Who's afraid of minority government? | Follow the Money

The major parties claim that minority and coalition governments are chaotic and unworkable, but are they actually more effective?
Australian politicians aren’t exactly known for getting along with each other. But history shows that, when they’re forced to share government, they can get a lot done.
In the wake of the Tasmanian election, Australia Institute Executive Director Richard Denniss joins Follow the Money to discuss why the need to negotiate can make minority and coalition governments better at lawmaking.
Hear the full episode:
🎧 australiainstitute.org.au/pos...
Photo: AAP Image/Alan Porritt
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[@kathythomson4251]

The more diverse voices the better! It allows more compromise so that more people win.

[@dodgygoose3054]

Minority government are the best! more policies that are for the people!

[@michaelscott1060]

I’m in, I want a minority government whereby a block of independents keep the bastards HONEST to the electorate

[@RictusHolloweye]

Independents being the key word. Don't need bigger and bigger Coalitions.

[@pmcamacho6447]

Minority Governments have to rely on negotiating with representatives that may not be from the Lawyer Political Class. That can only be a good thing.

[@gerryhouska2859]

I'm all for it!!!

[@Pine_Gap_Island]

The House of Reps needs to move to an MMP (or similar) type of system. Less than 1 in 3 voters voted Labor and yet we have a Labor majority government. That is scandalous. If you don't think so, just imagine if the Liberals and Nationals achieved majority government with less than 1 in 3 voters voting for them. Not to mention, there was 1 election where the Democrats got 12% of the vote and not 1 member elected in the Reps. The Greens faced a similar predicament for many years until the last election, prior to which they had only 1 MP in the Reps despite a high vote. While preferential voting is preferential to first-past-the-post, the Australian people deserve better. The more effectively the Australian people are represented in the House that forms Government (proportional to both locality AND to total vote counts), the more likely that Government will deliver for the Australian people.

[@zappy7393]

Perhaps they don't really want the Australian people to be represented in Government? As they say, if voting had any impact, the Government would make it illegal.

[@BrentonSmythesfieldsaye]

@@zappy7393 Or perhaps conspiracy theorists and mischief makers don't want you to vote, so they invent cliches. 😂

[@Pine_Gap_Island]

@@BrentonSmythesfieldsaye Samuel Langhorn Clemens (aka Mark Twain), who first popularised that phrase, was anything but a kook. Neither was his disciple, George Carlin who adapted that phrase for the 90s and 2000s. They were speaking for the US American context. Besides, @zappy7393 was not suggesting anyone not vote. But if you think that real democracy ought to begin with and end with voting one day every three years, then you are the one who has fallen for the mischief makers.

[@BrentonSmythesfieldsaye]

@@Pine_Gap_Island I am quite aware of the origins of the quote. Plus don't presume to know what I think. At this point please prefer ot my previous post. It stands.

[@GivusADurryGronk]

Is a more widely representative government better? Hmmm, that’s a tough one.

[@--Nath--]

Meanwhile we unfortunately got Albanese with a slim majority.. What a(nother) waste of a term missing out on a minority government.

[@peterhoz]

Tho there's plenty of negotiation required in the Senate. Except when the Shit Party supports the Shit Lite Party which happens far too often.

[@peterhoz]

I would love to see the full long-form videos of Follow the Money in their own feed in KZbin. Watching podcasts is so much more engaging than listening. Looks like you're videoing them anyway so no extra work. Having the clips in the main AUS Institute channel is good, but making the full version available, separate but linked, would be great.

[@zappy7393]

I keep hearing these base questions on things that to me, are common sense and good for the people. Despite this we find that we keep having these base debates rather then the Government actually just doing what is right for the people. Maybe we should have put fibre to all of the houses off the get go? - Nah, people will never use over 50/20 -_- Should we limit lobbying in Government - But then how would Green Coal get off the ground -_- Should we stop propping up the Logging industry - Nah, how would we manage our Carbon Credit scam? -_- Maybe we should build houses instead of injecting money into a future fund - Tent cities though -_- Maybe we should incentivize TAFE for building and the trades - Dont we need more lawyers and bankers? -_- ITS ALL COMMON SENSE AND YET HERE WE ARE GOING IN CIRCLES WHILST OUR GOVERNMENT LAUGHS AT US!!!

[@ashleybellofsydney]

Psychologically, when in minority government, you'll never take your job for granted.

[@abekane7038]

I'd rather see Greens or One Nation as a minority govt than an ALP/LNP uniparty one

[@Blackheathenly]

LOL One Nation? Very funny.

[@GivusADurryGronk]

One Nation is bogan LNP. Yuck. Greens at least are conscionable. Too bad they’d probably be economically problematic in the staunch pursuits of goodwill. Which would cause a grand scale of pain, which would be unconscionable…

[@Pine_Gap_Island]

Better yet, a genuine representative crossbench that reflects both the people, and the _will_ of the people of Australia. That would inevitably include The Greens, possibly/probably include someone at least from One Nation, but also Teals and other independent and minor party MPs.

[@The_Ubatron]

​@@GivusADurryGronkAye, Bogans are okay; it's gronks ya gotta look out for! 😉

[@aussiviking604]

One nation are now electorally irrelevant.

[@David_Beames]

I was hoping for it last federal election. At least it just happened in Tasmania.

