All signs point to a hung parliament: what does this mean, and what should crossbenchers do?

The chances that neither of the two parties will gain a majority at the next election is estimated at 61.3%. This represents a “seismic shift in voting behaviour”. If no party wins an overall majority, the Coalition and Labor will look to members of the crossbench to guarantee “confidence and supply”.

Tory Shepherd

Independents took cities by storm last election. This time, they’ve got regional Australia in their sights

The 2022 surge in independents elected to parliament occurred mainly in inner city seats - but predictions are that th swing to independents will grow in regions and rural seats.

Maxine Newlands

It’s time we asked: what is the cost not just to the budget, but to society, when the richest are helped to get richer?

The rising cost of housing compared to income is due to our tax system and is increasing the gap between the rich an everybody else. The effects of the Capital Gains Tax Concession and Negative Gearing along with other tax settings are driving inequality. “It’s a broken system and it is high time we started asking what is the cost not just to the budget but to society when the richest are helped to get richer, housing affordability declines and any attempt to provide services to those on low and middle incomes is painted as a big cash splash.”

Greg Jericho

The Coalition’s attack on the climate authority is a cynical attempt to put ideology over facts – it must be called out

The Coalition turns on Matt Kean, head of the Climate Change Authority. Author, Kylea Tink, analyses the motivations behind this attack in her opinion piece in the Guardian.

Kylea Tink

Political donations data show who’s funding whom in Australia – but they are coming out far too late

Find out who has been donating the most cash in our political system. Money matters because it helps spread political messages far and wide. But when political parties are highly dependent on a small number of powerful individuals, businesses, and unions, to fund their campaigns, this dependence creates enormous risks of private influence over decision-making in the public interest.

Kate Griffiths

Two by-elections tell a bigger story about the wild, unpredictable federal election ahead

Recent by-election results indicate a rejection of the two-party system.

Patricia Karvelas

Peter Dutton is promising to slash the public service. Voters won’t know how many jobs are lost until after the election

Dutton proises cuts to the public service if his party is elected but won’t say how many till after the election. 36,000 positions may be cut despite the fact that the public service is still smaller than it was in 2008. Labor is also talking about savings through an efficiency dividend. “There’s a real risk the Coalition will resurrect its ideological preference for the private sector, with its associated extra costs and conflicts of interest.”

Andrew Podger

The Smarter Choice: Why Community Independents are the Change We Need in Australian Politics

One fifth of the lower house electorates will have a community independent on the ballot at the upcoming federal election. Community independents represent a refreshing approach to politics—one that prioritises people, accountability, and practical solutions over ideology

Sue Barrett

Inside the community independents movement targeting key marginal seats at the next federal election

The Regional Voices fund is supporting independent candidates, such as Caz Heise in Cowper, in a similar manner to how Climate200 has been supporting independent candidates. Several seats held by the major parties are considered vulnerable at this election. The article then goes on to describe the community independents ‘ecosystem’.

Jane Norman

As Los Angeles combusts, 2024 is declared Earth’s hottest on record

Last year was the hottest year since 1850 and was 1.6 degrees hotter than pre-industrial levels. So has the Paris Agreement failed? Not yet according to the authors, but we have urgent work to do.

Andrew King and David Karoly

Teal MPs push for changes to 'small business' definition as election looms

Eight independent federal MPs have signed a letter to Employment Minister Murray Watt, calling on him to change the definition of "small business" from 15 employees, to at least 25.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry backs the push as a way to help smaller businesses comply with new Fair Work laws, but the Australian Council of Trade Unions says it would hurt more people than it would help.

Evelyn Manfield

The age of independents promises better government

John Hewson talks about the fall in support for the major parties and the rise of he community independents movement. He sites some evidence that the movement is still going.

John Hewson

Australian kids under 16 will soon be banned from social media – but parents still don’t know which apps are out

Under the new proposal by the Albanese government, no child under 16 will be permitted to use social media platforms – such as Instagram and TikTok – even with parental consent. Other jurisdictions around the world have selected different ages for proposed bans. It is unclear which platforms will be banned under this proposal.

Lisa M. Given

New politics: Depoliticising taxpayer-funded advertising

Government advertising is supposed to be apolitical and objective and should be in the public interest. This Grattan Institute report examines the massive use of tax-payer funded advertising in politicised advertising campaigns by both the major parties at state and federal level. There is a 17 minute video to watch and you can download the full report.

