Ben was joined this week by Osmond Chiu, Per Capita research fellow and contributor editor for the Labor Left magazine Challenge , to discuss the factions of the Australian Labor Party. Read Osmond's 2020 piece in Jacobin on the history of Labor's factions. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 (plus GST) o...
Dec 07, 2025•29 min•Ep. 159
Ben was joined by Sarah Cameron from Griffith University, to discuss the results of the 2025 Australian Election Study, including Peter Dutton's unpopularity, foreign policy, voter dealignment, and how the vote splits by gender, generation and whether people own their own home. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreo...
Nov 29, 2025•29 min•Ep. 158
Ben was joined by Michael Evangelidis from GovConnex to discuss the factions of the Liberal Party of Australia - how fluid they are, how they work from the branch level to federal and state party rooms, and how the factions have changed in recent years. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 (plus GST) or mo...
Nov 25, 2025•31 min•Ep. 157
Ben was joined by Frank Bongiorno and Chris Monnox to discuss the history of Australia's federal parliament being expanded, in 1949 and 1984. We discuss the motivations for these changes, the positions taken by the parties and why it happened when it did. We also discuss efforts to break the 'nexus' which links the size of the House to the size of the Senate. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your supp...
Nov 18, 2025•39 min•Ep. 156
Ben was joined by Matt Dennien from the Brisbane Times to discuss the Queensland state redistribution, specifically the first round of submissions. The conversation focuses on the Labor and LNP submissions, and also run through some of the other public submissions. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 (plu...
Sep 10, 2025•29 min•Ep. 155
Ben is joined by Kevin Bonham and Chris Monnox to discuss the results of the Tasmanian state election and prospects for the formation of a new government. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And $8 donors can now join the Tally Room Discord server....
Jul 22, 2025•42 min•Ep. 154
Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to discuss the latest Tasmanian state polls and go through Tasmania's five electorates one by one, discussing the race and possible winners in each division. We refer extensively to Kevin Bonham's blog post breaking down the latest DemosAu poll This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you ...
Jul 14, 2025•31 min•Ep. 153
Ben was joined by Tasmanian political observer Mike Lester to look at the state of the campaign and the announcement of candidates for the Tasmanian state election. We particularly look into the Tasmanian Nationals and the shadow-boxing around who takes the blame for the calling of the election and who has the best prospect of forming a majority government. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your suppor...
Jun 30, 2025•23 min•Ep. 152
Ben is joined by Kevin Bonham to discuss the collapse of the Tasmanian government just 15 months after the last election, and to look at some of the early moves for independents to find a new party home. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And $8 donors can now join the Tally Room Disco...
Jun 16, 2025•36 min•Ep. 151
For this podcast Ben interviews two scrutineers about their experience in the recounts: Adelaide, a Liberal scrutineer from Bradfield, and KJ, an independent scrutineer from Goldstein. Ben also discusses the recount procedures he saw in Bradfield last week and the latest count updates from Monday afternoon. Ben's blog post about visiting the Bradfield recount The podcast features the song 'It's a Draw' by Nick Craft. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you fi...
Jun 02, 2025•29 min•Ep. 150
Ben was joined by Kevin Bonham to run through the close seats and the Senate race that have dragged out, one week after the election. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And $8 donors can now join the Tally Room Discord server....
May 12, 2025•38 min•Ep. 149
Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to discuss the results of yesterday's Australian federal election, which produced Labor's best result since 1943. We talk about the close seats, how multi-party politics is transforming local electorate contests and what is likely to happen in the Senate. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podc...
May 04, 2025•44 min•Ep. 149
Ben is joined by Peter Brent and the ABC's Tom Crowley for the final pre-election episode of the 2025 federal election campaign. We discuss how a hung parliament might play out and the experience of riding Peter Dutton's campaign bus. For our seat of the week we discuss the NSW seat of Werriwa. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you s...
Apr 29, 2025•57 min•Ep. 148
Ben is joined by Jill Sheppard and Emily Foley to discuss the long-term trend of the major parties losing primary votes: what is causing the trend, how it might play out in 2025 and whether they can do anything to reverse the trend. The seat of the week is Bruce in south-eastern Melbourne. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign u...
