Prospects for the 2003 Legislative Council Election Background Paper

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Prospects for the 2003 Legislative Council Election Background Paper NSW PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY RESEARCH SERVICE Prospects for the 2003 Legislative Council Election by Antony Green Background Paper No 3/03 RELATED PUBLICATIONS · Antony Green, 1999 New South Wales Legislative Council Election, Background Paper 2/2000 · Antony Green, Electing the New South Wales Legislative Council 1978 to 1995: Past Results and Future Prospects, Background Paper 2/1995 · Gareth Griffith and Sharath Srinivasan, State Upper Houses in Australia, Background Paper 1/2001 ISSN 1325-5142 ISBN 0 7313 1727 0 February 2003 © 2003 Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including information storage and retrieval systems, with the prior written consent from the Librarian, New South Wales Parliamentary Library, other than by Members of the New South Wales Parliament in the course of their official duties. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the New South Wales Parliamentary Library. NSW PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY RESEARCH SERVICE David Clune (MA, PhD, Dip Lib), Manager.............................................. (02) 9230 2484 Gareth Griffith (BSc (Econ) (Hons), LLB (Hons), PhD), Senior Research Officer, Politics and Government / Law ......................... (02) 9230 2356 Talina Drabsch (BA, LLB), Research Officer, Law................................... (02) 9230 2768 Rowena Johns (BA (Hons), LLB), Research Officer, Law........................ (02) 9230 2003 Roza Lozusic (BA, LLB), Research Officer, Law ..................................... (02) 9230 3085 Stewart Smith (BSc (Hons), MELGL), Research Officer, Environment... (02) 9230 2798 John Wilkinson (BA (Hons), MA), Research Officer, Economics............ (02) 9230 2006 Information about Research Publications can be found on the Internet at: http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/WEB_FEED/PHWebContent.nsf/PHPages/LibraryPublication Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional legal opinion. Prospects for the 2003 Legislative Council Election Contents Page 1 Introduction............................................................................................ 1 2 Origins of the Legislative Council and its Electoral System ................... 3 2.1 A Brief History of the Legislative Council........................................................................ 3 2.2 Changes to the Ballot Paper since 1978 ........................................................................ 5 2.3 The New Ballot Paper for 2003 ...................................................................................... 7 2.4 Changes to the Registration of Political Parties ............................................................. 8 2.5 Parties Registered to Contest the 2003 Election.......................................................... 10 3 Counting Votes for the Legislative Council .......................................... 11 3.1 The Use of Proportional Representation...................................................................... 11 3.2 Classifying Primary Votes............................................................................................. 13 3.3 Calculation of the Quota............................................................................................... 14 3.4 Determination of Surplus – Candidates Elected on Primary Vote................................ 14 Table 1: Quota and Surplus to Quota votes for Jeff Shaw (Labor) 1999 ..................... 16 3.5 Determination of Surplus – Candidates Elected During the Count .............................. 16 Table 2: Quota and Surplus to Quota votes for John Della Bosca (Labor) .................. 17 Table 3: Distribution of Labor Vote down the ticket from Jeff Shaw 1999.................... 17 3.6 Comparison with Tasmania.......................................................................................... 18 3.7 Comparison with the Senate ........................................................................................ 19 4 Lessons from Past Legislative Council Elections................................. 20 Table 4: Possible Legislative Council Result based on 2001 Senate Vote .................. 20 4.1 First Choice Parties and Candidates............................................................................ 22 Table 5: Percentage of Vote Cast for Number 1 candidate in Party Groups ............... 22 Table 6: Percentage of Group Ticket Votes ................................................................. 23 Table 7: Vacancies filled on distribution of initial surplus to quota votes...................... 23 Table 8: Percentage of Votes Staying within a Group - 1999 Election........................ 24 4.2 Between Group Preference Flows Before Ticket Voting.............................................. 24 Table 9: Flow of Preferences from Excluded Candidates 1978-84.............................. 25 Table 10 – Selected Quota Totals – 1984 Legislative Council Election ....................... 25 4.3 The Political Impact of Ticket Voting ............................................................................ 26 Table 11: Final Quota by Source – Malcolm Jones (Outdoor Recreation)................... 27 4.4 Lessons from the 1999 Election................................................................................... 27 Table 12: Preferences per Ballot Paper, 1999 Legislative Council Election ................ 