Places that matter: Australia’s crisis intervention framework and voter response

Abstract

AbstractThis article contributes to understandings of geographies of discontent by focusing on the way that political frameworks condition the demand for fringe or protest voting. It discusses how Australia’s federal political framework, preferential voting system and timely crisis intervention policies combine to reduce the demand for fringe voting. The local effects of this system are illustrated via an examination of voting patterns in two disadvantaged and deindustrialising locations in the State of Victoria. The conclusion suggests that European jurisdictions have much to learn from the Australian example.