Bill Browne

@browne90.bsky.social

3979 Followers 755 Following

Director at The Australia Institute's Democracy & Accountability Program. Views posted are my own.

Odysseus, lashed to the mast, can hear the sirens but not heed their calls.
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Liberals split 41% Milthorpe, 59% One Nation. Nationals 31%, 69%. Legalise Cannabis 63%, 37%. Greens 92%, 8%.
Use of Tasers by NSW police Showing the number for each year -- 340 in 2024-25, up from 194 in 2020-21.
43,456 FOI requests were received by all agencies and ministers in 2024–25. 79% of the 25,211 decisions made by agencies in 2024–25 were to refuse access in part or full. 62% of Information Commissioner review decisions in 2024–25 were to ‘set aside’ a decision of the agency.
Budget 2026: Government scandals slip between the fingers of under-resourced integrity agencies There was little in the Budget for Australia’s under-resourced integrity agencies, who by the government’s own assessment are not meeting their targets.
There were 81 FOI reviews on hand in 2018, peaking at 1216 in 2023, and now at 807
The High Court has confirmed what Australia Institute research has shown for years: Victoria’s election spending and donation rules are undemocratic, and key provisions are unconstitutional. Further, the High Court decision demonstrates how commonplace slipshod and self-interested democratic “reform” has become in Australia – not just in Victoria.
Australians are naturally suspicious of corporate donations, especially when they come from vested interests with everything to gain from influencing government decision-making. But are these donations large enough to explain why politicians act the way they do? The reality is that political donations from harmful industries are small relative to the payments parties receive from you, the voter.
The head of Artificial Intelligence firm Anthropic said at the beginning of this month that a tax on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is “inevitable”. Ironically, his comment makes it less likely that such a tax will ever happen. In politics, calling something "inevitable" implies that nobody needs to fight to make it happen.
Patriotism has long been seen, particularly among left-wingers, as nationalism with better PR: narrow and short-sighted at best; racist, tribal, and isolationist at worst. But in recent years, Australian politicians have articulated a positive patriotism: one that cares about the Australian people, recognises Australia’s strengths and good qualities, and allows the country to reach its full potential.
Labor on track for $10.4 million public funding, Liberal $8.7 million, One Nation $7.0 million, Greens $3.3 million, over the 2026-2030 election cycle.
The majority recommends that Australia: join global efforts to strengthen climate change information integrity, resource regulators like ASIC and ACCC to expose corporate greenwashing, explore how to make third parties more transparent ahead of election campaigns, continue to provide funding to regional and independent media outlets, establish better oversight of corporate engagement within the school system, require the digital platforms to report more to ACMA, funders ARENA and CEFC to consider the “social licence” of renewables projects.
Browne says third-party groups have a legal right to political communication, but that the reforms have led to “loopholes and perverse outcomes”. “Under the new laws, a candidate who takes on a powerful interest group can be out-fundraised and outspent by that group many times over,” he says. “That’s perverse given the candidate is accountable to voters while the lobby group may be opaque, self-interested or an astroturfing operation.”
From around 60,000 voters per seat in 1974 to around 120,000 in 2025. A modest expansion would only go back to 2019 levels.
FOI requests last year are about where they were back in 2003-04.
Minor/indie vote rises from sub-10% in 1970s to 34% at 2025, and 48% in current polling.
Graph shows FOI decisions were much higher in 2016-17 than under the Albanese Government.
The single largest category of seats "to watch" re One Nation's rise is safe seats, followed by fairly safe. Few "marginal" seats are among the 25 most vulnerable.
Acts of Parliament peaked at 221 in 1973, compared to a high of 142 for the last four years (in 2021).
Each year 1972 to 1975 had more sitting hours than any year 2021 to 2024 did.
Apart from a small dip in 1984 when the number of seats in Parliament increased, the average number of voters per House of Reps seat has increased steadily from 57,000 in 1972 to 121,000 in 2025.
From 3 Labor women and 3 Coalition women in 1975 to 69 Labor women, 22 Coalition women and 20 crossbench women in 2025.
The Labor and Coalition votes decline from around 50% to around 33%, while the independent and minor party vote grows.
In 1975, the Senate had 27 Labor, 30 Coalition and 3 crossbenchers; now it is 29 Labor, 27 Coalition and 20 crossbenchers. In 1975, the House had 66 Labor, 61 Coalition and 0 crossbenchers; now it is 94 Labor, 43 Coalition and 13 crossbench.
Cost recovery (assuming $50 fee) would raise less than $500,000, against a scheme that cost $86 million last year.
Whereas the average request once took 13 hours to determine (2006-07), it now takes 51 hours (2023-24).
The number of FOI requests granted “in full” has fallen from 81% in 2006-07 to just 21% in 2023-24.
There were only 21,000 requests determined in each of 2022-23 and 2023-24,13 down about a third from the 10-year peak of 34,000 in 2016-17.
Number of FOI requests determined is at lowest rate since 2011-12, but the cost of running the FOI system has hit new highs.
Graph shows 71% support, 15% oppose legislation to protect the right to peaceful protest.
Graph shows the two-party preferred for Labor and the Coalition since 1946, and which party was in government.
Labor won almost two thirds of seats despite receiving just over a third of the vote in May. Graph compares UK 2024, Australian House of Reps, Australian Senate and New Zealand 2023. Proportional representation systems deliver more proportional results.
The Aboriginal Flag at the Tent Embassy in 1974.
Deputy President of the African National Congress Nelson Mandela and Prime Minister Bob Hawke, October 1990. Mandela was only recently freed from prison.
The first Mardi Gras entrants from 1978 at the 30th Annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney, Saturday, March 01, 2008
Protester holds placard saying "LBJ = Hypocrite. World opinion is against US in Vietnam."
In 1939 photo, Attorney-General Menzies walks through strikers. Posters include: "Bombs Hurt People".
Jimmy Clements, a Wiradjuri elder, on steps of Parliament House
Newspaper clippings: "Chained up! Two women explain bar protest" and "2 Women chained to hotel bar rail"
Between 2015 and 2025, percentage of Liberal women in Australian parliaments increases from 22% to 34% but the number of women does not change much.
Number of Liberal parliamentarians increases from 22% in 2015 to 34% in mid-2025. The raw number of women does not significantly increase, while the raw number of men decreases by about 100.
Figure showing Labor: 195 men, 218 women Coalition: 203 men, 102 women Greens: 14 men, 29 women Minor parties: 19 men, 13 women Independents: 31 men, 24 women
Graph shows: 33 men in Senate, 81 men in House of Representatives 43 women in Senate, 69 women in House of Representatives
Graph showing a public servant's average cost $135,000 versus a range for the quoted fees for a management consultant in different pay bands (anywhere between $756,000 and $4 million).
Graph shows seats won from behind on primary votes: 128 Coalition, 94 Labor, 15 Independent, 3 Greens, 5 minor party.
62% support rewards for whistleblowers who expose corporate wrongdoing, 16% oppose, 22% don't know.