Australian artists helped the nation survive the COVID pandemic, but our governments have left them in the lurch. “If people can’t earn a living while making their art, newsflash, there’s not going to be a lot of art.” - Skye Predavec, Anne Kantor Fellow @skyelark.bsky.social #auspol

ANU has had a lot of gall recently, but it might be hard to top comparing David Pocock's motions on transparency to Trump's attacks on tertiary education. Read more on the @australiainstitute.org.au live blog 👇 live.australiainstitute.org.au/2025/08/aust...

Australia's preferential voting system is often praised, and for good reason. But in terms of reflecting overall votes cast it's not much better than first past the post. My look at how our winner-takes-all voting system skews election outcomes for @australiainstitute.org.au 👇 #auspol

Australia has a politician problem: not too many, but too few. There are nine times the number of voters than in 1903, but the number of MPs has only doubled. Maybe it's time for our representative democracy to get a bit more representative? @australiainstitute.org.au #auspol

Australians lose $13 billion dollars every year on the pokies. The vast majority of this, over $10 billion in losses, comes from at-risk gamblers: those who are exceeding the low-risk gambling limit. New research from @skyelark.bsky.social ⤵️ australiainstitute.org.au/post/most-ga...

On the National Day of Protest Rights, a reminder that Australians overwhelmingly support the right to peaceful protest - and believe that peaceful protest has a place in Australian democracy. #ProtectProtest australiainstitute.org.au/post/austral...

Analysis of the 2025 election makes it clear that minor party and independent preferences behind Labor’s landslide victory #OffTheCharts @browne90.bsky.social @skyelark.bsky.social @joshuablackjb.bsky.social australiainstitute.org.au/post/major-p...

The monopoly of major parties over Aussie elections has been eroding for a while, but now it's crumbling faster than ever before 👇

If you bet on the winner of the Miles Franklin, your windfall is tax free but if you win the Miles Franklin you pay tax. There's an easy and cheap way for the gov to help our best artists and writers. Make prizes tax free. Thanks to @charlottewood.bsky.social & Melissa Lucashenko for their thoughts

The ALP's landslide means this term of parliament has a slightly smaller crossbench, but that hides an ever-growing trend. More Aussies than ever are drifting away from the major parties 👇 #auspol

With Bradfield now called, @skyelark.bsky.social points out that the 2025 election was the first time where the votes for independents and minor parties were *larger* than for one of the ALP or LNP #OffTheCharts australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-202...

"the result in Calwell shows that the press has lost touch with the people, the result in Australia shows that the people have lost touch with the press" Absolute fire from @skyelark.bsky.social and @rodcampbell.bsky.social on the coverage of the most interesting electoral race in 2025

"The outer-Melbourne electorate of Calwell had "the most complex count in Australia's history", but almost nobody was talking about it before the election. Why? Only four journalists live in the seat, the least of anywhere in Australia. @rodcampbell.bsky.social writes ⤵️ #auspol

Great piece in National Account on declining legacy media influence, and The Oz's logical fallacies in response to that reality "Printed newspapers are no longer the political kingmakers they once were." @australiainstitute.org.au @skyelark.bsky.social www.nationalaccount.com.au/p/newspaper-...

The Aus's Dennis Shanahan devoted a column to @australiainstitute.org.au 's new report on declining media power & this was the best he could do: "the big election editorial has never counted for much with voters. To suggest there’s been a decline of their influence ignores the political reality." 🧵

In response to @australiainstitute.org.au research about declining media influence in Aus elections, @theaustralian.bsky.social says newspaper endorsements "never counted for much" in the first place! 🤦‍♂️ Leaders can now govern boldly, without glancing over their shoulder at these guys all the time

Despite the endorsements of all News Corp mastheads and the AFR, the Coalition suffered a major defeat. “This research shows that Australia’s major media outlets have little influence over how Australians actually vote," said report co-author @skyelark.bsky.social. #auspol

A privilege to work with @browne90.bsky.social and @skyelark.bsky.social on this report about the recent history of power sharing in Australia's parliaments. There are many ways to make a balanced parliament work well! @australiainstitute.org.au

Emerging out of bluesky hibernation to tell you to check out my Off the Charts on the shrinklation of Australian uni educations!

Some parties have lost their loving feeling for full preferential voting. In this piece, @browne90.bsky.social @skyelark.bsky.social and I discuss why full preferential voting matters, especially for those who created it @australiainstitute.org.au #Auspol2025

Is bluesky good now

Now that it has a logo is blusky finally gonna be good

Actually fucked up that the vinnies 50m from my work hasn't opened yet. Just want to op shop on lunch breaks!!!!

Bluesky is great but there are like 3 people on it, feel like shit just want old twitter back

More like blue Skye amiright