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Democracy in Australia

Democracy in Australia contains extensive resources on Australia’s democracy, including in depth analysis of needed democratic reforms.

Three essays Corruption: The Abuse of Entrusted Power in Australia, Wrongs, Rights and Remedies and Democracy under Siege examining these issues and initiatives that have been taken in other countries to deal with similar problems have also been published by the Collaboration. Click on the links for further information and downloading or for purchase of a hard copy.

Through the agency of Democracy in Australia the Australian Collaboration seeks to stimulate debate about democracy and to make a constructive contribution to the enhancement of democratic life in Australia.

The choice of issues and the commentaries on them on this site do not necessarily reflect the choices and views of the Collaboration’s individual member organisations.

Australia’s political system

Australia’s political system is described in the following link. Click here to download the pdf.

Characteristics of an open, democratic society

An open, democratic society offers many benefits to its citizens. It gives them freedom to make choices about their lives, to develop their potential as human beings and to live free from fear, harassment and discrimination. It gives them protection under the law and the right to elect legislators of their choice and to remove them if they do not perform to their satisfaction. It guarantees freedom of speech, religion and assembly. It ensures an independent judiciary. Through the principle of the rule of law it guarantees universality of the scope of the law and equality before the law for all citizens.

Freedom of the press makes possible the exposure of corruption, malpractice and incompetence; diversity of media opinion offers alternative interpretations of news and events. Parliamentary committees and inquiries oversee the accountability of executive decisions. Public officers such as Auditors General and Ombudsmen, answerable to the parliament not the executive, have statutory powers to review large and small decisions of the government.

A strong democracy encourages an active and outspoken civil society and robust public debate including dissent and disagreement with government. Such a democracy gives its members many opportunities to participate in public life. A properly functioning democracy also has moral responsibilities to non-citizens, refugees, visitors and other nations. Many of these responsibilities are enshrined in international covenants and agreements.

These are the benchmarks against which the practice of democracy in Australia must constantly be measured.

Key requirements for strengthening democracy

Described below. are a number of reforms needed to strengthen public accountability and democratic practices in Australia. They are applicable to all political parties, governments and parliamentarians.

Accountability and democratic reforms are needed for the following reasons:

Detailed commentaries about these issues

Click to open the commentaries.

Electoral Reform
Fixed term elections and possible extensions of parliamentary terms.
This is a discussion of the arguments for and against fixing dates for government terms of office and for the extension of the current three year Commonwealth electoral term to four years.
The redesign of Senate (also other proportional representation upper house) ballot papers.
This is a discussion of ways of improving ballot papers, especially for the Senate, so that voters can understand better who they are voting for and can express their preferences more clearly.
Automatic enrolment at the age of 18 and automatic correction of enrolment information.
This is a discussion of current enrolment problems and the benefits of moving to an automatic enrolment system.

Strengthening of the role of the Parliament
Strengthening of the role of the Senate and also other state upper houses as independent houses of review.
This is a discussion of the reasons for strengthening the role of the Senate as an independent house of review and the means by which it might best be achieved.
Ethics Commissioners as statutory officers of the Parliament.
This is a discussion of the value of Ethics or Parliamentary Standards Commissioners and the way they have operated in countries such as the UK, US and Canada.
Reform of question time.
This is an argument for the reform of question time to avoid its misuse and to make ministers more accountable.
The Roles of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate.
This is a commentary on the roles of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate.

Greater Accountability of the Executive
Accountability of Ministers for actions taken under their authority.
This is an argument for a stricter adherence to the Westminster system of government.
Ministerial Codes of conduct.
This is a discussion of the significance of ministerial codes of conduct and of the value of their more widespread use in Australia.
Defined accountability responsibilities for ministerial advisers.
This is a discussion of the role of ministerial advisers and of ways of improving their and their ministers’ accountability.
Protection of whistleblowers.
This is a discussion of the inadequacies of current whistleblower protection legislation in Australia.
Incorporation into legislation of accountability reforms.
This is a strong argument for incorporating all significant reforms into legislation to discourage the weakening of these provisions in the future.

