Insight on the 2019 Australian federal election

We’ve had to make a change to our ‘sparring partners’ in this year’s Political Insight event and are pleased to welcome Daniel Wild to the ‘ring’. 

The 2019 Australian federal election will be held on 18 May to elect MPs and Senators to the 46th Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The second-term incumbent minority Coalition Government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, is attempting to win a third term against the Labor opposition, led by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

In what has become a pre-election tradition for the Melbourne Forum, we have invited two leading political analysts who have worked at the coalface for both the Liberal Party and the Australian Labor Party to help us make sense of the campaign ahead.

Daniel Wild is the Director of Research at the Institute of Public Affairs. He specialises in red tape, regulation, economic policy, the philosophy of free enterprise, and criminal justice. Daniel has authored research papers on economic policy, environmental regulation, and criminal justice reform. Daniel frequently appears in the media, and has published a number of opinion pieces in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Courier Mail, and The Spectator. Daniel has also made a number of radio and television appearances, including on 2GB, 3AW, Sky News, and Channel 7 News.

Daniel previously worked at the Commonwealth Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet where he analysed global and domestic macroeconomic policy. Prior to that he worked at the Commonwealth Department of Finance where he worked on regulatory reform.

Nicholas Reece is a Principal Fellow with the Melbourne School of Government, and Director of Strategy, Policy and Projects at the University of Melbourne. Nick has considerable of experience in both politics and policy making at the highest levels of government, including in his time spent working for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Victorian Premiers Steve Bracks and John Brumby. Key roles during this period included Director of Strategy, Head of Policy and Deputy Chief of Staff. He was also the Secretary and Campaign Director of the Australian Labor Party in Victoria. Nick currently serves as a Councillor for the City of Melbourne, where he is the Chair of the Planning portfolio. He hosts a TV show, Politics HQ, on Sky News and is a specialist commentator for the network. Nick is also a director of the global men’s health movement Movember and a regular columnist with the Herald Sun and the Age.

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