Ben is joined by the Sydney Morning Herald urban affairs reporter Anthony Segaert to preview the upcoming New South Wales local government elections. We discuss some of the most interesting elections, the impact of the NSW Liberal absence and local party systems. Sorry for the poor quality audio on my end - it seems like the recording connected to the wrong mic. Should still be clear enough. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile...
Sep 05, 2024•32 min•Ep. 130
Ben is joined by the ABC's Thomas Morgan to discuss the results of the NT election. We talk about the CLP's big victory, how northern Darwin has flipped back after being solidly Labor for 23 years, and the rise of the Greens and independents on Labor's left flank. 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 mo...
Aug 26, 2024•35 min•Ep. 129
This is a solo episode, where Ben runs through all the key parts of the story of how and where the NSW Liberal Party failed to nominate almost a third of candidates for the NSW local government elections next month, covering the scale of the issue, what may have caused it, how it may affect the political balance in each council, the threat of legal action and what could be done to mitigate these issues for next election. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If yo...
Aug 19, 2024•35 min•Ep. 128
Ben is joined by NT political historian Robyn Smith to preview the upcoming Northern Territory general election. We discuss the seats in play, the events of the last four years and what might be coming on election day. 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. This podcast is sponsored by Zen...
Aug 15, 2024•23 min•Ep. 127
Ben is joined by Chris Terry-Enescu, British psephologist from the Ballot Box podcast, to discuss the implications of the recent UK general election for the electoral system and the party system. Chris mentioned this book: Electoral Shocks 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. This podcas...
Aug 01, 2024•28 min•Ep. 126
Ben is joined by Ferran Martinez i Coma from Griffith University to discuss his research on how election campaigning differs in Spain in districts electing odd or even numbers of representatives. We end up discussing more broadly the unsual impacts odd- and even-numbered district magnitudes impact on elections in Australia, and the ways in which the use of different district magnitudes (big and small) change how an electoral system manifests in both countries. Read Ferran's research on odd and e...
Jul 18, 2024•33 min•Ep. 125
Ben is joined by Murray Goot to discuss the two-party-preferred vote: the history of the metric, how it is used today, how it influences how we think about our party system, and whether it still works in the more complex party system we have today. Murray's journal article on the history of the two-party-preferred vote. 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 versio...
Jul 04, 2024•28 min•Ep. 123
Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to discuss the federal redistribution proposals for New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. We discuss the process, what has been proposed, the political impact of those proposals and how it might affect preselections, and why some of the maps are drawn as they are. 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 ...
Jun 20, 2024•46 min•Ep. 124
Ben is joined by Kevin Elliott, author of the book Democracy for Busy People to discuss the value of importance of designing democratic institutions but are broad, not just deep, and make it easy for all citizens to participate. We also discuss the importance of citizens maintaining "civic skills" that give them the capacity to step in to politics when the need arises, and what institutions can make our democracy something that busy people can be a part of. This podcast is supported by the Tally...
Jun 06, 2024•51 min•Ep. 122
Ben was joined by Ruth McGowan, a candidate mentor and advocate for women in politics. We discussed the trends of increasing numbers of women being elected to public office in Australia, what barriers remain and what work is being done to get more women ready to run for parliament or council. Ruth's book Get Elected (available as a free PDF download) Pathways to Politics Women for Election The costs of (inadequate) councillor remuneration report This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supp...
May 23, 2024•27 min•Ep. 121
Ben is joined by Kerryn Baker from the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University to discuss the recent elections in the Solomon Islands, which ended with a new prime minister, if not an entirely 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 $5 or more per month. This podcast i...
May 09, 2024•23 min•Ep. 120
Ben is joined by Sofia Ammassari from Griffith University to discuss the upcoming Indian federal election. The world's largest democracy is going to the polls in April, May and June, with Narendra Modi's BJP looking set for a third term in office. We discuss the electoral system, major political issues and the Modi government's recent history. 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 lis...
Apr 02, 2024•34 min•Ep. 119
Ben is joined by Kevin Bonham to wrap up the Tasmanian state election. We discuss the close undecided races, what might come next for parliamentary negotiations, and what it means for May's upper house 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. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. ...
Mar 25, 2024•29 min•Ep. 118
Ben is joined by Maggie Perry from 6 News Australia to discuss the results of council elections and by-elections in Queensland. We mostly focus on the Brisbane City Council results, and also touch on the results of the two state by-elections and other local 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 ...
Mar 19, 2024•25 min•Ep. 117
Ben was joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to discuss the Tasmanian state election. We run through the five state electorates one by one, and discuss what we'll be watching for on election night. 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. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my...
Mar 14, 2024•37 min•Ep. 116
Ben is joined by Alexis Pink from community radio station 4ZZZ and Andrew Messenger from the Guardian Australia to discuss the upcoming council elections across Queensland and the two state by-elections to be held on the same day. We discuss the Brisbane City Council campaign and then touch on a number of other interesting council races and the by-elections. Andrew's article about uncontested council races. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this po...