Anti-Corruption
Anti-corruption commissions.
This is a discussion of anti-corruption bodies in Australia and an argument for the appointment of anti-corruption commissions in current jurisdictions without them (Commonwealth, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania).
Caps on donations to political parties and public funding of political parties.
This is an argument for caps on donations to political parties and for their increased public funding.
Independent appointment systems for major public offices.
This is a discussion about independent appointment systems for public offices and an argument for their widespread adoption.
Post ministerial employment and lobbyists
This is a discussion about the problems associated with the employment of ministers after they have retired from parliament. It is also an argument about the need for strict rules related to lobbyists.

Citizen engagement and participation in civil society
Civil society and public advocacy
This is a discussion of a model of democracy that acknowledges the key role of civil society organizations.
Consumer rights and protection
This piece examines internationally adopted principles of consumer rights and the current situation of consumer protection in Australia.
Citizen engagement and deliberative democracy
This is a discussion of different approaches to citizen engagement and participation with examples of best practice internationally and in Australia.

Transparency, freedom of information and freedom of speech
Strengthened protection for journalists.
This is a discussion of the problems under current laws facing journalists who need to protect their sources and ways that these problems can be dealt with.
Media concentration and media laws.
This is a discussion of Australia’s current concentration of media ownership and problems associated with such concentration.
Adequate funding for the public broadcasters.
This is a discussion of the importance of the public broadcasters and their need for the restoration of previous levels of funding.

Human rights
Human Rights in Australia
This is a description of the state of human rights protection in Australia.
A national charter of rights and responsibilities.
This is a discussion of the arguments for and against a national charter of rights and responsibilities.

