing in substantial changes to electoral law were introduced into Parliament on 8 December 2005. The new measures will close the electoral roll on the day the writs are issued, will require new voters to produce identification and will remove the right of all prisoners to vote. Companies will be able to make donations of up to $10,000 without disclosure, and charities and campaigning organisations will be required to lodge annual disclosures with the Australian Electoral Commission. Senator Eric Abetz, Special Minister of State, has said that the measures are aimed at improving the integrity of the voting system, to reduce the possibility of fraud.

Link has Hansard transcript.

Whistleblower protection inadequate   
   posted: 31/03/2006
Author(s):
Category: Rights; Accountability; - Breaking news/external links
In his report on Queensland’s public hospitals, former supreme court judge Geoff Davies claims that the Queensland Whistleblower Protection Act provides inadequate protection for public sector employees who expose malpractice. Protection is limited to those reporting malpractice to relevant public bodies but provides no protection for those who make disclosures to others, such as journalists or members of parliament. He recommends that complaints should be first made to the relevant government department, but, if there is no resolution within 30 days, protection for the complainant should be extended to allow disclosure to an MP.

Stanhope argues for Bill of Rights   
   posted: 31/03/2006
Author(s): Jon Stanhope (ACT Chief Minister)
Category: Rights; - Breaking news/external links
In an article for the New Matilda, ACT premier Jon Stanhope puts the case for a national Bill of Rights in Australia.

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2005    (published: 3/2006)
   posted: 31/03/2006
Author(s): Norm Kelly (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; - Breaking news/external links
The Howard government’s electoral reform legislation – the Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2005 – is set to be debated in the House of Representatives in the final week of March 2006. The Bill contains amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and other related Acts on a variety of electoral issues.

This commentary provides a brief guide to various aspects of the legislation, the government’s arguments in support of the reforms and Norm's own comments.

Political Donations WA    (published: 4/2006)
   posted: 6/04/2006
Author(s): Andrew Murray (Australian Democrats Senator)
Category: Political Finance/Govt Advertising
A project undertaken by Senator Andrew Murray that forms part of the Australian Democrats campaign to reform political funding and disclosure legislation. It concerns political donations made in Western Australia.

The South Australian election: Implications for democracy in the festival state    (published: 4/2006)
   posted: 11/04/2006
Author(s): Geoff Anderson (Flinders University), Haydon Manning (Flinders University)
Category: Electoral
In this paper for the Audit, Geoff Anderson and Haydon Manning of Flinders University review the election and analyse the Rann government's commitment to abolishing the upper house and inclusion of non-Labor members in Cabinet. They also examine South Australia's unique electoral redistribution formula.

Question time - A failing institution?    (published: 4/2006)
   posted: 24/04/2006
Author(s): Parameswary Rasiah (University of Western Australia)
Category: Parliament; Accountability; - Audit paper
Parameswary Rasiah, University of Western Australia, provides a damning critique of parliamentary question time. Analysing ministers' responses to questions on the Iraq conflict, she highlights how they evade answering properly unless questions come from their own side, concluding that question time fails as a means to hold government to account.

Enforcing party democracy    (published: 4/2006)
   posted: 24/04/2006
Author(s): Anika Gauja (University of Sydney)
Category: Parties/Independents; Accountability; - Audit paper
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.

Political 'hitmen'    (published: 4/2006)
   posted: 24/04/2006
Author(s): James Walter (Monash University)
Category: Accountability; - Audit paper; Public service/statutory bodies
James Walter, Monash University, reviews how the role of ministerial advisors in Australia has evolved to their current status as 'political hitmen'. The lack of adequate accountability measures for ministerial advisers has contributed to the concentration of power in the government, the narrowing of the scope of policy advice, and the risk of a 'descent into groupthink and policy fiasco'.

UK Freedom of Information Act    (published: 1/2005)
   posted: 1/05/2006
Author(s):
Category: Accountability; Rights
The United Kingdom's Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force at the beginning of 2005 and introduced a statutory right to official information for the first time. But access to government-held information is restricted by the FOI Act’s numerous exemptions. Twenty-three sections of the FOI Act specify 36 individual exceptions to the disclosure rule, some more stringent (or “absolute”) than others.

