Why haven’t any Australian MPs resigned since the last election? The country’s first uninterrupted Parliament in 62 years has defied all expectations. These days, MPs just won’t die.
READ MOREArticles by Malcolm Mackerras
Gillard was right to name date, but did it wrong
Julia Gillard’s decision to name the election date in advance was regarded as “unprecedented” by a hostile press gallery. But Harold Holt — and NZ’s John Key — both announced the date months out.
READ MOREMackerras: our democracy is the least-worst of the bunch
Al Smith, failed 1928 Democratic candidate for the US presidency, said “all the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy”. Looking at recent elections in Greece and Australia, he was mostly right.
READ MOREMackerras: parliamentary representation and the case for reform
I think that the interests of good government are best served by giving the single biggest party a bonus when votes are translated into seats.
READ MOREMackerras: narrowing a date for the next poll
While the parliaments of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and both territories do have scheduled election dates, our federal parliament does not, writes psephologist Malcolm Mackerras.
READ MOREMacKerras: forget byelections … we’re off to polls in October 2013
The current Parliament will run its full three-year term.
READ MOREMacKerras: the conservative case for electoral reform across the Anglosphere
The Conservative Party got the better of the Liberal-Democrats in the negotiations for coalition government. And a new electoral reform agenda will likely go their way, too.
READ MOREMacKerras: plan to vote next on October 19, 2013
I feel emboldened now to name Saturday, October 19, 2013 as the date for our 44th general election for the House of Representatives.
READ MOREMacKerras: winter, winner … a trifecta for Labor’s cold snap election
If Gillard gets the sort of win I am now predicting for her, then there will be a new Mackerras law of electoral history, says Malcolm MacKerras.
READ MOREMacKerras: still a bias, albeit reduced, in UK election system
Finally, the British people are to get a referendum for what they call “the alternative vote”.
READ MOREMacKerras: time to scrap a tired voting system for NZ election
Malcolm MacKerras is trying to persuade the people of New Zealand to scrap their MMP voting system and replace it with a better one.
READ MOREKiwis voting system to go to referendum
Malcolm MacKerras has been trying to persuade New Zealand’s politicians to replace their Mixed Member Proportional electoral system with a better one.
READ MOREBradfield will be a test for the Liberals, mark my words
Byelections can no longer be guaranteed to record good results for Opposition parties. So how will the Bradfield byelection play out? If the Liberal share is less than 58%, it’ll be bad news for Malcolm Turnbull.
READ MOREBC-STV vs MMP: a psephological case study
The old British dominions of Australia, New Zealand and Canada make for an interesting psephological compare/contrast exercise, writes Malcolm Mackerras.
READ MORE