Current Federal Democratic Reform Initiatives

Reform required	Needed Action – as described in discussion pieces above	Current status as at September 2011
Electoral reform
Automatic enrolment	Young people reaching the age of 18 should be automatically enrolled and people changing their address should be automatically re-enrolled at their new address.	Legislation has been passed in NSW and Victoria and applied during recent elections in both states. The first 8 recommendations of the April 2011 report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters of the Australian Parliament support the introduction of direct/automatic enrolment and opportunity for enrolment up to the day of the election.
Senate ballot papers	Above the line sections of Senate ballot papers should be redesigned to give voters greater opportunity to express their second, third and fourth preferences clearly and transparently.	Commonwealth Electoral (Above -the-line voting) Amendment Bill 2010 was introduced in September 2010, and is currently before the Senate.
Anti-corruption
A national anti-corruption commission	A national anti-corruption commission should be established. It should be empowered to investigate corruption of all kinds including institutional and political corruption. Australia must submit a self-assessment report on its compliance with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2011. Later in 2011 an independent team will review Australia’s compliance with UNCAC. This is an important opportunity to create a national anti-corruption body and to create similar bodies in the states that do not yet have them.	The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) tabled its unanimous report in July 2011. It recommended that ACLEI should have a second tier of jurisdiction to extend its oversight. It also recommended that the Australian Government should conduct a review of the Commonwealth Integrity system and examine the merits of establishing a Commonwealth Integrity Commission with ant-corruption oversight of all Commonwealth sector agencies. Given the narrowness of the Committee’s terms of reference these are valuable recommendations.
Electoral donations and campaign finance	In the short term, political donations should be regulated to force disclosure in a reduced timeframe, disclosure limits should be lowered to $1,000, and donation splitting should be prohibited. Payments made to attend functions with promised access to Ministers should be detailed. In the longer term, funding for political parties should be radically reformed as has occurred in Canada.	The Government has agreed with the Independents to a national inquiry by a fully representative committee of the Parliament to report by 1st October 2011 to enable passage of legislation in 2012. In October 2010, the Government introduced the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and Other Measures) Bill 2010. The bill does not include disclosure of payments for access to ministers. A third reading of the Bill is due in 2011. Senator Bob Brown has suggested the need for an amendment making deceptive political advertising an offence. The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) is conducting an inquiry into the funding of political parties and election campaigns; its membership was reconstituted for the purpose. JSCEM is considering submissions and proposals to restrict and regulate donations (contributions) including “cash-for-access” fund-raising, to candidates and political parties and expenditure by candidates, political parties and third party interests. Regulatory models being considered include those operating in Canada & New South Wales. JSCEM has received an Accountability Roundtable submission arguing that “cash-for-access” may amount to bribery under the Criminal Code Act (Commonwealth).
An independent appointment system to public offices	A merit based independent system of appointment to public offices is needed. There has been partial progress toward this goal; the Government has established an independent process for appointment to the boards of the ABC and SBS. A statute to give legislative force to this initiave is needed.	The National Broadcasting Legislation Amendment Bill providing for merit based appointments to the ABC and SBS was passed by the House of Representatives in September 2010 and introduced to the Senate, which referred it to a Senate committee.
Lobbying and post-retirement employment of ministers and others	The Lobbying Code needs to be extended to include in-house lobbyists and the prompt reporting of meetings and their details. Post retirement employment restrictions on ministers, shadow ministers and public servants should be strengthened. Lobbying and post-retirement rules should be supervised by the proposed Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner.	In 2010, the then Special Minister of State, Senator Ludwig, initiated a review of the Lobbying Code of Conduct. The review is still being considered by the Government. Online publication of the Register and the placing of the Register under the supervison of the proposed Parliamentary Integrity Commission form part of the 2010 agreement between the ALP and the Independents. The parties remain committed to this agreement. The Greens have tabled a bill.
Strengthening the role of Parliament
Reform of question time	The Standing Orders of the Parliament need to require relevancy and time limits on responses to questions, and enhance the ability of the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate to enforce these rules.	Following the September 2010 agreement between the ALP and independent members, Standing Rules were amended to limit Ministerial Statements to 90 seconds, limit the times of questions and answers, provide times specifically for debate of Private Members business, and to oblige members to give answers which are relevant to the question.
Parliamentary budget office	A parliamentary budget office would be a valuable new institution to give independent budget advice to all parliamentarians.	The agreements between the Government and Independents and Greens included the establishment of a Parliamentary Budget Office. The Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Budget Office in its report of 23rd March 2011 recommended the creation of the office in a superior manner to that proposed in the original agreement. The Government has accepted the recommendation and set aside funds in the budget.
Citizen engagement
Consumer rights and protection	Breaches of the consumer protection framework need serious attention and swift legal action against offending companies.	On 1st January, 2011, the Commonwealth Trade Practices Act 1974 was replaced by the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the CCA). The new Act provides common standards and enforcement provisions for all Australian State and Federal regulators. It creates a national scheme for consumer guarantees and warranties, and introduces national standards for consumer safety. It does not introduce ‘cy pres’ remedies which support consumer groups with settlement funds from consumer cases, fund a national consumer organisation, integrate competition and consumer regulation, or take into account behavioural economics, as the Australian Consumers Association has called for.
Greater accountability of executive
Accountability of ministers for actions under their authority and ministerial codes of conduct	The responsibilities of ministers, including possible devolution of certain responsibilities, need to be clearly and formally defined.	There currently exists a Code of Conduct for ministerial staff and standards for ministerial ethics. The Gillard Government has agreed with the Independents to establish a Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner, who will independently enforce these codes, by September 2011.
Defined accountability responsibilities for ministerial advisers	A specific and formal code of conduct for ministerial advisers is needed. Advisers should be required to appear before Parliament when requested. The code must be independently enforced.	There is a current Code of Conduct for ministerial staff but it does not oblige staff to appear before Parliament if called. The Gillard Government has agreed to establish a Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner, who will independently enforce the current code by September 2011.
Responsibilities of members of Parliament	A specific code is needed which defines the responsibilities and ethical obligations of members of Parliament.	The Government has agreed with the Independents to the preparation of a code of conduct for members of the House and Senate. The parties remain committed to the agreement. Parliamentary Committees from each house will report by the end of the winter sitting 2011.
Parliamentary integrity commissioner	A Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner is needed.	The Government agreed with the Independents and Greens to establish by statute a Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner within 12 months of the commencement of the new Parliament. The parties remain committed to the agreement.
Transparency, freedom of information and freedom of speech
Protection of journalists and their sources	Journalists need protection from legal action which forces them to disclose the identity of their sources when they report on matters of public interest.	The Evidence Amendment (Journalists Privilege) Act 2011 was assented to on 12th April 2011.
Protection of whistle blowers	Whistleblowers who make disclosures which expose corruption, malfeasance and mismanagement need comprehensive protection.	Following a comprehensive report from a House of Representatives Standing Committee published in 2009, Senator Joe Ludwig, when Special Minister of State, announced in 2010 that the Government would introduce whistleblower protection legislation but no such legislation has yet appeared. However, in September 2010 the Gillard Government agreed with Independent members of Parliament Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Andrew Wilkie to introduce whistleblower protection legislation to the Parliament by 30th June, 2011. The parties remain committed to to this agreement.
Media concentration	The media play a crucial part in an open democratic society. Diverse ownership of mainstream media is therefore of great importance.	The Minister for Communications, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced in the lead up to the 2010 Federal Election that the Government would begin a review of communications regulation, including media ownership law. The terms of reference for the review will be announced in 2011.
Public interest immunity claims	An independent statutory office accountable to the Parliament is needed to rule on government claims of public interest immunity from freedom of information applications. While significant progress has been made (see next column) the question of further reforms remains unresolved, including reforms of the Freedom of Information Act in light of reforms in other jurisdictions.	The Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 created the Office of Australian Information Commissioner headed by the Australian Information Commissioner to work in conjunction with the Privacy Commissioner and the Freedom of Information Commissioner and provide an independent review of freedom of information decisions made by agencies and ministers. In addition the government is considering legislation on the determination of public interest claims by the Information Commissioner.