Watchdog independence compromised?    (published: 5/2006)
   posted: 16/05/2006
Author(s): Peter van Onselen (Edith Cowan University)
Category: Accountability; Public service/statutory bodies; - Audit paper
In this new Audit discussion paper, Peter Van Onselen (Edith Cowan University) considers the implications of the WA government's decision to downgrade several independent watchdog posts. The decision, affecting the Electoral Commissioner, the Commissioner for Public Sector Standards, and the Information Commissioner, has obvious implications for the standing of these posts within the public service and for the ability to recruit candidates of the highest calibre to them in the future. But the role of the WA government in the decision also raises serious questions about the independence of these watchdog bodies, responsible to parliament, from the government departments that they are supposed to scrutinise.

The failure of Australian anti-corruption measures    (published: 5/2006)
   posted: 26/05/2006
Author(s): Jürgen Kurtz (University of Melbourne Law School)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
In the wake of the AWB bribery scandal, Jürgen Kurtz reviews Australia’s commitment to combating bribery of foreign officials. Despite ratifying the OECD’s anti-bribery convention in 1999 and passing its own anti-bribery legislation in 1999, Australia has yet to establish proper implementation machinery or to charge any companies or individuals.

The English local government elections of May 2006    (published: 5/2006)
   posted: 26/05/2006
Author(s): James Jupp (Centre for Immigration and Cultural Studies, Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral
James Jupp analyses the local government elections held on 4 May in England, which saw the Labour vote at 26 per cent fall below that of both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. There was a doubling of the seats held by the anti-immigration British National Party but also an increase in the number of Muslim Councillors.

Quid pro quo needed for Western Australian electoral funding    (published: 6/2006)
   posted: 15/06/2006
Author(s): Andrew Murray (Democrats Senator for Western Australia)
Category: - Audit paper; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Accountability
With public funding of political parties proposed in Western Australia, Senator Andrew Murray (Democrats) argues, in this Audit discussion paper, that a quid pro quo is required in the form of higher standards of governance, transparency, and accountability, from the parties that receive it.

NGOs out in the cold: The Howard Government policy towards NGOs    (published: 6/2006)
   posted: 15/06/2006
Author(s): Joan Staples (University of New South Wales)
Category: NGOs/participation; - Audit paper
In a new Audit discussion paper, Joan Staples (UNSW) attacks the Federal Government’s policies towards NGOs as undermining the democratic process. She argues that the Government has been inspired by public choice perspectives in its attempts to limit the advocacy role of NGOs.

From London to Ulaanbaatar: Making the State of Democracy Framework Travel    (published: 6/2006)
   posted: 19/06/2006
Author(s): Todd Landman (University of Essex)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
Todd Landman of the University of Essex describes how the democratic audit methodology has travelled beyond the eight countries in which the original pilot audits were conducted and has now reached Mongolia. He concludes that despite Mongolia lacking many features that modernisation theory has regarded as essential for democracy, the audit methodology has proved valuable in identifying both strengths and weaknesses.

Presented at Democratic Audit workshop at International Political Science Association Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 11 2006.

The Canadian Democratic Audit    (published: 6/2006)
   posted: 19/06/2006
Author(s): William Cross (Carleton University, Canada)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
William Cross describes how the Democratic Audit of Canada came into existence in the context of declining public confidence in democratic institutions and with voter turnout at a record low. The Audit used the benchmarks of public participation, inclusiveness and responsiveness to assess democratic performance and has produced nine books, widely used in political science and Canadian studies courses.

Presented at Democratic Audit workshop at International Political Science Association Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 11 2006.

IDEA's State of Democracy Assessment Methodology    (published: 6/2006)
   posted: 19/06/2006
Author(s): Ozias Tungwarara (Formerly of IDEA)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
Ozias Tungwarara, formerly of IDEA, describes the challenge of developing an audit methodology that clearly presents its normative and conceptual underpinnings but is still flexible enough to respond to very different environments. The methodology does not aggregate performance in discrete areas and recognises that democratic norms cannot be maximised simultaneously.

Presented at Democratic Audit workshop at International Political Science Association Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 11 2006.

The Democratic Audit of Australia: Populism vs Citizen Rights    (published: 6/2006)
   posted: 19/06/2006
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
Marian Sawer describes how the Democratic Audit of Australia has separated out the values of political equality, popular control of government, civil liberties/human rights and deliberative democracy in order to highlight the threat posed by populist majoritarianism. Attacks on the 'non-elected' intermediary institutions essential to accountability and rights protection in representative democracy undermine popular control of government despite speaking in its name.

