The democracy dialogue

Rethinking Democracy is now The Democracy Dialogue TBH there were too many extreme movements with a similar name We’re not here to bark crazy theories from the fringes but to promote respectful debate that improves how we make decisions together That’s a movement to get behind

@kevinbonham Are you still goth Kevin?

Another random B+B comment, in their ABC interview today they were very keen to embrace or at least commend the teal label. Teal is like goth, it's not teal in 2024 to admit that you are teal. They may be babyteals.

There was a @BradlowandBock twitter account but it has been deleted, unsure if it was genuine. Their other social media pages remain up.

@kevinbonham It was always going to end with that conclusion. Still, doesn’t it raise an important question about whether we have the conditions that incentivise a diverse cross section of Australia to run? (aside: they could presumably job share the non-statutory bits: media, research, eng)

Anne Twomey on proposed job-sharing federal MPs: unconstitutional, illegal and the intending candidates don't have a clue what they are talking about. youtube.com/watch?v=4bnaBI…

Companies aren’t allowed to lie to consumers, so why is it legal in political advertising? Because it serves big political parties, but it does not serve voters. I was elected to fight for integrity. I will keep holding parties to account for their actions, or lack of action.

@NickFeik Bloody extraordinary. Shows the stranglehold that political parties have (or are perceived to have, by themselves and the wider public) over our electoral systems, even when it was never intended to be the case

I doubt this is constitutional in a system where you vote for candidates, not parties. Then again, the Tasmanian constitution is a bunch of post-it notes in a bin fire, so who knows. I would’ve thought changing the law so child abusers lose their jobs would be more important…

@georgievpurcell Totally reprehensible by 9. It’s gutter journalism. And “oh AI did it” is a pathetic attempt at an excuse. Apology is not nearly enough.

Hot tip 9 I’ve got my whole stomach tattooed

I endured a lot yesterday. But having my body and outfit photoshopped by a media outlet was not on my bingo card. Note the enlarged boobs and outfit to be made more revealing. Can’t imagine this happening to a male MP. What gives?

@theheraldsun That’s not what he said. He said that the vote aligned closely with education levels. Which is a statement of fact.

The Project’s Waleed Aly is ducking for cover again after claiming the no vote in the Voice referendum was fuelled by less-educated people who simply didn’t understand the issue. > bit.ly/3Fp0wS8

@KosSamaras Does this summarise it?

We have some data coming on this theory. It was not misinformation. It was the lack of information. Or to be more precise, an inability by Yes23 to communicate to a part of Australia that are being economically destroyed atm. Great campaign for Smith Street Collingwood. Terrible campaign for Smith Street Melton.

Is this about right @danilic ?

@KosSamaras Interesting that home ownership now seems to take the place that income did some decades ago. Education and home ownership better indicators than income (education mutes any influence of income, and is more strongly predictive of political lean)

Our Queensland State Poll published in the media today. Some more detail. Take a look at the 18-34 year old group. The Greens are outpolling both Labor and the LNP across the entire state within this age group. Expect to see similar trends in other states. If a Labor MP and hold an inner urban seat, with a low median age, you are in deep trouble. Second slide illustrates how home ownership is a driver for some of this, coupled with even older renters swinging to the Greens and the LNP. It’s a year to go. So these numbers may change but I don’t think they will change with regards to the Greens. They are on the march now.

I was recently awarded a grant by @OpenAI to explore how we can democratise #ArtificialInteligence development. Myself, @shuyanglin, @akrasodomski, @carljackmiller and @tsuijiawei are running a pilot with #vTaiwan and @ChathamHouse. More coming soon…

@rjosephstella @referendumQandA @paulkildea To claim that the entire thread is misleading regally requires at least as robust evidence as te thread itself. Do you have a source for that quote? And how that figure was arrived at? The validity of the method? Is it backed up by multiple similar polls asking the same question?

@referendumQandA ⚠️ Misleading. A few weeks ago a ‘Yes’ campaign group reported “Over 45% [of Indigenous Australians] are saying they have heard very little or know nothing about the referendum”. That research may be wrong, but there’s no excuse for @paulkildea to pretend it never happened.

For many Australians, whether the Voice is supported by Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people is an important factor in deciding how they will vote. As A/Prof Paul Kildea explains, the evidence shows the Voice is backed by a large majority of First Nations people 1/

Launching today @referendumQandA provides the views of 5 experts (public law, parliamentary & government practice, electoral law, referendums, human rights & Indigenous rights) on issues arising in public debate about the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Voice & referendum 1/

@GrogsGamut Completely stupid. It’s one thing to have a law barring people with certain convictions from standing for office.. But to suggest a political solution to an indictment just plays into the narrative that the whole thing is politically motivated (I don’t believe it is)

I mean this is stupidly insane

@Kunkakom @Demo_LabS Great thank you!

In our seminar today, Alexander Wuttke @Kunkakom provides his explanation for the paradox of high generic and lower substantive democracy support. Cultural learning leads to superficial pro-democracy ideas, with are insufficiently supported by system beliefs.

@Just_Krystle_M Evidence?

@joshburnsmp So isn’t the point Josh that the bill proposes to invest $10bn in the future fund and only the RETURNS (if any) spent on housing? By comparison Victoria Labor spent $5bn DIRECTLY on housing, and even they say it isn’t enough. Why isn’t it direct investment?

Labor and the Independents are trying to pass a bill to build more social housing including 4,000 homes for people fleeing domestic violence. The Liberals and the Greens have just blocked it from being passed in the Senate. The Liberals are a lost cause, but for goodness sake, the Greens should stop working with Peter Dutton on this. #auspol

New ways to do Democracy.

“You can’t shake hands with an open fist” How we relate to each other, understand our power and practice forbearance are as fundamental to democracy as any system or process. We joined Clarion Call and @newdemocracyAUS in a new pod chat. Find it via open.substack.com/pub/democracy4…