The Wire

The Federal Cabinet this week is set to debate the merits of extending the current tenure of parliamentary terms from three to four years. Ahead of this, the Federal Greens have weighed into the debate, stating that the Government should go to fixed election dates, to take the politics out of calling elections – this currently occurs in jurisdictions as diverse as the Federal US system to the state system for New South Wales. To debate the merits of longer, shorter, fixed and flexible terms The Wire spoke with Dr Rodney Smith, senior lecturer in government at Sydney University.