Presented at Democratic Audit workshop at International Political Science Association Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 11 2006.

Auditing Democracy in Ireland    (published: 6/2006)
   posted: 27/06/2006
Author(s): Paula Clancy (TASC - A Think Tank for Social Change, Dublin), Ian G. Hughes (TASC - A Think Tank for Social Change, Dublin)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
Paula Clancy and Ian Hughes, of TASC, describe how the Democratic Audit of Ireland and the parallel Democratic Audit of Northern Ireland are being conducted by independent think tanks assisted by a commission chaired by the head of the Irish trade union congress and with party, business and community representatives. Issues include responses to the unprecedented inward migration into Ireland in recent years.

Presented at Democratic Audit workshop at International Political Science Association Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 11 2006.

The Democratic Audit of South Asia: An Auditor’s notebook    (published: 7/2006)
   posted: 21/07/2006
Author(s): Peter deSouza (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Dehli, India)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
Presented at Democratic Audit workshop at International Political Science Association Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 11 2006.

Democratising Democracy Assessments: the State of Democracy Methodology   
   posted: 21/07/2006
Author(s): Massimo Tommasoli (International IDEA, Sweden)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
Presented at Democratic Audit workshop at International Political Science Association Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 11 2006.

A comment on Landman, deSouza, and Tommasoli    (published: 7/2006)
   posted: 24/07/2006
Author(s): Philip Larkin (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
Presented at Democratic Audit workshop at International Political Science Association Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 11 2006.

Making independent bodies independent    (published: 7/2006)
   posted: 26/07/2006
Author(s): Andrew Macintosh (The Australia Institute)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Public service/statutory bodies
Andrew Macintosh, deputy director of the Australia Institute, considers the process of appointment to public bodies. Where the independence of these bodies is compromised, so too are their outcomes. And yet the current processes for appointing members is far from transparent or merit-based.

Report No. 6: Electronic Democracy? The Impact of New Communications Technology on Australian Democracy    (published: 8/2006)
   posted: 9/08/2006
Author(s): Peter Chen (Monash University), Karin Geiselhart (University of Canberra), Rachel Gibson (University of Leicester, UK)
Category: - Audit paper; Focussed Audits; NGOs/participation
Peter Chen, Rachel Gibson and Karin Geiselhart look at the way those involved in the political process, including government, political parties, MPs and civil society groups have used new technology, and the implications for democracy. On the one hand there is the potential for increased big brother surveillance of citizens, on the other for broader citizen participation and interactivity in the policy process. Little of the potential for more open government has been realised in Australia.

Can human rights survive the war on terror and the war on crime?    (published: 8/2006)
   posted: 9/08/2006
Author(s): Carol Harlow (London School of Economics)
Category: - Audit paper; Parliament; Rights
Carol Harlow (LSE) explores how the UK Human Rights Act compromises between upholding European human rights standards and the Westminster principle of parliamentary sovereignty. She finds that the UK government has sometimes been impatient with constraints placed on the war on terror and the war on crime. Strengthening parliamentary scrutiny mechanisms on human rights may be the key to a more co-operative relationship with the judiciary.

Property votes—OK?   
   posted: 9/08/2006
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral
Marian Sawer, Director of the Democratic Audit of Australia, discusses property votes. Whilst property votes are normally regarded as a relic dating back to an age before mass democracy, they persist in local government elections in much of Australia. Their continued existence is an affront to most modern conceptions of democracy.

Australian human rights record in international perspective    (published: 8/2006)
   posted: 9/08/2006
Author(s): Hilary Charlesworth (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Rights; NGOs/participation
Hilary Charlesworth (ANU) reviews Australia’s record in implementing its international human rights obligations. Under the Coalition Government, Australia’s relationship with the UN human rights treaty bodies has deteriorated. Australia has adopted a combative stance, emphasising domestic sovereignty and rejecting criticism of human rights performance.

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
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.

Whistleblowing – A review of the law    (published: 8/2006)
   posted: 30/08/2006
Author(s): A.J. Brown (Griffith Law School)
Category: Accountability; - Audit paper; Public service/statutory bodies
A J Brown of Griffith Law School reviews Australian laws on public interest disclosures. He finds significant variation in the scope of whistle-blowing law between the different States and Territories, and calls for a ‘second generation’ of law throughout Australia.