28 5 Prospects for the 2003 Election........................................................... 31 5.1 Likely Performance of the Electoral System................................................................. 31 5.2 Problems that Remain with the Council’s Voting System............................................. 31 Appendices 1 Past Legislative Council Election Results ............................................ 33 2 1999 ‘Below the line’ Vote Ballot Paper Survey results ....................... 35 Acknowledgments I would like to thank NSW Electoral Commissioner, Mr John Wasson, for making available the data set of below the line votes from the 1999 New South Wales Legislative Council election. I would also like to thank staff of the State Electoral Office for their assistance, in particular the help of Mr Terry Jessop. The Author Antony Green is an Election Analyst with ABC Television, and has worked for the ABC on every federal, state and territory election coverage since 1989. He also writes regularly on electoral matters for the Sydney Morning Herald. Antony studied at Sydney University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computing, and a Bachelor of Economics with Honours in politics. Antony has prepared many publications for the Parliamentary Library on different aspects of New South Wales electoral politics. Party Abbreviations ALP Labor Party CDP Christian Democratic Party CTA Call to Australia DEM Australian Democrats GRN Greens IND Independents LIB Liberal Party NAT National Party OTH Others Prospect for the 2003 Legislative Council Election 1 Introduction At the 1999 New South Wales election, voters were presented with an unusual physical challenge in trying to cast their votes for the Legislative Council. A record 264 candidates nominated for 81 groups on a ballot paper measuring one metre by 700mm. Quickly nicknamed the ‘tablecloth’, the ballot paper also created novel administrative problems for polling officials and Electoral Office staff, ranging from the need to increase the width of voting booths and provide larger ballot boxes, to hiring larger forklifts, trucks and planes to cope with the extra weight of paper. As expected, the problems encountered in 1999 have produced a legislative response. Changes for the 2003 election include: · Tightened rules for the registration of political parties. (See Section 2.4) · Changes to the operation of group ticket or ‘above the line’ voting to prevent parties from automatically feeding preferences to other parties. (See Section 2.3) · Groups will have to nominate at least 15 candidates before they have access to a group ticket voting square, forcing most parties to nominate more candidates and effectively increasing the deposit fee. · A new form of ‘above the line’ voting will be introduced, allowing voters to express preferences for parties, in the same way they can express preferences for candidates ‘below the line’. (See Section 2.3) This research paper sets out to explain the complex procedures used to elect the Legislative Council, and also to speculate on how the new rules of the game will work at the 2003 election. The publication is arranged as follows: Section 2 provides some historical background on the Legislative Council and its electoral system. A brief history of the Legislative Council is provided, along with background on changes to the ballot paper and the registration of political parties since 1978. A brief summary of the new procedures for the 2003 election is provided, along with a list of parties registered to contest the election. Section 3 explains in detail the counting procedures and calculations used in the count. What is a quota? How are preferences distributed from excluded candidates? What are surplus to quota votes for elected candidates and how are they determined? How is the New South Wales system different from those used to elect the Commonwealth Senate and Tasmanian House
Recommended publications
  • Winterwinter June10june10 OL.Inddol.Indd 1 33/6/10/6/10 111:46:191:46:19 AMAM | Contents |
    BBarNewsarNews WinterWinter JJune10une10 OL.inddOL.indd 1 33/6/10/6/10 111:46:191:46:19 AMAM | Contents | 2 Editor’s note 4 President’s column 6 Letters to the editor 8 Bar Practice Course 01/10 9 Opinion A review of the Senior Counsel Protocol Ego and ethics Increase the retirement age for federal judges 102 Addresses 132 Obituaries 22 Recent developments The 2010 Sir Maurice Byers Address Glenn Whitehead 42 Features Internationalisation of domestic law Bernard Sharpe Judicial biography: one plant but Frank McAlary QC several varieties 115 Muse The Hon Jeff Shaw QC Rake Sir George Rich Stephen Stewart Chris Egan A really rotten judge: Justice James 117 Personalia Clark McReynolds Roger Quinn Chief Justice Patrick Keane The Hon Bill Fisher AO QC 74 Legal history Commodore Slattery 147 Bullfry A creature of momentary panic 120 Bench & Bar Dinner 2010 150 Book reviews 85 Practice 122 Appointments Preparing and arguing an appeal The Hon Justice Pembroke 158 Crossword by Rapunzel The Hon Justice Ball The Federal Magistrates Court 159 Bar sports turns 10 The Hon Justice Nicholas The Lady Bradman Cup The Hon Justice Yates Life on the bench in Papua New The Great Bar Boat Race Guinea The Hon Justice Katzmann The Hon Justice Craig barTHE JOURNAL OF THE NSWnews BAR ASSOCIATION | WINTER 2010 Bar News Editorial Committee ISSN 0817-0002 Andrew Bell SC (editor) Views expressed by contributors to (c) 2010 New South Wales Bar Association Keith Chapple SC This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted Bar News are not necessarily those of under the Copyright Act 1968, and subsequent Mark Speakman SC the New South Wales Bar Association.