Mar 07, 2024•42 min•Ep. 115
Ben was joined by Stewart Jackson from the University of Sydney and Tasmanian political scientist Mike Lester to preview next month's Tasmanian state election. We discuss the widening field of independent candidates, political events in the last term and the issues around the 25-member House that led to the expansion of the Parliament. We also briefly touch on this weekend's Dunkley by-election. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthw...
Feb 25, 2024•40 min•Ep. 114
Ben was joined by this week by Marcus Mietzner from the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the ANU, and the author of The Coalitions Presidents Make , to discuss Prabowo Subianto's clear victory in the first round of the Indonesian presidential election. We discuss how Prabowo won, the shift in votes between 2019 and 2024, and the implications for how Prabowo will govern, as well as Prabowo's relationship with outgoing president Jokowi - past, present and future. You can read the trans...
Feb 18, 2024•32 min•Ep. 113
Ben is joined by Erin Cook from Dari Mulut ke Mulut to discuss next week's national election in Indonesia. We discuss the three candidates, the role of the outgoing president Jokowi in the race, the electoral system and the role of parties in Indonesia's democracy. Sign up for South-East Asia news through the Dari Mulut ke Mulut newsletter. 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...
Feb 08, 2024•28 min•Ep. 112
Ben is joined by Shaun Ratcliff from Accent Research to discuss his recent report looking at differences in voting trends across the generations. We discuss how Millenials and Gen Z voters are much more left-wing than Baby Boomers, explore some theories as to why, and look at evidence as to which of those theories may be right. We then discuss what this implies for the next few decades of Australian politics. Read Shaun's report at Accent Research. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s s...
Dec 07, 2023•39 min•Ep. 111
Ben is joined by Dr Simon Hix from the European University Institute to discuss a paper he co-wrote with John Carey about finding the Electoral Sweet Spot : how low-magnitude proportional representation systems tend to combine the best of majoritarian and proportional systems. 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...
Nov 23, 2023•36 min•Ep. 110
Shane Easson has been drawing up redistribution submissions for the Australian Labor Party since 1984. This year he's not doing the Labor submission for New South Wales, although he is working on those in some other states, and he came on the podcast to talk about how it works, the things you've got to consider when writing such a submission, and whether they have any influence on the outcome. We also discuss some of the likely outcomes of the current NSW federal redistribution and the need to c...
Nov 09, 2023•33 min•Ep. 109
Today's podcast was recorded at the roundtable on Boundary Delimitation and Malapportionment in Asia and the Pacific held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 28-29, 2023. The event was hosted by Indonesian NGO Perludem and Malaysian organisations Bersih and Tindak Malaysia, in coordination with International IDEA. I attended to present on Papua New Guinea's electoral boundaries and while there I recorded interviews with six of the other participants. In this episode you'll hear from: Niranjan S...
Oct 29, 2023•27 min•Ep. 108
Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to recap the results of the Voice referendum. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.
Oct 15, 2023•30 min•Ep. 107
Ben is joined today by Peter Brent to wrap up the referendum campaign. We discuss the state of the polls, the relative position of the states, whether the low Yes vote can really be blamed on the state of the campaign or by the fundamental referendum trends, and what data points might line up with the results on Saturday. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support....
Oct 10, 2023•28 min•Ep. 106
Ben is joined by James Mulrennan from The Overhang . We preview next weekend's New Zealand national election, touching on the electoral system, the state of the parties and the polls, and the potential shape of the next government. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon . If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.
Oct 05, 2023•42 min•Ep. 105
Ben is joined by historian Alison Holland, who is researching the history of ATSIC, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. We discuss the history and current existence of Indigenous elected institutions around Australia, including ATSIC and its predecessors at a federal level, regional land councils and state Voices that have started to pop up. Alison's article in The Conversation about why those who claim that ATSIC failed have put the blame in the wrong place. This podcast is su...
Sep 21, 2023•29 min•Ep. 104
Ben is joined by Paul Kildea and Andre Brett to discuss the history of Australian referendums. We discuss the historical origins of referendums at both the state and federal level, the dynamics of referendum campaigns, how different states tend to vote, the voters' bias towards the status quo, and discuss some of our favourite referendums. We reference some fairly obscure referendums, including the 1928 referendum in the Australian Federal Territory on ending prohibition, the 1951 and 1965 Wool ...
Sep 07, 2023•45 min•Ep. 103
Ben is joined by psephologist Henry Schlechta to discuss two issues of democratic reform in Victoria: the arguments around abolishing group voting tickets, and the implementation of single-member wards for urban Victorian councils. Sadly this isn't a story of Victoria improving its electoral systems - mostly they are getting worse or staying the same. Ben's podcast with Kevin from November 2022 discussing the problems with group voting tickets. Ben's estimates of who would have won seats in the ...
Aug 24, 2023•32 min•Ep. 102
Ben is joined by ABC chief election analyst Antony Green for the 100th episode of the Tally Room podcast to discuss the many redistributions currently underway around Australia: federal redistributions, state and territory redistributions and even local council ward redistributions. We discuss the population trends affecting the drawing of federal boundaries, the process of drawing, and how we make estimates of margins in new electorates. Read Antony's most recent post about prospects for the NS...
Aug 10, 2023•47 min•Ep. 101
