This paper explores how the struggle between the political rights of property and the political rights of the people shaped the design of Australian political institutions and how this legacy continues to affect Australian democracy.

In this discussion paper, Joo-Cheong Tham from the University of Melbourne argues the case for treating trade union financial contributions to political parties differently from those of corporations. The paper is a response to growing support for restricting or banning political donations from all organisations.

This discussion paper examines the regional structure of the Australian Electoral Commission and argues that the existence of permanent District Returning Offices is wasteful and is holding back the adoption of world's best practice enrolment procedures.

This submission to the 2020 Summit discusses political financing and argues that removing the dependence of political parties on large donors and preventing the use of parliamentary and government resources for partisan purposes will do much to restore the health of Australian democracy and confidence in public decision-making.

The ANU's Brendan McCaffrie discusses a way of removing partisan bias from the formulation of Australia's electoral laws. His proposal for an Independent Electoral Law Committee seeks to remove the partisan influence of the major parties from electoral law-making. Although the major parties may be loath to give up this control, there are international precedents...