Strike up the ban: Censorship and the war on terror    (published: 8/2006)
   posted: 30/08/2006
Author(s): Norman Abjorensen (Australian National University)
Category: Accountability; - Audit paper; Rights
Reflecting on the recent decision to ban two Islamist books, Norm Abjorensen is critical of how censorship has been used in the war on terror to pursue political rather than security goals.

The benefits of incumbency    (published: 8/2006)
   posted: 30/08/2006
Author(s): Norm Kelly (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Incumbency benefits
In the wake of the latest increase in the printing allowance for federal MPs, Norm Kelly of the Democratic Audit of Australia criticises both the accumulation of incumbency benefits and rules that allow the use of parliamentary allowances for partisan purposes.

Reform of the Senate committee system   
   posted: 31/08/2006
Author(s): Lisa Young (Queensland Department of Premier and Cabinet)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Parliament
In a new Audit discussion paper, Liz Young reviews the government’s changes to the Senate committee system. Whilst the government maintains that the changes will make for a more efficient and effective committee system, opponents fear that the changes will merely strengthen executive dominance over parliament.

Does the South Australian Legislative Council have a future?    (published: 10/2006)
   posted: 6/10/2006
Author(s): Jordan Bastoni (University of Adelaide)
Category: - Audit paper; Parliament; Accountability
In a new paper for the Democratic Audit, Jordan Bastoni, University of Adelaide, considers moves to abolish the South Australian upper house. Not only do the changes risk damaging the quality of the political process and the accountability of government, they are also ill-thought out and, it is argued, may be defeated anyway.

Review of Limiting Democracy: the Erosion of Electoral Rights in Australia by Colin A. Hughes & Brian Costar    (published: 10/2006)
   posted: 6/10/2006
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Constitution/federalism; Political Finance/Govt Advertising; Electoral

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
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.

Sunlight as the best disinfectant: Campaign finance in Australia    (published: 10/2006)
   posted: 26/10/2006
Author(s): Kenneth R. Mayer (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Category: - Audit paper; Political Finance/Govt Advertising
Kenneth Mayer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison compares the systems of campaign finance in Australia and the United States. In spite of the huge sums involved in American campaigns, the disclosure requirements are far stricter than Australia’s, particularly since this year's changes.

New media laws and their impact on the bush    (published: 11/2006)
   posted: 6/11/2006
Author(s): Peter Andren (Federal Independent Member for Calare)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Media
Peter Andren MP, the Independent member for Calare, considers the impact of the recent changes to media law on media diversity in rural areas. The laws, which will allow a single owner to control both television and newspapers in a particular market, will see, he says, an end to local content in rural areas.

China and Australia: Mutual assistance on criminal matters    (published: 11/2006)
   posted: 6/11/2006
Author(s): Vic Adams (Civil Liberties Australia)
Category: - Audit paper; Rights
Australia and China negotiated a treaty on mutual assistance in criminal matters in 2006. Vic Adams considers the treaty and its possible implications in the light of China’s record on the death penalty. The treaty lack safeguards to ensure Australia in not implicated in executions and could be in breach of a number of other treaties to which Australia is a signatory, aimed at ending the death penalty.

Australian industrial laws and freedom of political expression    (published: 11/2006)
   posted: 17/11/2006
Author(s): Tom Roberts (Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union & Energy Union)
Category: - Audit paper; Rights
In a new paper for the Audit, Tom Roberts of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, discusses the implications of changes to industrial relations law for freedom of expression in the construction sector. Virtually all forms of industrial action are deemed unlawful in the sector and could result in deductions in pay, fines, and damages claims: the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner has been established to monitor and enforce this. This constitutes a direct attack on the right to peaceful political protest.

Political finance in Australia : a skewed and secret system    (published: 11/2006)
   posted: 21/11/2006
Author(s): Joo-Cheong Tham (University of Melbourne), Sally Young (University of Melbourne)
Category: Focussed Audits; Political Finance/Govt Advertising
Focussed Audit No. 7.

Fifty years of campaign finance study in Australia    (published: 12/2006)
   posted: 18/12/2006
Author(s): Colin Hughes (University of Queensland)
Category: - Audit paper; Political Finance/Govt Advertising
Colin A Hughes, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Queensland, looks at the history of the study of campaign finance in Australia and why it has been so under-developed.

