Third-party ads are a relatively recent, unregulated and potentially influential feature of political debate in Australia, writes Graeme Orr.

The paper argues that the practical effect of banning, capping or disclosing political donations is to limit public influence. In a liberal democracy, governments should not select or limit their critics and rivals. Key points: • Campaign finance law covers the role of money in politics; this paper focuses on donations to political parties and...

The informal voting rate at the 2010 House of Representatives election was substantially higher than that recorded at the 2007 House of Representatives election and is the highest since the 1984. In every election, it is likely that a small proportion of the votes cast will not meet the specified voting requirements and will therefore...

An analysis of the Victorian state election which took place on 27 November 2010. This paper provides an overview of the election campaign, major policies, opinion polls data, the outcome of the election in both houses, and voter turnout. It also includes voting figures for each Assembly District and Council Region.

A former high-profile lawyer who rose rapidly in politics but was dumped as leader by his own party… Yes, Robert Menzies did bounce back, writes Norman Abjorensen.