Danielle Wood, Kate Griffiths, Anika Stobart

Aged care reform: self-funded retirees and part-pensioners to pay more as government aims to shore up the system

Self-funded retirees and many part pensioners will pay more for their aged care under the government’s reform package, endorsed by the opposition and announced on Thursday. The package, which the government says is the biggest reform in 30 years, will shift the system further towards home care, so people can stay at home as long as possible.

The Conversation

Many Australians do not like the way politics is reported. Here’s how it can improve

Most Australians are not interested in politics and the way it is reported is very important. Recent Australian research suggests people don’t like the focus on conflict over policy. They distrust the news due to perceived bias and superficial reporting. This article lists suggestions to improve the way politics is reported on in the press.

The Conversation

View from The Hill: Paul Fletcher’s rant against the teals risks insulting voters the Liberals need to win

Paul Fletcher claims that the teals “are a giant green left con job”. He claims that voters were ‘duped’. Read this analysis by Michelle Grattan.

Michelle Grattan

‘That’s the f--king point’: Labor donor reforms explained

Are the proposed electoral reforms going to entrench the two-party system and reduce political competition as they work to reduce the influence of big money in politics?

Jason Koutsoukis

Eight things you need to know about the Government’s plan to change Australian elections

The Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Bill 2024 is over 200 pages of complicated and technical changes to how democracy works in this country. It passed the House of Representatives last night – just two days after it was first made public – but it is the Senate, the house of review, that will decide whether it becomes law.

Read about the issues with the bill and the suggestions to fix each of these.

Bill Browne

Federal election 2025 will be the first vote where Gen Z and Millennials outnumber Baby Boomers at the ballot box

The political focus is shifting to younger generations as the end of the Baby Boomers being the dominant political force looms. Gen z and Millenials now make up 47% of the electorate. Kos Samaras who runs the Redbridge polling firm has warned the generational shift will be a game changer at this election. Read the article to discover what the key issues for the next election will be.

Patricia Karvelas

Honest Government Ad

*Language Warning! Watch the Juice Media video about the proposed changes to political funding

The Juice Media

The 2024 Speaker's Lecture was delivered by journalist Niki Savva on 9 September in Parliament House

Watch Niki reflect on the way combative politics has increased voter distrust of politicians. She talks about the drift away from the major parties towards the community independents. Will minority governments become the norm?

Parliament of Australia website

Teal MPs, Palmer unite in fury at bid to cap donations

Watch this brief video explainer of the issues with the Labor electoral rule changes. The proposed changes will make the playing field even less fair.

TND

Labor and Coalition accused of cooking up ‘secret deal’ on electoral rules as Clive Palmer signals court challenge

Independent senator David Pocock ‘deeply concerned’ legislation designed to cap donations and electoral spending would lock out community independents. Labor’s electoral reform bill creates limits to donations and political spending, but makes it more difficult for independents who don’t have the big party brand recognition behind them and sometimes have to spend more to raise their profile in their community.

Paul Karp

Independents drop airline perks as Qantas upgrade criticisms continue

Allegra Spender, the Independent MP for Wentworth has called for an end for free airline upgrades for all politicians.

TND

Let’s be clear, Peter Dutton’s energy plan is more focused on coal and gas than it is on nuclear power

With new warnings that the ocean circulation in the Atlantic is at risk of collapse, it is increasingly evident we need to cut emissions rapidly. The Australian Energy Regulator suggests it could take more than 10 years to begin building proposed nuclear plants. This means more reliance on coal and a possible delay to renewables.

Adam Morton

The Stats Guy: This data might signal an end to the LNP and ALP

This article discusses the decline in support for the major parties and in the belief that the major parties care about the voters. The rise in votes for independents and non-major parties has been considerable over the past 14 years.

Simon Kuestenmacher

The housing fight has made it to the streets. Now for the hard part.

Planning power has been shifted partly away from councils as a way of unleashing housing supply. Where, and how, to provide new housing supply is discussed as is the approach of Labor, LNP and the Greens.

Tom Crowley

Matt Kean lambasts ‘wild fantasy’ of former Coalition colleagues to extend coal power and build nuclear plants

The Climate Change Authority chair says Peter Dutton’s energy policy would drive up electricity bills and deter investment in renewables. Watch a short video explainer about the nuclear plans and the problems here.

Peter Hannam

State success proves that community independents are a force to be reckoned with

The independent wave is continuing as demonstrated by the victory of Jacqui Scruby in the NSW byelection and the success of two independent candidates in the ACT state election. The major parties are not learning and it is looking like a larger cross bench and a minority government after the next election.

Parker McKenzie