Inside Story

Three elections and a hypothesis

The Coalition lost in Victoria and looks like doing less well than expected in Queensland and New South Wales. Peter Clarke discusses why, and what it says about the Liberal Party, with Brian Costar, Sally Young and Peter Brent

Peter Clarke 22 January 2015 90 words

Three to go: Queensland premier Campbell Newman, NSW premier Mike Baird and prime minister Tony Abbott embark on an early morning run at Parliament House before the Council of Australian Governments meeting last May. Lukas Coch/AAP Image


The Coalition’s loss of government in Victoria after a single term upended conventional wisdom about Australian elections. With two more state elections looming, and the federal government languishing in the polls, political scientists Brian Costar, Sally Young and Peter Brent discuss the underlying issues with Inside Story’s Peter Clarke.

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Brian Costar is professor of politics in the Swinburne Institute for Social Research.

Sally Young is Associate Professor and Reader in Political Science at the University of Melbourne.

Peter Brent blogs on politics and polls at Mumble.