    [Show full text]
  • Which Political Parties Are Standing up for Animals?
    Which political parties are standing up for animals? Has a formal animal Supports Independent Supports end to welfare policy? Office of Animal Welfare? live export? Australian Labor Party (ALP) YES YES1 NO Coalition (Liberal Party & National Party) NO2 NO NO The Australian Greens YES YES YES Animal Justice Party (AJP) YES YES YES Australian Sex Party YES YES YES Pirate Party Australia YES YES NO3 Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party YES No policy YES Sustainable Australia YES No policy YES Australian Democrats YES No policy No policy 1Labor recently announced it would establish an Independent Office of Animal Welfare if elected, however its structure is still unclear. Benefits for animals would depend on how the policy was executed and whether the Office is independent of the Department of Agriculture in its operations and decision-making.. Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) NO No policy NO4 2The Coalition has no formal animal welfare policy, but since first publication of this table they have announced a plan to ban the sale of new cosmetics tested on animals. Australian Independents Party NO No policy No policy 3Pirate Party Australia policy is to “Enact a package of reforms to transform and improve the live exports industry”, including “Provid[ing] assistance for willing live animal exporters to shift to chilled/frozen meat exports.” Family First NO5 No policy No policy 4Nick Xenophon Team’s policy on live export is ‘It is important that strict controls are placed on live animal exports to ensure animals are treated in accordance with Australian animal welfare standards. However, our preference is to have Democratic Labour Party (DLP) NO No policy No policy Australian processing and the exporting of chilled meat.’ 5Family First’s Senator Bob Day’s position policy on ‘Animal Protection’ supports Senator Chris Back’s Federal ‘ag-gag’ Bill, which could result in fines or imprisonment for animal advocates who publish in-depth evidence of animal cruelty The WikiLeaks Party NO No policy No policy from factory farms.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 1998/99
    LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 1999Annual Report Mission Access to Services To service and enhance the operations of the New South Wales Parliament by providing an apolitical, Located at: Parliament House innovative and integrated support service to support Macquarie Street Members both within and outside Parliament House SYDNEY NSW 2000 and relevant services to the people of New South Wales. Contact telephone & facsimile numbers Corporate Goals Telephone Facsimile Switchboard 9230 2111 Goal 1 Provide the procedural support, advice and Members 9230 2111 Clerks Office 9230 2346 9230 2761 research necessary for the effective functioning Procedure Office 9230 2331 9230 2876 of the House. Committee Office 9230 2641 9230 2812 Administration Office 9230 2824 9230 2876 Goal 2 Provide services which support members in Attendants Reception Desk 9230 2319 9230 2876 their electoral and constituency duties. Goal 3 Provide effective and professional E-mail address: administrative support and services to Members and to other client groups and [email protected] maintain appropriate reporting mechanisms. Goal 4 Provide a safe and healthy working Legislative Councils Home Page on the environment, in which Members and staff can Internet: reach their maximum productivity. http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lc Goal 5 Promote public awareness of the purpose, functions and work of the Parliament. Office operating hours Goal 6 Maintain and enhance an appropriate physical The Legislative Council office is open weekdays, environment for the conduct of Parliamentary excluding public holidays, between 9.00 am and 5.00 business while preserving the heritage value pm on non-sitting days, and from 9.00 am until the of Parliament House.
