4 Year Terms Australia first year
It’s been a year since 4 Year Terms Australia launched and I wanted to thank you all for your support.
I’ve been blown away by the enthusiasm and kindness of so many people who want to see this change happen. Here’s a recap of what we’ve done.
Major report with Mandala and JWS Research
We launched a major report, Fixing Australia's Elections, with the generous support of Mandala Partners and JWS Research. It found:
Fixed four-year terms would deliver $81 to $93 billion through better policy-making, business investment and cheaper elections.
61 per cent of Australians prefer a fixed election date, against 22 per cent for the current system where the Prime Minister chooses.
Only one in ten prefer our current system of a three-year term and letting the Prime Minister call early elections for any reason.
Australia is one of only three of 87 democracies with a lower-house term of three years or less.
In the three months before an election, bills receive 45% less debate time in the Senate.
Australia’s parliament sits less than half as many days per term as comparable systems such as Canada, the UK and Ireland.
In the media
Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and WAtoday covered the launch, with Rob Harris's story.
AAP’s Ben McKay ran a feature, Can four-year terms make it out of the too-hard basket?, picked up by more than 55 outlets.
Radio: 2GB with Michael McLaren, and ABC Radio Canberra.
Opinion pieces in Capital Brief and Pearls and Irritations.
Interviews on Sky News with Julia Bradley, The Dispatch Box and The Pub Test podcasts.
We also interviewed veteran ABC journalist Michael Rowland.
Parliamentary Inquiry and submissions
We made a submission (and addendum) to Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, which is looking at term lengths and fixed dates and gave evidence at it's public hearing.
We also made submissions to the Senate's inquiry into productivity and the Productivity Commission's inquiry into business dynamism.
Website and social media
We launched the 4 Year Terms Australia website, including a page collecting what leaders have said about the reform over the years, and set up LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok accounts.
What’s next
In July, Labor’s National Platform included a commitment to progressing options for fixed, four-year terms for the House and Senate. It’s the first time the platform has included a standalone commitment to progress both reforms, which is a great step forward.
We are now waiting for the final report from Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters due before the end of the year.
How you can help
Please get in touch if you can help in any way, forward this email to anyone who might be interested, and follow us on social media.
Thank you
Marty Gray
4 Year Terms Australia
