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Articles on US Senate reform

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Parties who gained a very small first preference vote look set to be elected to Victoria’s upper house. AAP/Luis Enrique Ascui

How to make Australia’s upper houses truly democratic

The final count for Victoria’s Legislative Council is still some days away, but it appears members elected from micro-parties will hold the balance of power in the upper house. This will be a challenge…
DLP Senator John Madigan has slammed potential Senate voting reforms. AAP/Stefan Postles

Proposed Senate voting reforms would curb micro parties

Sweeping changes to the electoral law to crack down on micro parties “gaming” the system to win Senate seats appear certain after unanimous recommendations from a parliamentary committee. The radical reforms…
Michael Ronaldson is spearheading the attempt to curb micro-parties. AAP/Alan Porritt

‘Preference whispering’ too successful for its own good?

The government has taken the first step in exploring how to curb the scope for “micro” parties to win Senate places through elaborate preference deals. Special Minister of State Michael Ronaldson has asked…
The new Senate will be dominated by an expanding crossbench of minor and microparty members. AAP/Alan Porritt

The 2013 Senate contest: Australia lurches to the right

With the official count of the Senate now completed, the implications of the contest and what it says about the mindset of the Australian body politic may now proceed. The key consequences of the half-Senate…
Senators from microparties such as the Motoring Enthusiasts Party and the Sports Party were elected on Saturday with a very small percentage of the vote. Can we fix this problem? AAP/Lukas Coch

How do we solve a problem like the Senate?

The unexpected and developing election story is that the balance of power in the Senate will belong to “microparties” most electors had never heard of before. In Victoria, people are asking how Australian…
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Micro parties win on the big boys’ rules

This Senate election has been very good for the tiddlers, more professionally know as “micro parties”, so much so that there is already an emerging debate about whether the big fish should do something…

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