This paper asks whether the electoral pendulum is a 'good guide' for election watchers and, if so, is it understood and used appropriately by the public.

Last year, the Morrison Government spent $145.3 million on campaign advertising, a sum that exceeds the normal annual advertising spend of companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Amazon, Pepsi and Qantas. This paper argues that the current regulatory model for government advertising is clearly insufficient.

This paper outlines reforms for consideration by parliamentarians and the Australian government. Some are well developed and long promised, and require only the political will to implement. Others still require careful consideration and development. Many would have accumulative effects, with reforms in one area making reforms in other areas more viable.

In the last parliamentary sitting weeks of 2021, the Morrison Government passed 'political campaigner' legislation. This briefing note explains what the laws are, how have they changed, and what the consequences might be for the charities sector.

This analysis, from the Australia Institute’s Democracy and Accountability Program, reveals that $3.9 billion spent by federal grants programs with ministerial discretion has clearly favoured marginal Coalition seats in particular, at the expense of safe Labor seats and, to a lesser extent, safe Coalition seats.