Auspol Explained

Members and Senators are there to represent us! So how do they go about it? Well, here are three ways to find out how politicians vote and on what bills so you can make an informed vote at the election and decide if they've represented you effectively. Links to those resources are: Theyvoteforyou: https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/Divisions for the House of Representatives: https://www.aph.gov.au/...

Not all independents are teals so what makes them different? While they're not a political party, teal independents are referred to as a group because they (usually) have a few common elements - mainly their focus on climate change. But there's more to it than that. In this episode I'll explore a little bit of the history, where the teal colour and label came from, and how they're...

Hey! Would you like to support your local candidate for the House of Representatives or the Senate? Then here are some tips on how YOU can get involved, help build their campaign, and help them WIN! Campaigns aren't driven by individuals thinking about how much they can cram the same attack ad into every ad break on TV and pre-roll on YouTube, they're driven by teams that comprise of commu...

Who are you going to vote for? It's up to you to decide! But why not learn about the parties in advance? Here is a list of policies summarised for EVERY SINGLE FEDERALLY REGISTERED POLITICAL PARTY IN AUSTRALIA JUST IN TIME FOR THE 2025 FEDERAL ELECTION! In this episode I'll go over what the different political parties stand for and what the major, minor, and micro parties promising this el...

President Trump has imposed tariffs on imports from a lot of countries around the world - but for some reason has singled out Heard and McDonald Islands as a separate place to Australia on the list of "countries" affected. Who lives there? No one. Except penguins. So, what is a tariff? What is protectionism? And how will this affect the local penguin economy? Well, here's an explanat...

It's time! The 2025 Australian federal election has been called for May 3! So get excited and get ready. Here's some useful information to know about enrolling to vote and researching candidates so you can be informed when you go to the polls and cast your ballot for the House of Representatives and Senate! HAVE FUN EVERYONE!Make sure you're enrolled/your details are up to date at: htt...

Advocacy groups, interest groups, and lobbying is all part of the democratic process. While the term "lobbying" often is associated with large corporations, it is a genuine thing that everyone is entitled to do - including small community groups, or you as an individual. How can smaller groups lobby for positive change with limited resources? To learn more I sat down via Zoom to talk to...

Compulsory voting has been a part of Australian federal elections for a CENTURY, and even longer on a state level. For many, this is just an ordinary part of our election culture but for others they find this to be an imposition and disagree that it should be compulsory. So what are the arguments for and against compulsory voting? Is it necessary or should it be abolished? Here's a collection...

Elections are big undertakings! There are remote areas to reach, language barriers to overcome, and misinformation to fight. So I went to the office of the WA Electoral Commissioner, Robert Kennedy, to ask him about his role and all the work put in by the WAEC to make sure Western Australians can vote. Then I told him a bad knock knock joke. For information about WA state elections go here: https:...

State elections for WA happen every 4 years on the second Saturday in March so be prepared! Here's a handy explainer about how filling in the ballot for the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council works, what the two chambers are, and a brief explanation to the changes made after the previous election. Learn more about WA elections and find your local candidates at https://www.elections.w...

There's a wide range of political views in any society - so how do they get represented effectively in parliament? The answer: proportional representation! The Australian Senate (and most other upper houses in Australia) use a system of proportional representation to ensure more diverse political views are represented so it can better reflect the nuance and desires of the community. Here's a handy...

Australia's system of preferential voting is praised for making sure people can't waste their vote - but how does it work and how does it compare with other electoral systems? This episode compares preferential voting with first-past-the-post, which is used by the UK, US, and over a dozen other countries. What is first-past-the-post and why did Australia get rid of it over a century ago? T...

Australia is a constitutional monarchy because of the British - so what would happen if the British abolished their monarchy? Would that abolish ours? What happens to Australia if the UK no longer has a King? Well, here are two different options for what could hypothetically happen! Check out my interview with the Australian Republic Movement here: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/aZP9H8c2iQ...

Welcome to my two-part interview series! In this episode I sat down with the co-chair of the Australian Republic Movement, Esther Anatolitis, to ask her what the arguments are for an Australian republic and why we shouldn't stick with our system of constitutional monarchy. Of course to hear the other side of this discussion I encourage you to watch my interview with Alexander Voltz of the Australi...

Welcome to my two-part interview series! In this episode I sat down with Alexander Voltz from the Australian Monarchist League, to ask him what the arguments are for Australia to maintain its system of constitutional monarchy and reject the possibility of becoming a republic. Of course to hear the other side of this discussion I encourage you to watch my interview with Esther Anatolitis of the Aus...

Australia has a system of constitutional monarchy, but the idea of an Australian republic has been around for nearly two centuries. What is the difference between the two ideas? How does a republic work, what would the powers of the president be, and what would a republic look like for Australia? You should also check out the interviews I did with the Australian Republic Movement and Australian Mo...

In this episode I sat down with award-winning social media reporter and presenter for Guardian Australia, Matilda Boseley, to talk about the importance of journalism in democracy and the role of TikTok/social media in general as a platform to get the news out there. The public needs to be informed about what's happening in their parliament so they can scrutinise and make decisions about their elec...

Here's a guide on how to vote in Queensland state elections. It goes over the basics of how to fill in the ballot, when elections happen, and how preferential voting works. Best of luck! Have fun! The official source of information on Queensland elections is here: https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/ How Queensland got rid of its upper house: https://youtu.be/lhTvPVjFkaA Support the channel on patreon here...

Here's a handy guide on how to vote in Australian Capital Territory elections. Have fun! And remember to check out the ACT Electoral Commission website for up to date information, learn which electorate you're in, who your candidates are, and much more: https://www.elections.act.gov.au/ The Hare-Clark system is explained here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare%E2%80%93Clark_electoral_system Suppo...

Australia has King Charles III as their sovereign and monarch - so does that mean part of the money that funds the royal family come from Australia? Do we pay the King something out of our taxes? Well in this episode I explain where the royal family gets its money from as well as much/little Australia pays (and when). Support the channel on patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/AuspolExplained Lik...

Arguing that politicians need to get paid is not the hot take you expected, but trust me I have an important point to make. Members of Parliament in Australia used to be paid nothing. 0 dollars (well at the time it was 0 pounds). This was terrible on multiple levels because it limited who could run, who could vote, limited accountability, limited choice of the public, and also encouraged corruptio...

SPORTS! POLITICS! A numbered list that combines the two! Many Australian politicians have been former athletes with Olympic careers going all the way back to the 1908 Paris Olympics (at least). Here are ten that range from those who managed to go once and didn't win anything all the way to some of the most decorated and successful athletes Australia has ever sent to the Summer, Winter, and Par...

The ACT Government is a combination of Labor and Greens - and has been for over a decade now. Majority governments are rare and so it has become a long standing agreement between the two political parties to share the cabinet positions, with Labor getting most of them and Greens getting a few depending on their numbers. But how does it work? How do the two parties resolve their disagreements? And...

Not everyone understands the Constitution, but not all misunderstandings of the Constitution are equal. Over the years I've gotten a lot of very bizarre comments that make outlandishly wrong and even conspiracy theory level claims about what is actually in the Constitution, or what has become of it. Is the Australian Government actually a corporation registered in Washington DC? Are Australian...

What is the annual budget? How does the government decide to spend money? What is an appropriation bill? In this episode I break down the basics of what the budget is as well as how it is introduced and the constitutional requirements and restrictions around it. The budget isn't just withdrawing money - it's a policy statement as well as an opportunity for massive amounts of government scr...