The ‘party discipline’ that has its roots in the Labor Party’s precursor of the 1890s has stifled real political debate, making even the smartest politicians sound like hacks and act like sheep.
In 2011 Malcolm Turnbull said federal Liberal Party members should be allowed to conduct a conscience vote on the issue of same-sex marriage.
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With the polls remaining close and confusing but a general feeling that Malcolm Turnbull has the edge in this election, Bill Shorten has made a spirited appeal to Labor’s faithful to put their shoulders…
Bill Shorten rallied his party for a big effort in the final fortnight of the campaign.
AAP/David Moir
Bill Shorten has pledged Labor would reverse the government’s cuts to pathology and give a modest tax break to small businesses to get people back into the workforce.
The main ‘failure’ of the demand-driven system is its success.
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The main failure of university expansion is the unwillingness to fund it. Costs are certainly escalating, but priorities are always political as well as financial.
Malcolm Turnbull and Simon Birmingham meet with students in the western Sydney seat of Lindsay.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
As election day edges closer, the Labor Party finds itself without much of a tailwind. At Labor’s official campaign launch on Sunday, Bill Shorten will need to bring together the party’s story.
Under a demand driven system, poor students are finding more opportunities to attend university.
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While on the face of it a 1.5% increase in the number of disadvantaged students going to university might seem minimal, in real terms this is genuinely significant.
Solomon MP Natasha Griggs holds one of the most marginal Coalition seats, so will be hoping for more prime ministerial visits – with funding attached.
AAP/Lyndon Mechielsen
Territorians will go to the polls for the next Northern Territory election only eight weeks after the July 2 election – blurring the lines between local controversies and how people vote federally.
Glenn Lazarus and former MP Pauline Hanson are competing for every PUP vote to win a Queensland Senate seat.
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One in 20 Australians voted for the Palmer United Party in 2013. Their votes will be crucial again – especially in Queensland, where ex-PUP senator Glenn Lazarus could be replaced by Pauline Hanson.
If Bill Shorten fell just short of victory, he would have a substantial case to hang onto his post.
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