Apr 22, 2025•37 min•Ep. 147
Ben is joined by Duncan McDonnell from Griffith University to discuss the close of rolls and nominations and the role of Gen Z voters in the election. The seat of the week is Lingiari in the Northern Territory, and we also talk about Indigenous enrolment and parliamentary representation. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up ...
Apr 16, 2025•38 min•Ep. 146
Ben is joined by Stewart Jackson and Phoebe Hayman to discuss the role of the Greens in the federal election: the seats they are defending and are challenging for, the rivalry between Labor and the Greens and how the electoral system shapes their relationship. The seat of the week is Wills, in the inner north of Melbourne. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free ver...
Apr 09, 2025•39 min•Ep. 145
Ben is joined by journalist Rachel Withers, writer of the Crikey column 'Well Hung' , to discuss the prospects for independent candidates, including teal and Muslim independents, at the 2025 federal election. A 2023 meme from Twitter user Pineapple Crab applying different definitions for a "teal" Read my 2023 paper ' Not Your Parents' Electoral System ' This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. Y...
Apr 02, 2025•46 min•Ep. 144
Ben is joined by Ben Moffitt from Monash University to discuss the role of right-wing minor parties in federal politics, why it is so hard for them to work together, and chances in the Senate. We also discuss the seat of Hunter in New South Wales. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And...
Mar 20, 2025•36 min•Ep. 143
Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to wrap up the results of yesterday's Western Australian state election, which was a third consecutive landslide victory for Labor. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And $8 donors can now join the Tally Room Discord server....
Mar 09, 2025•53 min•Ep. 142
Ben is joined by John Carey to discuss how you design an electoral system for a new democracy - what factors are most important to producing a healthy and sustainable democracy, and how might those requirements change over time? This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And $8 donors can now ...
Mar 04, 2025•27 min•Ep. 139
Ben is joined by Stewart Jackson and Andre Brett to discuss which seats might fall when the Labor vote in the WA state election recedes from the high levels reached in 2021, and how the minor parties might perform under the new Legislative Council electoral system. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or m...
Feb 27, 2025•42 min•Ep. 141
Ben is joined by Martin Drum from the University of Notre Dame to discuss the new electoral system for the Western Australian Legislative Council and to look back at the last four years of WA state politics in the lead up to next month's state election. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per mont...
Feb 20, 2025•27 min•Ep. 140
Ben was joined by Shaun Ratcliff from Accent Research to discuss the state of play as the federal election year kicks off. They discuss the state of polling, including the MRP polls conducted by Shaun in conjunction with Redbridge throughout 2024. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And...
Feb 13, 2025•43 min•Ep. 138
Ben is joined by Leo Puglisi from 6 News and Chris Eddy from Local Government News Roundup to wrap up the Victorian council elections. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $5 or more per month. And $5 donors can now join the Tally Room Discord server. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link...
Nov 21, 2024•43 min•Ep. 137
Ben is joined by Alexis Pink from ZZZ to discuss the LNP coming to power in Queensland. We discuss the divide between north and south, the performances of the minor parties and how this new LNP government might differ from the last LNP government. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $5 or more per month. And...
Oct 27, 2024•27 min•Ep. 136
Ben is joined by ACT historian Chris Monnox and Tasmanian psephologist Kevin Bonham to dig into the results of last weekend's ACT election, looking at the narrative, the likely shape of the new government and the close races not yet called. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $5 or more per month. And $5 don...
Oct 21, 2024•36 min•Ep. 135
Ben is joined by Andrew Messenger from the Guardian to discuss the final stretch of the Queensland election campaign. We spend most of our time going through the key seats in each region of the state, and the issues that have dominated the campaign. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $5 or more per month. A...
Oct 17, 2024•25 min•Ep. 134
Ben is joined by Jasper Lindell from the Canberra Times to preview the upcoming Australian Capital Territory election, with a Labor-Greens government facing the voters after 23 years of Labor government and 16 years of the Greens in the balance of power. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $5 or more per mon...
Oct 10, 2024•25 min•Ep. 133
Ben is joined by Dennis Atkins to preview the upcoming Queensland state election. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $5 or more per month. And $5 donors can now join the Tally Room Discord server. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr pai...
Oct 03, 2024•25 min•Ep. 132
Ben is joined by Leo Puglisi from 6 News to analyse the results of the NSW local government elections. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $5 or more per month. And $5 donors can now join the Tally Room Discord server. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first mont...
Sep 16, 2024•41 min•Ep. 131
