Key terms and definitions

Politics often exists in echo chambers in which buzzwords and academic terms resonate the loudest. Often, politicians take advantage of constituents’ unfamiliarity with these terms to obfuscate and confuse; to distract from their actions. Every Australian citizen deserves to know exactly what they are voting for at each election, exactly how they are being represented and by whom.

Key terms and definitions throughout the site will be explained here to aid in accessibility for all who want to learn a little more about the world of representation. Educational attainment should be no barrier to democratic participation.

Sourcing for this glossary can be found here.

Term Abbreviation Definition
Abstract individual Tool for liberal policy analysis and design
Adaptive behaviour Changes to behaviour based on the environment in which the actor is situated.
Australian Bureau of Statistics ABS The ABS is Australia’s national statistical agency, providing trusted official statistics on a wide range of economic, social, population and environmental matters of importance to Australia.
Australian Defence Forces ADF The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests.
Australian Electoral Commission AEC The AEC maintains an impartial and independent electoral system for eligible voters through active electoral roll management, efficient delivery of polling services and targeted education and public awareness programs.
Australian Election Study AES The AES is the leading study of political attitudes and behaviour in Australia. The study has surveyed voters for over thirty years, since 1987, providing an unparalleled source of evidence on voter attitudes towards politics in Australia.
Australian Greens AG Left-wing party focused on environmental issues. The Greens champion “big, evidence-driven solutions to the major problems we’re facing now: economic inequality, increasing cost of living, environmental destruction and climate change”.
Australian Labor Party ALP Centre-left party focused on workers’ rights. The ALP commits to “fairness at work, access to quality education no matter what a person’s circumstances and a firm belief that we should all have the same opportunities in life”.
Australian Public Service APS Executive arm of government; public servants run the administrative duties of government.
Ballot Structure The way in which ballots are numbered by electors.
Census The Census of Population and Housing provides a comprehensive picture of Australia’s people, how they live and where they reside.
Centre Alliance CA Centrist political party. “Centre Alliance stands for responsible, transparent and accountable government; Australian industry; and nation building endeavours.”
Class Self-described and socially constructed level of societal belonging traditionally defined through assets and property ownership. Additionally influenced by education, income, generational wealth, migration status, family stability, geographic location.
Coalition When no party receives an absolute majority of seats in the House of Representatives, two or more parties with similar principles may agree to form government as a coalition and allocate positions within the executive between all groups.
Critical Acts The legislative changes that achieve substantive representation for an identity group.
Critical Actors Individuals and groups that make legislative changes in order to achieve substantive representation of an identity group.
Critical Mass Theory CMT Transformative cultural change that reflects the characteristic of the non-dominant group when a 30% threshold of descriptive representation is reached within an organisation.
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse CALD The ABS defines the CALD population mainly by country of birth, language spoken at home, English proficiency, or other characteristics (including year of arrival in Australia), parents’ country of birth and religious affiliation.
Descriptive representation Parliamentary composition: how closely does it mirror the population?
District Magnitude The number of members elected to represent each district.
Electoral Formula The type of system used to calculate the votes for each candidate/ party.
Fairly Safe Seat FS Between 56-60% of the TPP vote.
Faith Self-described identity as a member of a community with shared religious beliefs.
First Nations Australians FNA Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Australians; Australia’s traditional custodians.
Formal representation Equality of opportunity ccess to institutions, structures, systems and processes
Gender Gen Gender is internally understood (identity) and externally performed (expression) characteristics of the gender binary (men, women). It is socially constructed and some people may reject this dichotomy and identify as non-binary or gender non-conforming.
Glass ceiling The barrier an individual woman must break (generally a leadership position or critical act) in order to show society that women are capable of achieving the goal.
Glass labyrinth The multiple, complex and intersecting obstacles women must overcome to reach a professional, social or political milestone.
Government Gov The party, or parties, that hold a majority of seats in the House of Representatives form government.
Heterogeneity Presence of group diversity.
Heuristic A cognitive short-cut that aids decision-making when faced with incomplete information and complex choices.
Highest Level of Education HLE Highest completed level of education. See Appendix B.
Homogeneity Lack of group diversity.
Homophily The tendency to bond with others who share similar characteristics.
House of Representatives HoR The House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of Parliament and is sometimes called ‘the People’s House’ or the ‘house of government’. There are currently 151 Members of the House of Representatives who each represent an electorate. `
House of Representatives voting system Each House of Representatives contest will elect a single representative. The preferential voting system used for the House of Representatives provides for multiple counts of ballot papers to occur to determine who has acquired an absolute majority of the total votes (more than 50% of formal votes). During the counting process,, votes are transferred between candidates according to the preferences marked by voters.
Identity Marker IM Generalisable, self-described and socially constructed signal of personal characteristic/s.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance IDEA Membership in International IDEA is open to governments which demonstrate, by example in their own state, their commitment to the rule of law, human rights, the basic principles of democratic pluralism and strengthening democracy.
Inter-Parliamentary Union IPU The IPU is the global organisation of national parliaments. We empower parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development.
