The parliamentary inquiry into the 2013 election is under way, and its report on the Senate voting system was released last week. In a highly charged political environment, the Australian Electoral Commission, and Australia's voting system more generally, is under intense and not always disinterested scrutiny. Swinburne University of Technology political scientist Brian Costar talks to Inside Story's podcast editor, Peter Clarke, about the issues. Also: the problems the government faces getting its budget through the Senate.