How democratic is the way in which political parties are funded? This report identifies two central problems: a lack of transparency around the way parties are funded and the way in which their money is spent; and an inequality in the system that favours the Coalition and ALP at the expense of the minor parties.

Sally Young assesses propaganda theory in relation to the current debate on the use and possible misuse of government advertising by incumbent Coalition and Labor parties. In particular, Young comments on the relationship between governments, as major advertisers, and the editorial content of media outlets.

Sally Young looks at the rise in the level of informal votes cast in the 2004 federal election, which highlights the need for funding to be restored to the Australian Electoral Commission so that it can conduct adequate community education programs, particularly in electorates with large numbers of Australians from non-English speaking countries. Such a...

In this article, Sally Young, from the Media and Communications Program at the University of Melbourne, argues that money has become central to the process of political communication in Australia.