[@shloidain]

except for the co-operation with the crossbench. especially labor, going "we will not negotiate" when they couldve made a successful government by doing so

[@owenb7911]

i mean technically, dont we already have a hung parliament in the senate?

[@The_Ubatron]

What about limited tenure sortition with the right to opt out? The social and cultural background of career politicians is extraordinarily narrow compared with the population... 🤔

[@Will-hg2xl]

Yes she passed at lot of legislation and worked efficiently with the independents but is Australia any better off today in terms of the BIG 3 . Peoples health, NO. Peoples finances, NO, peoples relationships with ourselves or families and work colleagues. NO. Thats the material point.

[@joepearce3033]

Gillard enabled the plandemic response to be military in line with five eyes. She signed it up when prime minister.

[@RictusHolloweye]

Wait... were we any worse off in regards to health, finances or... relationships? NO. We did have the best performing economy in the developed world at the time (though Rudd and Swan deserve much of that credit), we did get the NDIS (which is still going even after nine years of Coalition chipping), we got the RC into child abuse and we got the only effective carbon reduction program we've ever had... short lived though it was.

[@joepearce3033]

@@RictusHolloweye Climate reduction program? Climate change is a hoax....orcastrated to depopulate.

[@ariaflame-au]

Because other people screwed things up afterwards? Don’t you like not being bothered by work out of hours? Hasn’t that helped your relationships?

[@Pierre_Nu]

It really depends on the rational calibre and political intent of the individual cross bench members

[@waitawhileexplorer3904]

I am more concerned who the minority preference vote goes towards. Divide and conquer only works with two major parties.

[@theaussiewhinger]

True. Unlike in NZ, though, it's promoted as "weak" (and may have implications at the polls) to indicate that you'd be willing to work with other parties in the event your party doesn't secure a House majority. On the need to pass legislation through the Senate, I really don't see the need for a Senate at all. It's there constitutionally, so it's the reality of course.

[@antoncarmoducchi6057]

Only a minority of ALP stalwarts spruk Gillard's deeply compromised accomplishments. The whole Rudd Gillard era was deeply embarrassing.

[@Pine_Gap_Island]

The Government was crap but the 43rd Parliament was one of our best.

[@RictusHolloweye]

Shall we compare it to the era that followed? The same number of leadership changes (one of which caused Parliament to shut down entirely), all economic indicators turning downward, a major infrastructure investment sabotaged (the NBN), a horrific attack on some of the most vulnerable members of our society (Robodebt) and unprecedented levels of blatant corruption (If anyone cares to question that, I'll be delighted to provide specific examples). If any Labor government were to be a disappointment... it would be the current one (watered down anti-corruption commission, half-hearted approach to housing, acquiescence to AUKUS, half-hearted response to indiscriminate killing in the Middle East) but at least we can grant that they're only in their first term. Maybe a second could be better....

[@David_Beames]

You read minds? Cool. :)

[@NathanCroucher]

@@RictusHolloweye Exactly, and zero consequences aside from being voted out to come back a few years later. I cant process it as being ok, normal or acceptable. So im down the rabbit hole of, social engineering the public for war, the evidence seems to support that more than anything else. Eg attack (not defence) subs and the big G being ok now.

[@PandaKnight52]

Minority Gov brought in-action on climate change 10years of coalition rule and Scott Morrison. To have better minority Gov you need a vastly different information space. You don't reach conservatives or even centrist who vote for the liberals and National, social media is an eco chamber and not a good information environment. You want better Gov change the media landscape or work to get all progressive parties elected over conservative ones.

[@morganoox3838]

"They were successful"... "they intoroduced caarbo tax, they created NDIS (Most expensive policy in history), they raised taxes" Yep. Successful. Nailed it.

[@mirror452]

Funny. Almost as if you're advocating for the chinese way of doing democracy... negotiations and seeking broad consensus with everyone.

[@francisjohnston8014]

I don't think that's how they operate these days

[@GivusADurryGronk]

In what world is that how China works

[@mirror452]

@@GivusADurryGronk In this world we currently live in. Btw, I recommend checking out Latana's "Democracy Perception Index".

[@GivusADurryGronk]

@@mirror452 Look I’m not one of those “China is a totalitarian hellscape” types. But from everything I understand, the government definitely seems to have a pretty firm grip on societal motion. What exactly do you want me to glean from Lantana’s report? I’m happy to explore the info but don’t have time to deep dive it all.

[@Pine_Gap_Island]

@@mirror452 are you familiar with a place called Europe at all? Switzerland might be the best example but I would settle for a German type democracy. Or that of the Low Countries or Scandinavia.

[@michaelscott1060]

I’m all in for One Nation…… never, ever thought I’d arrive here but hey labour & liberal delivered me to her door 👍

[@aussiviking604]

Electorally irrelevant.

[@ariaflame-au]

The bigots? Why?

[@BrentonSmythesfieldsaye]

.........so just choose extremist right wing politics with a minimum of chips. Well that would be you delivering yourself "to her door".

[@owenb7911]

i loathe the lack of nuance in this discussion. Yeah the gillard gov got a lot of done but it was only a 1 TERM government and an unpopular one too that resulted into a destructive 10 year Liberal government. being associated with the greens was so unpopular, no offence to the Greens, 90% of the electorate do not like them. what good is a productive government when it will only be a 1 termer

[@eatdrinkwineguy]

Incredible. Who would have thought acting like an adult engaging in real conversations would work to your favour.