Trust matters: Politics, trust & the republican cause    (published: 12/2006)
   posted: 18/12/2006
Author(s): Rebecca Huntley ()
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Constitution/federalism
Rebecca Huntley, author of The World According to Y: Inside the New Adult Generation, gave the 2006 National Republican lecture in Canberra on 29 November. Her lecture, ‘Trust matters: Politics, trust and the republican cause’ is issued as a discussion paper for the Democratic Audit of Australia.

Representation for the Italian diaspora    (published: 12/2006)
   posted: 18/12/2006
Author(s): Elisa Arcioni (University of Wollongong)
Category: - Audit paper; Parliament; Electoral
In this Audit paper Elisa Arcioni, University of Wollongong, considers the decision to include seats for the Italian diaspora in the Italian parliament.The decision was of even greater significance since it was the results in the Australasian seat that gave the Prodi government its majority in the Senate.

The landslide revisited? The 2006 Victorian Election    (published: 12/2006)
   posted: 18/12/2006
Author(s): Nick Economou (Monash University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; Accountability
In a new Audit paper, Nick Economou, Monash University, reviews the Victorian State election of 25 November 2006.

The Australian Wheat Board and the Oil for Food program    (published: 2/2007)
   posted: 13/02/2007
Author(s): Linda Botterill (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Public service/statutory bodies; Accountability
Linda Botterill, Australian National University, considers the outcome of the Cole Inquiry into the AWB Ltd’s alleged bribery in Iraq. The problem was not so much one of government culpability, she argues, but shortcomings in the way in which the original privatisation of the wheat exporting institutions were carried out.

An upper house for Queensland?   
   posted: 13/02/2007
Author(s): Nicholas Aroney (University of Queensland), Scott Prasser (University of the Sunshine Coast)
Category: - Audit paper; Constitution/federalism; Parliament
Nicholas Aroney (University of Queensland) and Scott Prasser (University of the Sunshine Coast) look at the debate surrounding the merits of restoring an upper house to the Queensland parliament. A second chamber could contribute to far greater executive scrutiny in Queensland, but much would depend on how a restored upper house was structured.

Time to tighten the caretaker conventions    (published: 2/2007)
   posted: 13/02/2007
Author(s): Paul Malone (Canberra Times)
Category: - Audit paper; Incumbency benefits; Public service/statutory bodies
The Canberra Times’ Paul Malone reviews the current caretaker conventions, designed to ensure that a government does not exploit its position once an election is called. The conventions are, however, interpreted very differently between departments, particularly in relation to departmental websites. New guidelines should minimise the scope for conflicting interpretations.

Parliament of Australia: A view to the future    (published: 3/2007)
   posted: 2/03/2007
Author(s): David Hawker (Speaker of the House of Representatives)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Parliament
The Hon David Hawker, Speaker of the House of Representatives, considers the funding arrangements for the Australian parliament. Drawing on examples from overseas, he suggests changes to parliament’s funding and administration to strengthen its independence.

The funding of New Zealand’s elections: Current problems and prospects for change    (published: 3/2007)
   posted: 2/03/2007
Author(s): Andrew Geddis (University of Otago)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Electoral
Andrew Geddis (University of Otago), author of Electoral Law in New Zealand; practice and Policy (LexisNexis, Jan 2007), reviews New Zealand’s system of election funding in the light of the 2005 election in a new paper for the Audit. A series of serious breaches of the rules by several parties have been documented, but with little prospect of punishment. Enforcement of the rules is weak, with breaches treated as ‘victimless crimes’. However, such continued breaches risk undermining the legitimacy of the whole electoral process

How Well Does Australian Democracy Serve Women?    (published: 3/2007)
   posted: 2/03/2007
Author(s): Sarah Maddison (University of New South Wales), Emma Partridge (University of Technology Sydney)
Category: Focussed Audits; Accountability; - Audit paper
Sarah Maddison and Emma Partridge address the question, How well does Australian democracy serve Australian women?. They find that Australia, once a leader in efforts to establish equality between men and women, has slid backwards on gender equality over the past decade, with many of the earlier gains now undone.

Railroading democracy    (published: 3/2007)
   posted: 29/03/2007
Author(s): Carmen Lawrence (Federal Member for Fremantle)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Incumbency benefits
In the wake of the Brian Burke scandal in WA, Dr Carmen Lawrence, federal MP for Fremantle and former Premier of WA, argues for more stringent rules governing lobbyists’ activities and politicians’ dealings with them. Drawing on international examples, she argues that, at the very least, the transparency of the lobbying process needs to be far greater, yet the WA proposals fall well short of what is required.

