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Government of Western Australia. (n.d.). District Court. https://www.districtcourt.wa.gov.au/
Political Parties
- Political parties
This fact sheet outlines how they are organised, coalitions of parties, party meetings and the history of political parties in Australia.
Who are the major political parties in Australia and what are some of the broad issues they stand for? Matilda Boseley takes you on a crash course on Labor and the Liberal/National (the Coalition) parties, as well as some of the smaller parties – the Greens, One Nation and Palmer United.
Guardian Australia. (2022, May 5). A crash course on the different political parties in Australia | Voting 101 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/FJ4GJpOKkTA
What do the different political parties stand for? What are the major, minor, and micro parties promising this election? This present outlines a summary of the key issues for EVERY SINGLE FEDERALLY REGISTERED POLITICAL PARTY IN AUSTRALIA! Some are very straight forward and some have vast and complex policy platforms.
Auspol Explained. (2022, May 9). A brief summary of every political party in Australia 2022 election edition | Auspol explained [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/F-nzbifey2c
Political ideology
- Did Australia just make a move to the left?
Political commentators often use the idea of a political spectrum from left to right as shorthand for understanding political ideologies, parties and programs. Derived from the arrangement of the National Assembly in the French Revolution, it has been a remarkably resilient form of political shorthand. - Ideology
Ideology, a form of social or political philosophy in which practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones. It is a system of ideas that aspires both to explain the world and to change it.
This article describes the nature, history, and significance of ideologies in terms of the philosophical, political, and international contexts in which they have arisen. Particular categories of ideology are discussed in the articles socialism, communism, anarchism, fascism, nationalism, liberalism, and conservatism.
Paul Talks Politics. (2016, January 7). Intro to political ideologies [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/JEUsaW-o-OE
Politics 101: Left vs. right. (n.d.). AMIEU Newcastle & Northern. https://newcastle.amieu.asn.au/politics-101-left-vs-right/
Electoral boundaries and demographics
A redistribution is a redrawing of electoral boundaries to ensure, as near as practicable:
- each state and territory gains representation in the House of Representatives in proportion to their population, and
- there are a similar number of electors in each electoral division for a given state or territory
For more information, go to:
AEC. (2023, March 1). Federal redistributions. Australian Electoral Commission. https://www.aec.gov.au/electorates/Redistributions/
- Electoral divisionsThe Constitution provides that:
the House of Representatives shall be composed of Members directly chosen by the people of the Commonwealth; and
the number of Members chosen in the several States shall be in proportion to the respective numbers of their people. - Current federal electoral divisionsProfiles of federal boundaries as of 2022. Click on tabs to view State electoral divisions.
- Voting patterns to major parties by generationThis [article] looks at the change in first preference votes to the major parties in the House of Representatives by generation over the past 6 federal elections (2004 to 2019). It is based on data collected by the Australian Election Study (AES).
- The Australian Election StudyThe AES provides insights into what explains voters’ choices in elections as well as public opinion on a range of policy issues.
- Elector count by division, age group and genderThese statistics are published on a quarterly basis and for general elections.
Voting
- Voting RightsThe quest to gain the right to vote, sometimes known as the franchise (or even suffrage), is one of the most interesting and important in parliamentary history.
- The right to voteLearn about the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voting rights.
Explore the changing images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples participation. - Right to take part in public affairs, voting rights and access to public serviceThe Human Rights Committee's General Comment No. 25: The right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right of equal access to public service [full article]
- Indigenous Australians’ right to voteFrom the first federal electoral Act in 1902 to 1965, when the last state changed its law, tens of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were subject to regulations which prohibited them from voting at federal and state elections.
It wasn’t until 1984 that Indigenous people were finally treated like other voters and required to enrol and vote at elections.
NMA. (2022, May 2). Indigenous Australians’ right to vote. National Museum of Australia. https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/indigenous-australians-right-to-vote