The Gender Gap Revisited: Polarisation, Progress, and Party Politics in Contemporary Australia March/April 2025
Author/editor:Professor Nicholas Biddle, Professor Michelle K Ryan, Dr Jill Sheppard.
Year published:2025
The 2022 federal election in Australia saw gender emerge as a defining issue, driven by the rise of high-profile female independent candidates and public debates on women’s treatment in politics and the workplace. In the lead-up to the 2025 federal election, this paper draws on new data from Wave 3…
Hope, Hardship, and Democratic Confidence: Social Wellbeing and Political Sentiment in Election-Year Australia (March/April 2025)
Author/editor:Professor Nicholas Biddle
Year published:2025
This report presents findings from the third wave of the 2025 Election Monitoring Survey Series (EMSS), conducted from 28th March to 8th April, during the first fortnight of the 2025 federal election campaign. With a sample of 3,608 Australians—two-thirds of whomparticipated in at least one prior…
Views on political parties and the role of government (January/February 2025)
Author/editor:Professor Nicholas Biddle
Year published:2025
This paper explores how Australians view political parties and the role of government in the lead-up to the 2025 Federal Election, drawing on nationally representative survey data collected in October 2024 and January/February 2025 as part of the ANU 2925 Election Monitoring Survey Series. The…
Civic journeys: a national metanarrative to foster democratic resilience?
Author/editor:Dr Andrew Mycock and Professor Brenton Prosser
Year published:2025
National surveys are reporting a steady decline in democratic participation, public trust and civic engagement in Australia. At the same time, there has been an abundance of civic initiatives and community programs that seek to increase access to opportunities to participate. Many initiatives cite…
Democratic Resilience: Moving from Theoretical Frameworks to a Practical Measurement Agenda
Author/editor:Professor Nicholas Biddle, Dr Alex Fischer, Professor Simon Angus, Professor Selen Ercan, Dr Max Grömping, and Professor Matthew Gray
Year published:2025
This paper examines democracy as a resilient system, emphasizing the role of applied analysis in shaping effective policy and programs, particularly in Australia. Grounded in adaptive processes, democratic resilience is the capacity of a democracy to identify problems, and collectively respond to…
Erosion of hope: Social and financial wellbeing and the relationship with political
Author/editor:Professor Nicholas Biddle
Year published:2025
Public confidence in democracy and institutions is often shaped by broader social and economic conditions. This study examines Australians' perceptions of social and financial wellbeing, their views on the past and future, and their trust in democratic institutions, using survey data collected as…
Trends in Civic Engagement in Australia
Author/editor:Dr Sarah Cameron
Year published:2025
A longstanding debate concerns whether civic engagement is in decline in the advanced democracies and whether this forms part of a crisis of democracy. This paper situates Australia within this debate by providing a broad overview of the state of civic engagement in Australia. To do so, this paper…
Perceptions of Fairness and Territorial Redistribution in the Australian Federal System
Author/editor:Associate Professor Tracy B Fenwick and Dr. Thiago N. da Silva
Year published:2024
Why do 40% of Australians believe the state where they reside receive less than its fair share of the GST distribution?” Check out the latest working paper by Associate Professor Tracy B Fenwick and Dr. Thiago N. da Silva on public perceptions of fairness in the Australian Federal System.
Beyond Autonomy: Practical and Theoretical Challenges to 21st Century Federalism
Author/editor:Tracy B Fenwick and Andrew C Banfield
Year published:2022
Abstract Beyond Autonomy forces us to rethink the meaning of autonomy as a central organising pillar of federalism. Can federations exist beyond the autonomy realm designed to promote territorial selfgovernance and direct representation among various levels of government? How do governments of…
Race, Ethnicity, and the Participation Gap: Understanding Australia's Political Complexion
Author/editor:Juliet Pietsch
Year published:2018
Race, Ethnicity and the Participation Gap begins with the argument that political institutions in settler and culturally diverse societies such as Australia, the United States, and Canada should mirror their culturally diverse populations. Compared to the United States and Canada, however,…