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Playmander

The Playmander was a pro-rural electoral malapportionment in the Australian state of South Australia, which was introduced by the incumbent Liberal and Country League (LCL) government in 1936, and remained in place for 32 years until 1968. The term is a portmanteau of Playford and "gerrymander". Unlike in the US, where it originated, the term "gerrymander" was commonly used in Australia to refer to malapportionments, which were common in Australian state electoral systems. During the Playmander's existence, the South Australian House of Assembly was elected from 39 single-member districts, 26 in the country and 13 in Adelaide. The low-population rural seats held as much as 10 times the voting power of the 13 high-population urban-based seats, even though rural areas contained only a third of South Australia's population by the late 1960s. At the peak of the malapportionment in 1968, the rural seat of Frome had 4,500 formal votes, while the metropolitan seat of Enfield had 42,000 formal votes. During the Playmander's existence, Labor won enough parliamentary seats to form government only once, in an against the odds win in 1965 that ousted its namesake, Sir Thomas Playford, as Premier after over 26 years in office. The Playmander was strong enough that Labor was denied government despite comprehensive majorities of the statewide two-party vote in 1944, 1953, 1962 and 1968.…

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Article summary

The Playmander was a pro-rural electoral malapportionment in the Australian state of South Australia, which was introduced by the incumbent Liberal and Country League (LCL) government in 1936, and remained in place for 32 years until 1968. The term is a portmanteau of Playford and "gerrymander". Unlike in the US, where it originated, the term "gerrymander" was commonly used in Australia to refer to malapportionments, which were common in Australian state electoral systems. During the Playmander's existence, the South Australian House of Assembly was elected from 39 single-member districts, 26 in the country and 13 in Adelaide. The low-population rural seats held as much as 10 times the voting power of the 13 high-population urban-based seats, even though rural areas contained only a third of South Australia's population by the late 1960s. At the peak of the malapportionment in 1968, the rural seat of Frome had 4,500 formal votes, while the metropolitan seat of Enfield had 42,000 formal votes. During the Playmander's existence, Labor won enough parliamentary seats to form government only once, in an against the odds win in 1965 that ousted its namesake, Sir Thomas Playford, as Premier after over 26 years in office. The Playmander was strong enough that Labor was denied government despite comprehensive majorities of the statewide two-party vote in 1944, 1953, 1962 and 1968.…

Key claims

  1. date of formation: 1932 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. population: 53 percent — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of formation is "1932". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the population is "53 percent". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1366127473

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.