What makes Australia's policy of multiculturalism a success when European leaders have been quick to reject theirs? Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world. Almost a quarter of the population was born abroad; almost half have at least one parent born overseas. It is remarkable that this high degree of diversity...

Exploring the question of community engagement and political participation by younger Australians, this project analyses fifteen years of Newspoll surveys.

From the Chair's forward When considering electoral reforms, our priority must be: enfranchisement, not disenfranchisement. It is this philosophy that has guided this inquiry and is reflected in many of the Committee’s recommendations. This report continues the tradition of examining and reporting on the conduct of federal elections and relevant legislation which has been carried...

Should we expect the current pattern of older voter support for the Coalition to continue undisturbed or might we see a movement away from the Coalition as the bulge of ‘baby boomers’ move into the ranks of older Australians and moderate this conservatism? This paper is a brief attempt to answer this question by drawing...

The paper explains how the vote counting system used in Northern Territory local government leads to very poor electoral outcomes which concentrate representation rather than spread it. It discusses how, in the case of Alice Springs, this has produced a narrowly based council with no representation from town camps. It argues that this vote counting...