Resources for members of parliament: More Australian anomalies?    (published: 3/2007)
   posted: 29/03/2007
Author(s): June Verrier (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Parliament
The Audit’s June Verrier argues that the decision to grant MPs an extra staff member is a boost to the incumbency benefits enjoyed by sitting members. Parliament will function better if resources are diverted from support for incumbents' campaigns towards areas of benefit to the parliament as a whole, such as parliamentary research services.

Democratic Values: Political equality?    (published: 5/2007)
   posted: 25/05/2007
Author(s): Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Incumbency benefits
The pursuit of political equality is one of the four underpinning values of the Democratic Audit of Australia. In this new paper, Audit leader Marian Sawer reviews the state of Australian democracy in relation to this core principle. Restrictions on voting, a lack of transparency surrounding political finance, and the use of public money for party political ends are some of the areas in which Australia currently fails to measure up.

Gender goes missing from NSW politics    (published: 5/2007)
   posted: 25/05/2007
Author(s): Tony Smith ()
Category: - Audit paper; Parliament; Parties/Independents
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.

A shrinking Australian electoral roll?    (published: 6/2007)
   posted: 20/06/2007
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University), Simon Jackman (Stanford University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; Public service/statutory bodies
In a new paper for the Audit, Peter Brent and Simon Jackman review the slowing rate of increase of the Australian electoral roll. They find that the Australian Electoral Commission has become more proficient at expunging than at enrolling or re-enrolling voters.

Devolution and the May 2007 local election results in the UK    (published: 6/2007)
   posted: 20/06/2007
Author(s): James Jupp (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral
Elections for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, and for local government in most of England and in Scotland, were held on 3 May 2007. In a new Audit paper, James Jupp (ANU) reviews the background and results.

How well does Australian democracy serve sexual and gender minorities?    (published: 7/2007)
   posted: 21/07/2007
Author(s): Sarah Maddison (University of New South Wales), Emma Partridge (University of Technology, Sydney)
Category: - Audit paper; Focussed Audits; Rights
Sarah Maddison and Emma Partridge consider the status of sexual and gender minorities in Australia. They find that, whilst there has been considerable progress in the human rights of sexual and gender minorities in recent decades, it highlights the extent to which significant inequalities persist, particularly in respect of relationship recognition.

The Haneef Case    (published: 7/2007)
   posted: 22/07/2007
Author(s): James Jupp (Australian National University)
Category: Accountability; Rights; Media
Following attempted terrorist attacks in the UK, a Gold Coast doctor has been charged with giving material assistance to a terrorist organisation—namely his mobile phone SIM card. Dr Haneef passed the card on to a second cousin 12 months ago when he was leaving the UK. Despite being granted bail by a magistrate.

Parliamentary administration compared    (published: 7/2007)
   posted: 22/07/2007
Author(s): June Verrier (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Parliament
June Verrier, currently a visiting fellow at the Audit has an interesting paper on parliamentary administration in the Australasian Parliamentary Review. Comparing experience in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, she argues that, contrary to much opinion, improved corporate governance will not, of itself, increase parliament’s independence or effectiveness. An underpinning commitment is necessary to the kind of administrative and budgetary arrangements needed for independence, the best-practice model being a cross-party parliamentary commission. The Australasian Parliamentary Review is not yet available online, but the article is reproduced with permission.

The role of ministerial advisors    (published: 7/2007)
   posted: 22/07/2007
Author(s): Norman Abjorensen (Australian National University)
Category: Accountability; - Audit paper; Public service/statutory bodies
As one of his first moves, the new British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has released a Green Paper, The Governance of Britain, to launch discussion of a wide range of constitutional reform. The Green Paper is available here.
Norman Abjorensen discusses the proposals relating to ministerial advisors.

The Governance of Britain    (published: 7/2007)
   posted: 22/07/2007
Author(s): Philip Larkin (Australian National University)
Category: Constitution/federalism; - Audit paper
As one of his first moves, the new British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has released a Green Paper, The Governance of Britain, to launch discussion of a wide range of constitutional reform. The Green Paper is available here.
Phil Larkin provides an overview of the Green paper.

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
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.

The need for transparency in lobbying    (published: 9/2007)
   posted: 20/09/2007
Author(s): Julian Fitzgerald (Parliamentary Press Gallery journalist, Clareville Press)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability
Julian Fitzgerald considers the regulation of political lobbyists in this new Audit paper. He argues that a registration scheme would alleviate some of the problems that this burgeoning industry has brought.

