Every election, Labor and the Greens circle each other warily before signing up to a deal on preferences that turns out to amount to very little. But it’s worth thinking about just how important those preferences might be this year.
Senate election
Burnside fires up as Greens rekindle Senate flame
The mirror ball shone brightly at FAD Bar — the site of numerous fundraisers usually connected with ALP-dominated student unions — for the Greens’ Senate launch. Andrew Crook was there for the dance music and curry puffs.
In the red chamber, the balance of power will be precarious
The new Senate won’t sit until July next year, but the election of 40 new members will be crucial to the balance of power in parliament. Charles Richardson examines the party’s chances.
Does having a “States’ House” make a difference?
The fact that each state gets the same number of senators is a seriously undemocratic feature, but does it actually make a difference to the results? asks Charles Richardson.
Pollbludger: Forecasting the Senate
Like so much else this year, speculation about the Senate election has been guided by “the narrowing”. That means it is necessary to revise the view that the Coalition will be strong enough in the Senate to make life difficult for an incoming Rudd government, writes William Bowe.
Poll Bludger: Disenfranchising the young and the restless
It’s unlikely to make a huge amount of difference, but it is nonetheless pleasing to note that the government has suffered a hiccup in its bid to purge the electoral roll of undesirables, writes William Bowe.
Green preferences could swing the Senate
A headline in today’s Age has “Labor-Greens feud verging on war”. That was certainly the message from Greens leader Bob Brown in Friday’s Australian, in an op-ed piece titled “Greens won’t preference the ALP”.
Time to uncork the enormous potential of the Senate
The two party tyranny of Australian politics is in desperate need of a shake-up. To put it bluntly, we need to get the major parties out of the Senate, writes Klaas Woldring.