    [Show full text]
  • House of Representatives By-Elections 1901–2008
    Parliament of Australia Department of Parliamentary Services Parliamentary Library Information, analysis and advice for the Parliament RESEARCH PAPER www.aph.gov.au/library 22 September 2008, no. 7, 2008–09, ISSN 1834-9854 House of Representatives by-elections 1901–2008 Scott Bennett Politics and Public Administration Section Gerard Newman Formerly Statistics and Mapping Section Executive summary This paper details of House of Representatives by-elections held from that for Darling Downs on 14 September 1901 to the most recent held on 6 September 2008 for Lyne and Mayo: • There have been 144 by-elections, an average of 3.5 per parliament. • The number of nominations has grown over the years from 2.2 per by-election to 10.4 per by-election. • In only four cases was a by-election contested by just a single candidate. • An increasing tendency has been for governments to avoid contesting by-elections in their opponents’ safe seats. • In only seven cases has the Opposition party failed to contest a by-election. • Sixty-seven of the by-elections followed the death of the member, 71 members resigned, there have been five voided elections, and one MP was expelled from the House. • Since 1949 most by-elections have been caused by the resignation of the sitting member and have occurred in safe seats. • On 35 occasions the party complexion of a seat has altered at a by-election. • Five of the losses have been by the Opposition of the day. • The average two-party preferred swing against the government of the day has been 4.0 per cent.
    [Show full text]
  • 23. Explaining the Results
    23. Explaining the Results Antony Green Labor came to office in 2007 with its strongest hold on government in the nation’s history—it was, for the first time, in office nationally and in every state and territory. Six years later Labor left national office with its lowest first preference vote in a century. For only the third time since the First World War, a governing party failed to win a third term in office. From a clean sweep of governments in 2007, by mid-2014 Labor’s last bastions were minority governments in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.1 Based on the national two-party-preferred vote, Labor’s 2013 result was less disastrous than previous post-war lows in 1966, 1975, 1977 and 1996. Labor also bettered those four elections on the proportion of House seats won. The two-party-preferred swing of 3.6 percentage points was also small for a change of government election, equal to the swing that defeated the Fraser Government in 1983 but smaller than those suffered by Whitlam in 1975, Keating in 1996 and Howard in 2007. Even over two elections from 2007 to 2013, the two-party- preferred swing of 6.2 percentage points was below that suffered by Labor previously over two elections (1961–66 and 1972–75), and smaller than the swing against the Coalition between 1977 and 1983. By the measure of first preference vote share, the 2013 election was a dreadful result for Labor, its lowest vote share since 1904.2 Labor’s vote share slid from 43.4 per cent in 2007 to 38.0 per cent in 2010 and 33.4 per cent in 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters Inquiry Into the Conduct of the 2013 Federal Election
    11 April 2014 Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters Parliament House Canberra ACT Please find attached my submission to the Committee's inquiry into the conduct of the 2013 federal election. In my submission I make suggestions for changes to political party registration under the Commonwealth Electoral Act. I also suggest major changes to Senate's electoral system given the evident problems at lasty year's election as well as this year's re-run of the Western Australian Senate election. I also make modest suggestions for changes to formality rules for House of Representatives elections. I have attached a substantial appendix outlining past research on NSW Legislative Council Elections. This includes ballot paper surveys from 1999 and research on exhaustion rates under the new above the line optional preferential voting system used since 2003. I can provide the committee with further research on the NSW Legislative Council system, as well as some ballot paper research I have been carrying out on the 2013 Senate election. I am happy to discuss my submission with the Committee at a hearing. Yours, Antony Green Election Analyst Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters Inquiry into the Conduct of the 2013 Federal Election Antony Green Contents Page 1. Political Party Registration 1 2. Changes to the Senate's Electoral System 7 2.1 Allow Optional Preferential Voting below the line 8 2.2 Above the Line Optional Preferential Voting 9 2.3 Hare Clark 10 2.4 Hybrid Group Ticket Option 10 2.5 Full Preferential Voting Above the Line 11 2.6 Threshold Quotas 11 2.7 Optional Preferential Voting with a Re-calculating Quota 12 2.8 Changes to Formula 12 2.9 My Suggested Solution 13 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Donor to Political Party Return Form
