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.

This paper examines the origins of prayer in the Victorian Parliament, revisiting the debates that led to the Lord’s Prayer’s establishment in daily proceedings. The paper also summarises some of the key debates that have shaped the conversation about prayer in parliament in recent years.

Malapportionment—large differences between the numbers of voters in electorates—has existed at different points in Victoria’s history. While changes occurred in the 1950s, it was only the electoral reforms of the 1980s that greatly reduced the extent of malapportionment across Legislative Assembly districts.

Considerable concerns exist over so-called 'group voting tickets' used in elections for Victoria’s Legislative Council. This paper discusses Victoria's experiences, focusing on ensuring that the state's Upper House retains the public's confidence in its role and representativeness.