Minority Policy

Topical and up-to-the-minute, Minority Policy: Rethinking Governance when Parliament Matters explores the influence marginal parliamentarians have on public policy. Australia has had minority governments in some form for almost 30 years, yet we have not come to terms with minority as the new norm. Prominent policy cycle theory tends to overlook the subtle but significant influence of marginal parliamentarians on public policy. Minority Policy argues that these influences not only have important implications for the outcomes of public policy, but also for the work of scholars, policy makers and advocates. Drawing on the experiences of two former policy advisers, as well as examples from the last two parliaments, Minority Policy takes the discussion up to and beyond the introduction of the new Senate in July 2014 to observe the significant impact of this much more complex Upper House.