    Donor to Political Party Disclosure Return – Individuals FINANCIAL YEAR 2014–15 The due date for lodging this return is 17 November 2015 Completing the Return: • This return is to be completed by a person who made a gift to a registered political party (or a State branch), or to another person or organisation with the intention of benefiting a registered political party. • This return is to be completed with reference to the Financial Disclosure Guide for Donors to Political Parties. • Further information is available at www.aec.gov.au. • This return will be available for public inspection from Monday 1 February 2016 at www.aec.gov.au. • Any supporting documentation included with this return may be treated as part of a public disclosure and displayed on the AEC website. • The information on this return is collected under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. NOTE: This form is for the use of individuals only. Please use the form Political Party Disclosure Return- Organisations if you are completing a return for an organisation. Details of person that made the donation Name Postal address Suburb/Town State Postcode Telephone number ( ) Fax number ( ) Email address Certification I certify that the information contained in this return and its attachments is true and complete to the best of my knowledge information and belief. I understand that giving false or misleading information is a serious offence. Signature Date Enquiries and returns Funding and Disclosure Phone: 02 6271 4552 should be addressed to: Australian Electoral Commission Fax: 02 6293 7655 PO Box 6172 Email: [email protected] Kingston ACT 2604 Office use only Date received DAR_1_indiv.
    [Show full text]
  • Legislative Council
    ABORIGINAL LAND CLAIMS ........................................................................................................... 3235 ADJOURNMENT ........................................................................................................................ 3233, 3239 ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE ...................................................... 3203 ASSENT TO BILLS ............................................................................................................................... 3203 ASSYRIA DAY CONFERENCE .......................................................................................................... 3173 AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORT ....................................................................................................... 3181 AUSTRALIAN MARONITE PROFESSIONALS COUNCIL LTD ..................................................... 3179 BALMAIN EAST TRANSPORT INTERCHANGE ............................................................................. 3215 BALMAIN EAST WHARF ......................................................................................................... 3216, 3222 BAYS PRECINCT EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE ..................................................................... 3219 BLUE MOUNTAINS LOCAL GOVERNMENT BY-ELECTIONS .................................................... 3236 BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE ............. 3173, 3174, 3175, 3177, 3178, 3180, 3182, 3189, 3190, 3198, 3207 CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT SENTENCES ........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Senator Claire Moore
    Senator Claire Moore WEEKLY UPDATE: 1st June, 2018 Phone: (07) 3252 7101; email: [email protected]; Web:www.clairemoore.net; Twitter: www.twitter.com/SenClaireMoore; www.facebook.com/SenatorClaireMoore; ***** Labor’s National Conference will now be held in Adelaide from Sun 16 Dec to Tue 18 December. **** THIS WEEK: Apart for yet another implosion of One Nation this week, the main focus in Canberra has been on the changes the Government has proposed to the Family Court and the process of Senate Estimates. Labor welcomes the Government’s acknowledgement of the crisis in the family court system, and the pain it is causing families caught up in it. This situation has been going for far too long, and has worsened on the Government’s watch. Reform is needed but already serious concerns have been expressed as to some of the potential consequences of what the Government is proposing. This is especially the case in regard to the removal of the Appeals Division of the Family Court – which means that the toughest and most complex family law cases will no longer be heard by specialists. At the moment we have a lack of detail and will examines the legislation closely when it is made available. Estimates are a vital part of our parliamentary process and our democracy. They provide the opportunity for Senators to examine the performance of the Departments and Agencies. It allows us to scrutinise policy, programs and performance. Such scrutiny is very healthy for our political and administrative processes. It invariably provides many illuminating insights into the management of our government and it’s not, as this week’s Update will attest, – all good news.
