In a sign of how radically the federal election has reshaped the political landscape, today Peter Dutton is due to be elected unopposed as Liberal leader.

This is not what anyone was expecting before the election. If Scott Morrison lost, Josh Frydenberg was supposed to take on the leadership. Now, as Michelle Grattan writes, “a shattered parliamentary party has nowhere else to go”.

Meanwhile, the Nationals’ leadership is up for grabs. Barnaby Joyce faces a challenge at today’s post-election party room meeting. Joyce’s deputy David Littleproud and backbencher Darren Chester have both announced they will run.

But while new players are lining up, is the politics around it any different?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to “change the way” politics operates in Australia and rebuild respect for the profession. This comes off the back of a hugely uninspiring election campaign and soaring levels of distrust in government.

Australian National University professor Ariadne Vromen researches how people participate in politics. Today, she describes four practical, achievable ways to improve the way our political system works. As Vromen writes, “with a new government there is a rare opportunity to re-engage citizens in policy-making and politics”.

If Albanese is serious about making that change, he should read on.

Judith Ireland

Deputy Editor, Politics + Society

View from The Hill: Peter Dutton faces his own ‘long march’

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Dutton is set to walk unopposed into the opposition leader’s job on Monday. A shattered parliamentary party has nowhere else to go.

Nationals’ Joyce faces challenge, as Liberals set to give Dutton clear run

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Joyce’s deputy David Littleproud and backbencher Darren Chester have both announced they will run for the leadership of the Nationals.

Albanese wants to ‘change the way’ we do politics in Australia. Here are 4 ways to do it

Ariadne Vromen, Australian National University

New Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to ‘change the way’ we do politics and ‘rebuild respect’. An expert on political participation explains what to do next.

China’s population is about to shrink for the first time since the great famine struck 60 years ago. Here’s what it means for the world

Xiujian Peng, Victoria University

For all the talk of ‘the Chinese century’, population trends suggest influence might move elsewhere – including to neighbouring India, whose population looks set to overtake China in the next decade.

Small step for Nature, giant leap across the gender gap: leading journal will make sex and gender reporting mandatory in research

Kelly Burrowes, University of Auckland

Authors writing for Nature journals will also need to separate sex and gender data, so it can’t just be lumped in with other results.

If you cry while watching movies, it is probably a sign of your emotional strength

Debra Rickwood, University of Canberra

Suddenly being awash in tears shows a strong empathy response – a key component of emotional intelligence.

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  • Open letter: the RBA review needs to be completely independent of government

    Steven Hamilton, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; Begoña Dominguez, The University of Queensland; Chris Edmond, The University of Melbourne; Danielle Wood, Grattan Institute; John Quiggin, The University of Queensland; Renee Fry-McKibbin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; Richard Holden, UNSW Sydney; Saul Eslake, University of Tasmania; Warwick J. McKibbin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

    The independent review of the Reserve Bank should be headed by someone from outside the country say 12 leading economists in an open letter to the treasurer.

 

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