Invasion “The key significance of the term ‘invasion’ is that it demonstrates force, a lack of negotiation, and Indigenous experience and resistance.”
Katter Australia Party KAP Right-wing populist party influenced by protectionist economics and social conservatism.
Lambie Network LN Populist party focused on government accountability. The Lambie Network’s four main issues are anti-corruption, foreign interference, Australian manufacturing and Veteran’s issues.
Legislated candidate quotas These quotas regulate the gender composition of the candidate lists and are binding by law for all political parties in the election; they are mandated either through national constitutions or by electoral legislation.
Legislated reserved seats These measures regulate by law the composition of elected bodies, by reserving a certain number or percentage of seats for non-traditional political actors, implemented through special electoral procedure; they are mandated either through national constitutions or by electoral legislation.
Length of Service LoS Number of years service as an elected member of Australian Parliament; when members have served non-consecutive terms their LoS is calculated cumulatively, non-inclusive of breaks in service.
Liberal citizenship model The liberal citizenship model characterised by a strong belief in individualism and preference for equality of opportunity.
Liberal democracy Liberal democracy exhibits such attributes as majoritarian rule, popular participation, the rule of law, the separation of powers and extensive political freedoms.
Liberal Party LPA Centre-right party influenced by liberal and conservative political traditions. The LPA “believes in individual freedom and free enterprise”.
Living with a Disability LWD A person/s living with any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months.
Mainstreaming Mainstreaming is the process whereby identity analysis is implemented throughout the structure, culture and procedures of an organisation and aims to ensure that every policy decision considers equality of opportunity and differential identity effects.
Marginal Seat M Less than 56% of the vote.
Marginal Seat Syndrome The propensity for political parties to select non-traditional political actors as candidates in marginal seats.
Multi-Member Electorate MME More than one member of Parliament is elected to represent the electorate.
National Party NPA Centre-right party focused on rural and regional Australia. The Nationals’ priorities are “building stronger regional economies and secure communities, delivering opportunity and prosperity for all regional Australians, and ensuring a sustainable environment”.
Non-binary NB Person who does not conform to the binary definition of gender man/woman.
Non-traditional political actors NTPO Members of society that have historically experienced disenfranchisement, discrimination and marginalisation that still affects the way in which they perceive and interact with the political system.
One Nation ON Right-wing populist party. One Nation believes in “grass root values with a common sense approach”.
Opposition Opp The largest party that holds the minority of seats in the House of Representatives.
Parliament of Australia PoA Legislative arm of Australian government.
Place of Birth PoB Country of birth.
Precarity A state of persistent insecurity and instability.
Preferential/ alternative vote representation AV A voting system in which a candidate must reach an absolute majority of votes through the redistribution of preferences from candidates who received fewer first preference votes.
Proportional representation PR The electoral system family based on the principle of translating the overall votes of a party or grouping into a corresponding proportion of seats in an elected body.
Professional Background or Industry PBI Primary professional background. See Appendix B.
Quota Fast-track’ special measure ensuring the representation of non-traditional political actors through dedicated processes or reserved seats.
Representativeness heuristic The probability of choosing the option that resembles dominant characteristics most closely.
Safe Seat S Above 60% of the TPP vote.
Schema A cognitive system that organises content-specific experiences according to existing beliefs in order to create short-cuts for decision-making.
SEIFA Index SEIFA Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas is an ABS product that ranks areas in Australia according to relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage. The indexes are based on information from the five-yearly Census of Population and Housing. Each index is a summary of a different subset of Census variables and focuses on a different aspect of socio-economic advantage and disadvantage. SEIFA 2016 has been created from Census 2016 data and consists of four indexes: The Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD); The Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD); The Index of Education and Occupation (IEO); and The Index of Economic Resources (IER).
Senate The Senate is one of the two houses of the Australian Federal Parliament. It consists of 76 senators, twelve from each of the six states and two from each of the mainland territories. It shares the power to make laws with the other House of the Parliament, the House of Representatives.
Senate voting system Each Senate contest will elect multiple representatives. The preferential voting system used for the Senate provides for multiple counts of ballot papers to occur to determine which candidates have achieved the required quota of formal votes to be elected. During the counting process, votes are transferred between candidates according to the preferences marked by voters.
Sexuality LGBTQ+ | Q+ The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community; the plus sign represents the fact that many communities choose to expand the acronym to include other identities.
Single Member Electorate SME One member of Parliament is elected to represent the electorate.
Stereotype threat Stereotype threat sees members of a non-dominant group unconsciously conform to the stereotypes of their behaviour when alerted to their membership of the out-group.
Structural plasticity dilemma The structural plasticity dilemma questions whether there are biological differences between the form and function of male and female brains, or whether they evolve in this manner due to socialisation.
Substantive representation Legislative changes that impact groups of people differently on the basis of identity; aiming to ameliorate the effects of past disadvantage
Symbolic representation Role-modelling effect of political characteristics and behaviour
Two Party Preferred TPP Total number of votes received by the elected member and runner-up after all preferences have been distributed.
Voluntary party quotas These quotas are adopted by individual parties for their own candidate lists, and are usually enhanced by party statutes and rules.
SOURCE: Sources

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