Not good news: Australia’s shrinking media freedoms    (published: 9/2007)
   posted: 20/09/2007
Author(s): Norman Abjorensen (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Media
The Audit’s Norman Abjorensen assesses the state of press freedom in Australia The paper is based on a chapter for the Audit’s forthcoming book, Australia: The State of Democracy which will be out next year.

Queensland burning: local government amalgamation & democratic practice in Queensland    (published: 9/2007)
   posted: 20/09/2007
Author(s): Scott Prasser (University of the Sunshine Coast)
Category: - Audit paper; Rights; Accountability
Scott Prasser (University of the Sunshine Coast) reviews the recent furore over forced amalgamation of local government in Queensland. Whilst there is agreement that some rationalisation of local government is needed, the process by which it has been conducted has been characterised by democratic deficit.

Whatever happened to frank and fearless? The systems of New Public Management and the ethos and behaviour of the Australian Public Service    (published: 10/2007)
   posted: 19/10/2007
Author(s): Kathy MacDermott (Former Group Manager, Evaluation Group, Australian Public Service Commission)
Category: - Audit paper; Public service/statutory bodies; Accountability
Kathy MacDermott, former head of evaluation for the Australian Public Service Commission, considers the tension between the public service’s role in providing ‘frank and fearless’ advice to government and its role in development and implementation of government policy.

Constitutionalising the franchise and the status quo: The High Court on prisoner voting rights    (published: 10/2007)
   posted: 19/10/2007
Author(s): Graeme Orr (University of Queensland)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; Rights
In the wake of the High Court’s decision on prisoner enfranchisement, Graeme Orr (University of Queensland) describes the issue of prisoner disenfranchisement as a continuing ‘political football’ in this new paper for the Audit.

The importance of boundaries    (published: 11/2007)
   posted: 2/11/2007
Author(s): Colin Hughes (University of Queensland)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; Parliament
Colin Hughes, former Federal Electoral Commissioner and Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Queensland, considers the issue of electorate boundary changes. The paper provides a comprehensive review of the 2006 redistributions in NSW and QL and summarises the history of redistributions in the two states. Hughes analyses the party political competition involved, even when the redistributions are carried out by independent electoral commissions.

Government advertising on industrial relations    (published: 11/2007)
   posted: 2/11/2007
Author(s): Fred Argy (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Incumbency benefits; Political Finance/Govt Advertising
Fred Argy, visiting fellow at ANU’s Crawford School, reviews the federal government’s publicly funded, multi-million dollar campaign to persuade the Australian electorate of the merits of the controversial WorkChoices policy.

Parliamentary sitting dates – 2008   
   posted: 20/12/2007
Author(s): Andrew Murray (Australian Democrats)
Category: Accountability; Parliament; Parties/Independents
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.

Rolling out the regional pork barrel: A threat to democracy?   
   posted: 20/12/2007
Author(s): Geoff Cockfield (University of Southern Queensland), Scott Prasser (University of the Sunshine Coast)
Category: - Audit paper; Incumbency benefits; Accountability
Scott Prasser from the University of the Sunshine Coast, and Geoff Cockfield of the University of Southern Queensland analyse the Howard government’s Regional Partnerships Program, the subject of a recent Australian National Audit Office report. They discuss the democratic implications and question the political value of pork-barrelling.

2007 federal election - provisional voting rejection rates   
   posted: 20/12/2007
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; Incumbency benefits; Rights
The rejection rate for voters who applied for a provisional vote in the federal election was far higher than normal, rising from about 50 per cent to about 86 per cent. The Audit’s Peter Brent comments.

Removing partisan bias from Australian electoral legislation – An Audit discussion paper   
   posted: 31/01/2008
Author(s): Brendan McCaffrie (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; Accountability
The ANU’s Brendan McCaffrie discusses a way of removing partisan bias from the formulation of Australia’s electoral laws. His proposal for an Independent Electoral Law Committee seeks to remove the partisan influence of the major parties from electoral law-making. Although the major parties may be loath to give up this control, there are international precedents, as McCaffrie discusses.

Informal voting at the 2007 election – Preliminary notes   
   posted: 31/01/2008
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University)
Category: Electoral; Parliament; Rights
In this commentary piece, the Audit’s Peter Brent notes the decrease in informal voting (from 5.18% to 3.95%) at the 2007 federal election. However, the level of accidental informal voting still appears to be significant, and Brent identifies the relationships with different voting systems at the state level, as well as the level of non-English speaking voters.

