The Tally Room

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. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

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. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

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. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

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. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

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. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

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. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

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. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

Ben is joined by Erin Cook from Dari Mulut ke Mulut to discuss next week's national election in Indonesia. We discuss the three candidates, the role of the outgoing president Jokowi in the race, the electoral system and the role of parties in Indonesia's democracy. Sign up for South-East Asia news through the Dari Mulut ke Mulut newsletter. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

Ben is joined by Shaun Ratcliff from Accent Research to discuss his recent report looking at differences in voting trends across the generations. We discuss how Millenials and Gen Z voters are much more left-wing than Baby Boomers, explore some theories as to why, and look at evidence as to which of those theories may be right. We then discuss what this implies for the next few decades of Australian politics. Read Shaun's report at Accent Research. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

Ben is joined by Dr Simon Hix from the European University Institute to discuss a paper he co-wrote with John Carey about finding the Electoral Sweet Spot: how low-magnitude proportional representation systems tend to combine the best of majoritarian and proportional systems. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

Shane Easson has been drawing up redistribution submissions for the Australian Labor Party since 1984. This year he's not doing the Labor submission for New South Wales, although he is working on those in some other states, and he came on the podcast to talk about how it works, the things you've got to consider when writing such a submission, and whether they have any influence on the outcome. We also discuss some of the likely outcomes of the current NSW federal redistribution and the need to change some names. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support. This podcast is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

Today's podcast was recorded at the roundtable on Boundary Delimitation and Malapportionment in Asia and the Pacific held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 28-29, 2023. The event was hosted by Indonesian NGO Perludem and Malaysian organisations Bersih and Tindak Malaysia, in coordination with International IDEA. I attended to present on Papua New Guinea's electoral boundaries and while there I recorded interviews with six of the other participants. In this episode you'll hear from: Thanks to everyone for joining me. Read the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Apportionment and Boundary Delimitation. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to recap the results of the Voice referendum. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Ben is joined today by Peter Brent to wrap up the referendum campaign. We discuss the state of the polls, the relative position of the states, whether the low Yes vote can really be blamed on the state of the campaign or by the fundamental referendum trends, and what data points might line up with the results on Saturday. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Ben is joined by James Mulrennan from The Overhang. We preview next weekend's New Zealand national election, touching on the electoral system, the state of the parties and the polls, and the potential shape of the next government. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Ben is joined by historian Alison Holland, who is researching the history of ATSIC, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. We discuss the history and current existence of Indigenous elected institutions around Australia, including ATSIC and its predecessors at a federal level, regional land councils and state Voices that have started to pop up. Alison's article in The Conversation about why those who claim that ATSIC failed have put the blame in the wrong place. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Ben is joined by Paul Kildea and Andre Brett to discuss the history of Australian referendums. We discuss the historical origins of referendums at both the state and federal level, the dynamics of referendum campaigns, how different states tend to vote, the voters' bias towards the status quo, and discuss some of our favourite referendums. We reference some fairly obscure referendums, including the 1928 referendum in the Australian Federal Territory on ending prohibition, the 1951 and 1965 Wool Reserve Prices referendums, the national song poll of 1977 and the unsuccessful attempt to extend hotel opening hours prior to the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Paul's article on state and territory referendums in the Sydney Law ReviewThe 2016 article "An Absent Negative" by Russell McGregor about the absence of a No campaign in the 1967 referendum on Aboriginal affairs This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Ben is joined by psephologist Henry Schlechta to discuss two issues of democratic reform in Victoria: the arguments around abolishing group voting tickets, and the implementation of single-member wards for urban Victorian councils. Sadly this isn't a story of Victoria improving its electoral systems - mostly they are getting worse or staying the same. Ben's podcast with Kevin from November 2022 discussing the problems with group voting tickets.Ben's estimates of who would have won seats in the Victorian upper house under different systems.Ben's blog post about the single-member ward reviews happening in Victoria. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Ben is joined by ABC chief election analyst Antony Green for the 100th episode of the Tally Room podcast to discuss the many redistributions currently underway around Australia: federal redistributions, state and territory redistributions and even local council ward redistributions. We discuss the population trends affecting the drawing of federal boundaries, the process of drawing, and how we make estimates of margins in new electorates. Read Antony's most recent post about prospects for the NSW federal redistribution. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Ben is joined by American political scientist Jack Santucci to discuss the history of the single transferable vote electoral system and its implementation in numerous American cities in the early 20th century. Jack's book More Parties or No Parties explores this period and advances a theory to explain why electoral system change happens when it does. We also meander into a comparison of STV and simpler proportional representation systems. Please fill out the Tally Room survey and tell us more about what you'd like to hear. This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.