    [Show full text]
  • Parties and Interest Associations Report Intra-Party Democracy, Association Competence (Business), Association Competence (Others)
    Sustainable Governance Indicators SGI 2015 Parties and Interest Associations Report Intra-party Democracy, Association Competence (Business), Association Competence (Others) SGI 2015 | 2 Parties and Interest Associations Indicator Intra-party Democracy Question How inclusive and open are the major parties in their internal decision-making processes? 41 OECD and EU countries are sorted according to their performance on a scale from 10 (best) to 1 (lowest). This scale is tied to four qualitative evaluation levels. 10-9 = The party allows all party members and supporters to participate in its decisions on the most important personnel and issues. Lists of candidates and agendas of issues are open. 8-6 = The party restricts decision-making to party members. In most cases, all party members have the opportunity to participate in decisions on the most important personnel and issues. Lists of candidates and agendas of issues are rather open. 5-3 = The party restricts decision-making to party members. In most cases, a number of elected delegates participate in decisions on the most important personnel and issues. Lists of candidates and agendas of issues are largely controlled by the party leadership. 2-1 = A number of party leaders participate in decisions on the most important personnel and issues. Lists of candidates and agendas of issues are fully controlled and drafted by the party leadership. Denmark Score 8 Four of the political parties represented in the Danish parliament, the Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Social Liberal Party and the Conservative Party have existed for more than 100 years and have all regularly taken part in governments.
    [Show full text]
  • NT Senate Group Voting Tickets
    INDEX Group Ticket(s) Page A – PALMER UNITED PARTY 1 1 B – UNITING AUSTRALIA PARTY 1 2 C – STABLE POPULATION PARTY 3 3-5 D – A.F.N.P.P 1 6 NT E – COUNTRY LIBERALS (NT) 1 7 Senate Group Voting Tickets F – AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY (NORTHERN TERRITORY) BRANCH 1 8 G – SEX PARTY 1 9 H – CITIZENS ELECTORAL COUNCIL 2 10-11 I – SHOOTERS AND FISHERS 1 12 This booklet sets out copies of all group voting tickets which J – RISE UP AUSTRALIA PARTY 1 13 have been lodged in NT for the 2013 Senate Election. K – AUSTRALIAN GREENS 1 14 If you place the single figure 1 in one of the boxes above the L – AUSTRALIAN INDEPENDENTS 1 15 line for the party or group of your choice, you will have voted according to the VOTING TICKET(S) lodged by your party or group as set out in this booklet. Where a party, group or candidate has lodged 2 or 3 VOTING TICKETS, the total number of group ticket votes received by that group or candidate will be distributed evenly in accordance with those voting tickets. © Commonwealth of Australia 2013 Group Voting Ticket – Election of two (2) Senators Group A – PALMER UNITED PARTY – Ticket 1 of 1 Group A – PALMER UNITED PARTY – Ticket 1 of 1 By placing the single figure 1 in the square next to the name of this group, you adopt the ticket as marked below. A B C D E F G H I J K L 1 or or or or or or or or or or or PALMER UNITED UNITING STABLE A.F.N.P.P.
    [Show full text]
  • Elections and Politics in Fiji
    i ii iii Co-Published by ANU E Press and Asia Pacific Press The Australian National Unversity Canberra ACT 0200 Email: [email protected] Website: http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Lal, Brij V. Islands of turmoil : elections and politics in Fiji. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 0 7315 3751 3 ISBN 1 920942 75 0 (Online document) 1. Fiji - Politics and government. 2. Fiji - Social conditions. 3. Fiji - Economic conditions. I. Title. 996.11 This work is copyright. Apart from those uses which may be permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 as amended, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publishers. The views expressed in this book are those of the author and not necessarily of the publishers. Editor: Bridget Maidment Publisher: Asia Pacific Press and ANU E Press Design: Annie Di Nallo Design Printers: University Printing Service, The Australian National University Cover photo, Nukulau Prison, is copyright and used with permission (www.fijilive.com). Author photo by Darren Boyd, Coombs Photography. First edition © 2006 ANU E Press and Asia Pacific Press For the people of the Fiji Islands There is a dawn at the end of the darkest night v Contents Abbreviations vii Preface viii 1. The road to independence 1 2. Continuity and change 24 3. Things fall apart 49 4. Back from the abyss 77 5. Rabuka’s republic 100 6. Charting a new course 126 7. A time to change 155 8. George Speight’s coup 185 9. In George Speight’s shadow 206 10.
    [Show full text]