Bill Browne

@browne90.bsky.social

Director at The Australia Institute's Democracy & Accountability Program. Views posted are my own.

@browne90.bsky.social

"PROTECTED" info could supposedly cause damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals. Maybe the information doesn't need to be classified -- but in that case, make it public for everyone to see, not just a foreign tech company!

@browne90.bsky.social

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sets how many personal staff each member of Parliament gets -- letting him starve his rivals of resources and punishing those who quit the party. Senator Fatima Payman formed an unlikely alliance last week to call him out.

OPINION I knew I would be punished for crossing the floor. I didn’t expect my staff to be Fatima Payman I certainly raised a few eyebrows last week when I walked into the press pack with my biggest adversary, Queensland Senator Pauline Hanson, to stand on a unity ticket asking the Prime Minister to properly resource our parliamentary offices. I wish I didn’t have to resort to such a tactic, but I was out of options, and I knew this was a surefire way to get his attention.
@browne90.bsky.social

I am heartened by two recent defeats, because they were close-fought things that could have gone either way. They are proof that our efforts can change the direction of our country.

Even the defeats give me hope for democracy In the last couple of weeks, two very consequential political debates have come down to a single vote. And these two narrow defeats prove that individuals matter, democracy matters, and parliament matters. Nothing is predetermined.
@browne90.bsky.social

It’s perfectly legal to lie in a political ad in NSW – but that could be about to change. More than 31,500 NSW residents have said that they want truth in political advertising laws before the state election next March.

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