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Phillip Coorey

Three-year terms keep us stuck in short-term thinking

As campaigning starts earlier each election, politics becomes overtly tactical, the public service enters zombie mode and business watches on frustrated as nothing gets done.

Phillip CooreyPolitical editor

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Several times over the summer, Anthony Albanese lamented that the federal parliament, unlike the states, does not have four-year terms.

Albanese, a long-time advocate of moving from three-year, floating terms, to four-year fixed terms, gave the issue a real push in February last year when the annoying speculation about the timing of the next election began, as it does at around the two-year mark of every term.

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Phillip Coorey is the political editor based in Canberra. He is a two-time winner of the Paul Lyneham award for press gallery excellence. Connect with Phillip on Facebook and Twitter. Email Phillip at pcoorey@afr.com

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    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/three-year-terms-keep-us-stuck-in-short-term-thinking-20250123-p5l6lf