A dangerous drift

The failed cases against Izhar Ul-Haque and Mohamed Haneef reveal a culture of disregard for human rights and due process, writes Geoffrey Barker

No mystery in the polls

Kevin Rudd’s lead in the polls is not hard to understand, writes David Burchell

Missing voters

Nearly one million Australian adults are not enrolled to vote. Peter Brent and Brian Costar look at why…

Kyoto: leaks and hot air

The major parties are avoiding the real questions about the post-Kyoto agreement, argues Rodney Tiffen.

The importance of boundaries

In this paper for the Democratic Audit of Australia, the former Australian Electoral Commissioner, Colin Hughes, provides a comprehensive review of the 2006 redistributions in NSW and Queensland and summarises the history of redistributions in the two states. He analyses the party political competition involved, even when the redistributions are carried out by independent electoral commissions.

Voters and the Senate

Over half of all voters believe that government control of the Senate is a bad thing, report David Denemark, Shaun Wilson and Gabrielle Meagher in this extract from Australian Social Attitudes 2: Citizenship, Work and Aspirations, a collection of essays based on the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes 2005.

Education: Australia and the OECD

In this APO Election Backgrounder Simon Marginson assesses Australian education resourcing and outcomes against other OECD countries.

Slippery slope of going postal

In this article for the Canberra Times, Norm Kelly of the Democratic Audit of Australia looks at the anomalous law which enables political parties to solicit postal votes, effectively on behalf of the Australian Electoral Commission. As this type of voting increases in importance, he argues, it becomes even more critical for it to be removed from party involvement.

Pre-election strike

The prime minister’s backflip on pre-emptive military strikes attracted surprisingly little attention, writes Geoffrey Barker.

Trends in Australian political opinion: results from the Australian Election Study, 1987-2004

Ian McAllister and Juliet Clark look at trends in voter attitudes revealed in twenty years of the Australian Election Study as well as earlier comparable studies. Their report shows that voters are less attracted by the symbols and methods of traditional politics, but that they remain interested in the contest and the election outcome. Health and education are by far the dominant issues that concern voters; with a prosperous economy, unemployment is now rarely an issue for voters. More >

Voters’ guide to international policy

While international policy issues won’t dominate the campaign, the next Australian government has to make important decisions about matters ranging from the global environment, through the future of the world trading system to the way we handle our relations with our allies and neighbours, according to the Lowy Institute for International Policy.

Constitutionalising the franchise and the status quo: the High Court on prisoner voting rights

In the wake of the High Court’s decision on prisoner enfranchisement, Graeme Orr describes the issue of prisoner disenfranchisement as a continuing ‘political football’ in this new paper for the Democratic Audit of Australia.

The right to vote is not enjoyed equally by all Australians

A healthy democracy makes sure that all members of the community have equal access to the political process. But although almost all Australians over 18 years old have the right – and the obligation – to vote, not all Australians enjoy that right as a practical matter, according to this new report from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Myths and mortar

Forget about releasing new state and commonwealth land. If we want to get serious about housing affordability, maybe it’s time to re-think stamp duty, so that you pay it when you sell the house rather than when you buy it. Better still: why not stamp out stamp duty entirely and replace it with a land tax? Sure, these ideas may be taboo in election campaigns… But then again, the solutions to our housing problems lie beyond the horizon of a three-year political cycle. Peter Mares, a frequent APO contributor, discuss the issues with Steve Bevington, managing director of Community Housing Limited, Kath Hulse, director of the Swinburne–Monash Research Centre of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, and Saul Eslake, Chief Economist of ANZ Bank on ABC Radio National’s The National Interest. Read the transcript >

The politics of punditry

If John Howard loses this election, which journalists might follow him into the sunset? The extent to which journalists’ careers can be tied to political fortunes is rarely examined, writes Rodney Tiffen.