The state of Australian politics

ANU Panellists: 

Dr Katrine Beauregard, School of Politics and International Relations
Professor Frank Bongiorno AM, School of History
Dr Andrew Hughes, Research School of Management
Mr Mark Kenny, Australian Studies Institute

Moderated by: Catherine McGrath, one of Australia’s most respected political journalists.

Dr Katrine Beauregard is a lecturer in the School of Politics and International Relations. Her work focuses on political behaviour, and why people vote the way they do. She is particularly interested in gender gaps when it comes to political participation and the factors that influence this, as well as how political institutions can be used to include marginalised groups in the political process. She is also researching public opinion towards women in politics and the consequences of gender quotas on citizen political behaviour and political parties. Katrine holds a PhD in political science. Her dissertation investigated political institutions, and how they provide incentives or barriers that affect political participation.

Professor Frank Bongiorno AM is the Head of the School of History at ANU and is an Australian labour, political and cultural historian. His books include The Eighties: The Decade That Transformed Australia; The People’s Party: Victorian Labor and the Radical Tradition 1875-1914; and The Sex Lives of Australians: A History. He was co-editor of Elections Matter: Ten Federal Elections that Shaped Australia. Frank is a regular contributor to the media, especially Inside Story and The Conversation. He has also written for Australian Book Review, The Times Literary Supplement, the Monthly, the Australian and Fairfax Media, and has appeared on The Drum. Prior to joining the Australian National University, he lectured at King’s College London. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Dr Andrew Hughes is a lecturer in marketing in the Research School of Management, where he teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In 2017 he was awarded a competitive grant to understand how political engagement varies in different cultures and systems around the world. His research into roadside signs in election campaigns has already been used to change campaign laws in the ACT. His latest book, Market Driven Political Advertising, was one of the first to examine the role of organisations like Cambridge Analytica in political marketing campaigns. His areas of research span strategy, the role of stakeholders in strategy, emotions in advertising and marketing, consumer culture, public policy, political leadership, and sports marketing. Connect with him on Twitter @marketingandrew.

Mark Kenny has joined ANU after a high-profile career in journalism, culminating in 6 years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times. Throughout his career Mark has covered bilateral talks around the world, as well as summits such as APEC, G20, G8, ASEAN/East Asia Summit, NATO, and the infamous Copenhagen climate talks in 2009. Kenny was made a Visiting Fellow at ANU in 2018 before taking up a full-time academic post as Senior Fellow with the Australian Studies Institute in January, 2019.  His research interests include national politics, comparative studies, democracy in flux, and the threat of populism. A regular columnist, he is also a sought after commentator on radio and television programs across the country.