From the Hustings to Harbour Views

This book describes the evolution of the New South Wales electoral system from a British-based model into a modern and distinctively Australian one. A modern system emerged in a series of major shifts - often based on political compromise, or Liberal/Labor log rolling - rather than incrementally. The 1890s were a watershed in the shift to a modern, claim-based system of voter registration and enrolment with as broad a base as possible. The contemporary Australian Electoral Commission operates on the slogan of 'easy to enrol, easy to vote', first devised in the 1890s.