Other areas of needed democratic reform

Reform required	Needed action as described in discussion pieces above
Electoral reform
Fixed term elections and extensions of parliamentary terms.	Fixed term parliaments are in the long term fairer to all political parties since they do not allow incumbent governments the opportunity to choose politically expedient dates for elections. Four year terms are also desirable but require constitutional change.
Strengthening of the role of the Parliament
Strengthening of the Committee system of the Senate as an independent house of review.	A bipartisan committee dedicated to reviewing the budget and economic strategy drawing in the resources of the new Parliamentary Budget Office would be a very valuable addition to the Senate committee system. Independent committees fully funded through a parliamentary commission in the style of the UK are also highly desirable.
Citizen engagement
Civil society and public advocacy	The roles and significance of civil society organisations should be formally recognised, including the right to disagree with government policy without penalties or restrictions of any kind.
Citizen participation in Democracy	Governments should take all possible steps to encourage citizens to participate actively in the functioning of Australia’s democracy. These steps should include a greater effort to make the activities of the government more transparent and understandable, greater investment in democratic education, and support for citizen initiatives such as citizen parliaments and attention to their outcomes.
Transparency freedom of information and freedom of speech
Public broadcasters	Given the great significance of their role in a country with a very high concentration of media ownership, funding for the public broadcasters should be increased and the independence of the ABC and SBS including the selection of their board members should be guaranteed.
Human rights
A charter of human rights in Australia	A human rights charter in Australia should be introduced, as was recommended by the Human Rights Consultation and as supported by the majority of Australians. Australia is the only English speaking country with a common law tradition without such a charter.

 

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Key links

The Accountability Round Table
The Accountability Round Table is a non partisan group of citizens with diverse backgrounds (academics, lawyers, former politicians, journalists, authors) who are gravely concerned with the erosion of the honesty and integrity of Australia’s democratic parliamentary and governmental process. The Round Table has produced a document entitled Be Honest Minister! setting out a number of proposals to improve the integrity of national politics. Included is a proposed new ministerial code. The Round Table is currently preparing other material.

newDemocracy – putting people back into politics. The aim of newDemocracy is to provide realistic and innovative alternative models of government that are determined by the people. We will achieve this by engaging ordinary Australians to discuss political reform and by empowering people to have a say in the process.

The Democratic Audit of Australia
Through its web “Audit Updates” and other publications, the Democratic Audit provides informed commentary on threats to democracy in Australia. Its other aims are:

Australian Human Rights Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission (formerly the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) has responsibility for the investigation of possible infringements of racial, sex, disability and age anti-discrimination laws and for inquiries into alleged infringements of human rights. It also plays a central role in contributing to the maintenance and improvement of a tolerant, equitable and democratic society, through its public awareness and other educational programs, aimed at the community, government and business sectors.

The NSW Council of Civil Liberties
The NSWCCL attempts to influence public debate and government policy on a range of human rights issues. It tries to secure amendments to laws, or changes in policy, where civil liberties are not fully respected.

Liberty Victoria
Liberty Victoria is committed to the defence and extension of human rights and civil liberties. It seeks to promote Australia's compliance with the major human rights instruments set out in international law.

Friends of the ABC
Friends of the ABC aim to defend and promote the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in its vital role as Australia's independent, national broadcaster. It opposes all efforts to censor the ABC or to compromise its independence through the introduction of advertising.

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization with member states from all continents. IDEA works with both new and long-established democracies, helping to develop and strengthen the institutions and culture of democracy.

 

 

 

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