Plans are again afoot within the Australian government to try to cripple the democratic nature of the Senate. But there is an alternative direction that reform could take.
Category: Constitutional law
On changing a constitution
Australia's constitution is difficult to amend, and that's not a bad thing. But resistance to change is far from uniform.
Oh no, not 1975 again!
Britain could be headed for a constitutional crisis that can be likened to that of 1975 in Australia. But the differences are more revealing than the similarities.
Brexit revisits the civil war
Like its Italian counterpart, the British parliament faces big decisions about whether to bring down a government and what to put in its place, but it does so under somewhat different constitutional rules.
Parliament vs executive in Italy
The Italian far right is making its bid for power, and it will take an unlikely degree of unity among its opponents to stop it.
Who counts for representation? – part II
Australia and the US both apportion seats on the basis of population, but use different approaches to drawing boundaries. It could become a political issue.
Responsible government in Strasbourg and Madrid
The European Union may, or may not, get a new government tonight. Meanwhile, Spain's government is having parliamentary problems of its own.
Who counts for representation? – part I
Donald Trump's attempt to politicise the census has failed for now, but it raises interesting issues about how representation is supposed to work.
How to appoint a prime minister
Malcolm Turnbull may have had a hypothetical constitutional manoeuvre to block Peter Dutton, but would the same trick work against Boris Johnson?
Brexit, or how not to do democracy
Theresa May's government is teetering, with little prospect of getting its Brexit plan through parliament. Is there a better way this could have all been handled?
The World is Not Enough 