John Menadue

In this second article on the problems of our voting system I argue that the current election results may give the impression that our democracy is working well. But that ignores the enormous effort needed by community groups and volunteer organisations simply to achieve a parliament which only begins to approximate the needs and wishes of the bulk of the population. (more…)

Australia is one of the most multicultural nations in the world, but it’s a different story in the country’s politics, where 96% of federal lawmakers are white. With this year’s election, political parties did have a window to slightly improve this. But they chose not to in most cases, critics say. (more…)

Many Australians see New Zealand’s MMP voting system as a complex German-based foreign contraption which has little to offer us. Pete Fry argues that for its users it is a simple responsive transparent process which could help to improve our trust in politics by making our Parliament more representative of the majority of Australians. (more…)

I’m writing this the day after the 2022 federal election, when it is clear that Australia will not have a Coalition government, but it is not yet clear whether Labor will govern in its own right, or how the composition of the Senate will influence energy and climate policy. (more…)

Below is a repost of articles which we posted earlier on guidance for a new government on important policies. (more…)

For over three years the world has grappled with Covid-19. Australia was well served by doctors who convinced governments to listen to medical science. But the politicians have resumed control and science, all science, is being silenced.And not just on Covid but more importantly in climate change (more…)

There is nothing like leading and working on a political campaign to test one’s character. (more…)

Have you received recently in your mailbox a card headed “Voting ‘Independent’ risks a chaotic hung parliament with weak leadership”?  I have. And it’s just plain wrong. (more…)

Voting independent needs careful preferencing. If your independent doesn’t get up (or you don’t have that option), you can try Active Democracy (more…)

ANZAC day is a day to remember why peace is preferable to war. This year it was besmirched by the beating of the drums of war. (more…)

José Ramos-Horta will be the new President of Timor-Leste from May 20, 2022, following his decisive second round win on April 19. (more…)

The dissident says that while outraged by Russia’s war on Ukraine, much of the rest of the world is reacting to U.S. condemnation by asking, “Why should we get involved in your hypocrisy?” (more…)

The story of ‘us’: there’s a great tale Labor could tell about how it would govern – it just needs to start telling it. (more…)

If the ALP cannot secure victory in the coming election, the result will expose the fallacies on which the small-target approach is based, and we should be ready for it with baseball bats. (more…)