The Tally Room

Ben was joined by Frank Bongiorno and Chris Monnox to discuss the history of Australia's federal parliament being expanded, in 1949 and 1984. We discuss the motivations for these changes, the positions taken by the parties and why it happened when it did. We also discuss efforts to break the 'nexus' which links the size of the House to the size of the Senate.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If y...

Ben was joined by Matt Dennien from the Brisbane Times to discuss the Queensland state redistribution, specifically the first round of submissions. The conversation focuses on the Labor and LNP submissions, and also run through some of the other public submissions.

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Ben is joined by Kevin Bonham and Chris Monnox to discuss the results of the Tasmanian state election and prospects for the formation of a new government.

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You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And $8 donors can now join the T...

Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to discuss the latest Tasmanian state polls and go through Tasmania's five electorates one by one, discussing the race and possible winners in each division.

• We refer extensively to Kevin Bonham's blog post breaking down the latest DemosAu poll

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving...

Ben was joined by Tasmanian political observer Mike Lester to look at the state of the campaign and the announcement of candidates for the Tasmanian state election. We particularly look into the Tasmanian Nationals and the shadow-boxing around who takes the blame for the calling of the election and who has the best prospect of forming a majority government.

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Ben is joined by Kevin Bonham to discuss the collapse of the Tasmanian government just 15 months after the last election, and to look at some of the early moves for independents to find a new party home.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

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For this podcast Ben interviews two scrutineers about their experience in the recounts: Adelaide, a Liberal scrutineer from Bradfield, and KJ, an independent scrutineer from Goldstein. Ben also discusses the recount procedures he saw in Bradfield last week and the latest count updates from Monday afternoon.

• Ben's blog post about visiting the Bradfield recount
• The podcast features the song 'It's a Draw' by Nick Craft.

Thi...

Ben was joined by Kevin Bonham to run through the close seats and the Senate race that have dragged out, one week after the election.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month. And $8 donors can now join the Tally Room Discord ser...

Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to discuss the results of yesterday's Australian federal election, which produced Labor's best result since 1943. We talk about the close seats, how multi-party politics is transforming local electorate contests and what is likely to happen in the Senate.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving...

Ben is joined by Peter Brent and the ABC's Tom Crowley for the final pre-election episode of the 2025 federal election campaign. We discuss how a hung parliament might play out and the experience of riding Peter Dutton's campaign bus. For our seat of the week we discuss the NSW seat of Werriwa.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your suppor...

Ben is joined by Jill Sheppard and Emily Foley to discuss the long-term trend of the major parties losing primary votes: what is causing the trend, how it might play out in 2025 and whether they can do anything to reverse the trend. The seat of the week is Bruce in south-eastern Melbourne.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

Yo...

Ben is joined by Duncan McDonnell from Griffith University to discuss the close of rolls and nominations and the role of Gen Z voters in the election. The seat of the week is Lingiari in the Northern Territory, and we also talk about Indigenous enrolment and parliamentary representation.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

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Ben is joined by Stewart Jackson and Phoebe Hayman to discuss the role of the Greens in the federal election: the seats they are defending and are challenging for, the rivalry between Labor and the Greens and how the electoral system shapes their relationship. The seat of the week is Wills, in the inner north of Melbourne.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile pleas...

Ben is joined by journalist Rachel Withers, writer of the Crikey column 'Well Hung', to discuss the prospects for independent candidates, including teal and Muslim independents, at the 2025 federal election.

• A 2023 meme from Twitter user Pineapple Crab applying different definitions for a "teal"
• Read my 2023 paper 'Not Your Parents' Electoral System'

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If...

Ben is joined by Ben Moffitt from Monash University to discuss the role of right-wing minor parties in federal politics, why it is so hard for them to work together, and chances in the Senate. We also discuss the seat of Hunter in New South Wales.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

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Ben is joined by William Bowe from the Poll Bludger to wrap up the results of yesterday's Western Australian state election, which was a third consecutive landslide victory for Labor.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign up via Patreon for $8 or more per month....

Ben is joined by John Carey to discuss how you design an electoral system for a new democracy - what factors are most important to producing a healthy and sustainable democracy, and how might those requirements change over time?

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You can listen to an ad-free version of this podcast if you sign...

Ben is joined by Stewart Jackson and Andre Brett to discuss which seats might fall when the Labor vote in the WA state election recedes from the high levels reached in 2021, and how the minor parties might perform under the new Legislative Council electoral system.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

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Ben is joined by Martin Drum from the University of Notre Dame to discuss the new electoral system for the Western Australian Legislative Council and to look back at the last four years of WA state politics in the lead up to next month's state election.

This podcast is supported by the Tally Room’s supporters on Patreon. If you find this podcast worthwhile please consider giving your support.

You can listen to an ad-free version of...