The 2010 federal election resulted in the first hung Commonwealth parliament and minority government for almost 70 years, though hung parliaments are common at the state and territory level. This background note provides a discussion of the hung Commonwealth parliament and associated matters including forming the minority Labor Government, voting dynamics in the House of...

Australians are ready for a debate about updating Australia's Constitution, but it is only likely to lead to change if people are engaged with the process. The results focus on the prospects for successful referenda on Indigenous recognition and local government recognition in the next three years -- as recently promised by the Federal Government...

This background note is designed to answer some of those frequently asked questions about who was the first, youngest, oldest, most often, etc. in Australian federal politics. The focus is on records for the Federal Parliament although a few significant records relate to members of State parliaments. The information is current as at October 2010...

As there are more independent members with a party background, it could be argued that the influence of the major parties continues to be very strong, even when non-aligned candidates are successful. The dominance of the major parties in Australian politics has lead to the portrayal of independent Members of Parliament as marginal or even...

The reforms of the 1980s and 90s have worked their way through our economy and our society. We have enjoyed their benefits, but the jump in living standards they enabled has now faded from memory. This has been replaced by a dangerous complacency which holds that future reform to sustain living standards is no longer...