The Tally Room

121 - Democracy for busy people

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.

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120 - Women in Australian politics

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

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119 - Solomon Islands elections

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.

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118 - India goes to the polls

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.

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117 - Tasmania elects a hung parliament

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.

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116 - Wrapping up Queensland's local elections

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.

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115 - A tour of Tasmania's electorates

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.

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114 - Queensland council elections preview

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.

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113 - Let's go back to Tasmania

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 worthwhile please consider giving your support.

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112 - Prabowo wins in Indonesia

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 transcript for this podcast here.

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.

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