Welcome to the fifth of The Conversation’s Election 2013 podcasts. Each week The Conversation will be sitting down with Australia’s top political minds to discuss all things election as we gear up for…
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Federal election 2013 – Analysis and Comment
If we haven’t heard much about carbon policy this election, we’ve heard even less about the other side of the climate equation - adaptation. We’re already seeing an increase in extreme weather, and climate…
STATE OF THE STATES: a snapshot of the key issues affecting each state and territory in the lead up to Saturday’s election. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is generally regarded as a Labor stronghold…
The seats of Dobell and Robertson encompass most of the Central Coast between Sydney and Newcastle and therefore preside over a glistening necklace of beaches and waterways that are among the most beautiful…
On Monday, the Coalition announced its plan for the Great Barrier Reef, including a A$40m trust-fund to target threats to the Reef such as Crown of Thorns starfish and runoff from agriculture. The promises…
In the final countdown to polling day, Australian political history suggests that political parties will start to fight dirty in critical seats, using just-legal tricks in an attempt to get the winning…
STATE OF THE STATES: a snapshot of the key issues affecting each state and territory in the lead up to Saturday’s election. With just days to polling and deepening voter scepticism towards Kevin Rudd and…
Along with their sister parties in New Zealand, Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, the Australian Greens are among a small group of Green parties that have won more than 10% vote share at recent elections…
Saturday’s election will largely determine Australia’s domestic climate policy settings through to 2020. It will define Australia’s stance in international climate negotiations on targets and mitigation…
If any seat is going to indicate whether all the pain that Kevin Rudd put the Labor Party through in regaining the prime ministership was worth it, it will be the inner-city seat of Brisbane. The seat…
STATE OF THE STATES: a snapshot of the key issues affecting each state and territory in the lead up to Saturday’s election. With a total of 37 seats, the state of Victoria should figure as a major battleground…
Two unexpected disclosures have refocused attention on the Coalition industrial relations policy before the election. The first was further detail from workplace relations shadow minister Eric Abetz about…
Launching the Coalition’s policy for Efficient Mental Health Research and Services late last week, Tony Abbott said he wished all his policy statements attracted such media attention. Given the Australian…
There are no votes in higher education, right? One former cabinet minister would refer to universities as “the dogs” - because if you kick ‘em, they just roll over. Conventional wisdom has long told us…
A recent Vote Compass poll shows 61% of Australian adults want the federal government to do more to tackle climate change; 18% want it to do less. This figure, consistent with many polls over the years…
STATE OF THE STATES: a snapshot of the key issues affecting each state and territory in the lead up to Saturday’s election. During Tony Abbott’s recent campaign visit to Western Australia, the state’s…
The ultra-marginal seat of Greenway in Sydney’s western suburbs has recently drawn international scrutiny after the embarrassing media performance of the Liberal candidate Jaymes Diaz, who faltered when…
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey and shadow Minister for Finance, Andrew Robb, have announced A$7.5 billion in planned budget savings from scrapping key elements of the Government’s Clean Energy Future package…
Large parts of Australian agriculture are economically and financially unsustainable. Returns are inadequate and unbalanced; assets are depleted; risks are needlessly high. To date, governments have largely…
STATE OF THE STATES: a snapshot of the key issues affecting each state and territory in the lead up to Saturday’s election. Leading up to the September 7 federal election, one of the multiple three-word…
The economic promises of both the Coalition and the ALP rely on two “big taxes”: the mining tax and the carbon tax. This week, the Coalition revealed what it believes it will save from abolishing them…
Last year the current government unveiled plans for the world’s largest network of marine parks around Australia’s coast. Now the Coalition has pledged to put a pause on the plan should it form government…
So, both parties have spent this election trying to convince you that they have the best policies for our schools and universities. But so far, the detail has been lacking. In fact opposition leader Tony…
As journalism professor David Maguire noted at the start of this campaign, prime minister Kevin Rudd has had such limited time in which to develop a social media strategy that he has “parachuted” in some…
Coal seam gas (CSG) is fundamentally divisive. Proponents of short-term profits are pitted against those whose priority is to preserve the sustainable resources of agricultural land and scarce water. As…