An analysis of 25 power sharing parliaments in Australia outlines what crossbencher MPs might demand in exchange for their support and what can be expected of the power sharing parliament that results. It finds that typical areas of negotiation are parliamentary reform, policy reform, more staff and resources and ministerial or presiding officer positions for...

This concise explainer responds to concerns regarding a potential hung parliament in Australia by clarifying and outlining the various models and historical precedents for productive power-sharing in government. It contends that minority and coalition governments are common, usually stable and constructive and reflect the will of voters.

Despite occasional fearmongering about ‘hung’ parliaments, minority government and 'coalitions of chaos', the reality is that power sharing governments are common in Australia. This discussion paper examines the history of power sharing in parliaments around Australia.

IT’S ALMOST seventy years since Australia’s last federal minority government collapsed in internal disunity and scandal, having gone through two leaders kept afloat by two independent Victorian MPs. But minority governments have been much more common in the states and territories in the intervening years, particularly over the past two decades. Since 1990, minority governments...