Labor’s climate and energy policies provide an important foundation for progress. But the crossbenchers, whether they hold the balance of power or not, will demand far more.
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Articles on Crossbenchers
Displaying 1 - 20 of 34 articles
When no party can immediately form a majority government, the negotiations begin – and the role of the crossbenchers becomes extremely important.
View from the crossbench: Cathy McGowan and Rebekha Sharkie on the role of community candidates.
McGowan and Sharkie have given the government their confidence until the Wentworth byelection - after which they will consult with their electorates.
With just over a week until the Super Saturday byelections, there is great interest in each of the five seats in play, including Mayo in South Australia.
It’s very hard for a crossbencher to get into the House of Representatives. But when they do, these small players can be difficult to blast out.
Michelle Grattan speaks with Deep Saini about the week in Australian politics.
Giving Australia’s lobbying laws teeth, and a sizeable regulatory jaw to occasionally brandish them, is a major step in the right direction.
The departure of up to two crossbench senators and the uncertainty over who might replace them is giving the government fresh obstacles in their efforts to pass legislation.
Incoming Victorian senator Derryn Hinch has the potential to be an ally or an enemy to the government's agenda.
The Senate results suggest the Turnbull government will have to master the art of negotiation if it is to implement its policies.
The election for the Senate hasn’t ended well. To have four senators from One Nation in the upper house is worse than unfortunate.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has won four Senate seats – two, including Hanson’s, in Queensland, one in NSW and one in Western Australia.
After a slim victory, how the Coalition works with the crossbench MPs will prove important to the success and stability of the Turnbull government.
Crossbencher Bob Katter has given his support on supply and confidence to a Coalition government after a meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Brisbane.
Within the Coalition the only cheer is among the Nationals who could actually gain one in their numbers at an election where the government has lost a swag of seats.
Malcolm Turnbull has taken ‘absolutely full responsibility’ for his criticised election campaign, and declared the Coalition must rebuild public trust in itself on the issue of Medicare.
The irony of stridently warning people against voting for minor players and then, all charm, ringing those players when you personally might need their votes may be lost on Malcolm Turnbull.
Malcolm Turnbull has slapped down the prospect of Tony Abbott returning to the ministry, as both he and Bill Shorten talk to crossbenchers who could determine their fate in a hung parliament.
The Nick Xenophon Team is to this election what the Palmer United Party was to the 2013 one. It is potentially the ‘next big new thing’ in the Senate.
One-third of people believe the next Senate should have more or the same number of crossbenchers, according to polling done for the Australia Institute.
Top contributors
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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CEO, Climateworks Centre
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Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University
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Adjunct Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
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Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Sydney
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Honorary Professorial Fellow, Melbourne CSHE, The University of Melbourne
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Professor, Director NATSEM, University of Canberra
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Deputy Vice-chancellor Research, Charles Sturt University
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Associate Professor School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University
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Professor of Economics, UNSW Sydney
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Lecturer in Politics, The University of Melbourne
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Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, University of Canberra
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Manager, Strategic Programs and Outreach, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University
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Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Canberra
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Climateworks Centre - Country Lead, Australia, Monash University