Not so special anymore: The demise of SBS television – An Audit discussion paper   
   posted: 1/02/2008
Author(s): Emma Dawson (Monash University)
Category: - Audit paper; Public service/statutory bodies; Media
Monash University’s Emma Dawson assesses the state of SBS as a public broadcaster reflecting the concerns of ethnic Australia. Dawson discusses how SBS management has responded to being caught up in the culture wars, attempting to adequately respond to the interests of its viewers, and its political masters.

The Democratic Audit’s Electoral Reform Agenda   
   posted: 18/02/2008
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University), Norm Kelly (Australian National University), Marian Sawer (Australian National University)
Category: Accountability; Electoral; Incumbency benefits
The election of a new government means an opportunity to fix some of the things that have been going wrong with Australia’s electoral system. Australia has been making it harder to enrol and vote, and easier for private money to influence electoral outcomes.

Time to introduce automatic enrolment in Australia   
   posted: 18/02/2008
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; Accountability
With the Rudd government looking at making changes to the Electoral Act, the Audit’s Peter Brent places automatic enrolment as a high priority. In this paper, he highlights the mass of database information which the Australian Electoral Commission has access to, but cannot efficiently use for updating the electoral roll. Peter calls for the AEC to be given the power to update the roll automatically – doing away with the need for citizens to fill out lengthy enrolment forms.

The Lobbying Code of Conduct: An Appraisal   
   posted: 15/04/2008
Author(s): John Warhurst (Australian National University)
Category: Accountability; Incumbency benefits; - Audit paper
The Cabinet Secretary, Senator John Faulkner, released an exposure draft of the proposed Lobbying Code of Conduct on 2 April 2008. In this Audit Discussion Paper John Warhurst assesses the proposal. While welcoming the code, he writes that in important respects "it is timid and narrow".

Hereditary Relics Holding Back the AEC   
   posted: 14/05/2008
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; NGOs/participation
Peter Brent examines the regional structure of the Australian Electoral Commission and argues that the existence of permanent District Returning Offices is wasteful and is holding back the adoption of world's best practice enrolment procedures.

Hereditary Relics Holding Back the AEC    (published: 5/2008)
   posted: 15/05/2008
Author(s): Peter Brent (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Electoral; Public service/statutory bodies
Peter Brent examines the regional structure of the Australian Electoral Commission and argues that the existence of permanent District Returning Offices is wasteful and is holding back the adoption of world's best practice enrolment procedures.

Different donors    (published: 6/2008)
   posted: 23/06/2008
Author(s): Joo-Cheong Tham (University of Melbourne)
Category: - Audit paper; Incumbency benefits; Political Finance/Govt Advertising
Joo-Cheong Tham from the University of Melbourne argues the case for treating trade union financial contributions to political parties differently from those from corporations. The paper is a response to growing support for restricting or banning political donations from all organisations.

Report No. 10: Marketing Government: The public service and the permanent campaign    (published: 10/2008)
   posted: 29/10/2008
Author(s): Kathy MacDermott ()
Category: Focussed Audits; Incumbency benefits; Public service/statutory bodies
Kathy MacDermott shows how the marketing of government has invaded the core business of policy development and the everyday work of public servants. Her case studies illustrate how public servants have become part of the 'permanent campaign', putting at risk the distinction between marketing and explaining government policy and between genuine and politically tailored data.

New Fangs for the Platy-tiger? Labor and the Senate    (published: 12/2008)
   posted: 17/12/2008
Author(s): Tony Smith (Swinburne University of Technology)
Category: - Audit paper; Accountability; Parliament
Tony Smith provides a concise overview of the main issues arising from the interaction of the government and the Senate over the past year in this new Audit discussion paper, New Fangs for the Platy-tiger? The Senate and the Rudd Government in 2008.

Public Confidence in Australian Democracy    (published: 12/2008)
   posted: 17/12/2008
Author(s): Scott Brenton (Australian National University)
Category: - Audit paper; Public opinion
Scott Brenton uses data from the 2007 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes and the 2007 Australian Election Study to examine public perceptions of democracy. He finds that respondents were satisfied and proud of a general conception of Australian democracy but that indications of citizen engagement are not strong and the performance of government, politicians and other public officials.

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