Time for change?

As Australia approaches a new term of the federal parliament, it is an opportune time to reflect on and consider potential improvements to its operation and effectiveness, says the Susan McKinnon Foundation.

The federal parliament is central to Australia’s system of representative democracy. It is a place in which elected representatives debate and pass legislation, scrutinise the government of the day, hold the executive accountable, represent constituents, and it serves as a vital forum for the political contest of ideas.

Given the importance of the federal parliament, it is crucial that it operates effectively and that Australians retain trust in it, so that Australia’s system of government can meet the contemporary expectations of citizens.

There are signs that Australians are losing trust in federal parliament. It must also evolve to address the fact that an increasing number of Australians are voting for candidates who are not from the major political parties, and there are an increasing number of parliamentarians who are independent or from minor parties.

As Australia approaches a new term of the federal parliament, it is an opportune time to reflect on and consider potential improvements to its operation and effectiveness.

The Susan McKinnon Foundation proposes practical, impactful, feasible, and evidence-based reforms to improve trust and confidence in the federal parliament.

SMF suggests:

• increasing parliament’s ability to review and pass legislation
• supporting healthy and constructive public debate in parliament
• supporting parliamentarians to undertake their public duties and represent constituents
• supporting parliamentarians and the parliament to scrutinise the executive government
• improving public perceptions of Parliament and parliamentarians
• improving transparency of parliament.

Any reforms to the federal parliament need to be carefully calibrated to balance its diverse functions, avoid unintended consequences, and recognise that reforms are often interdependent and can rarely be considered in isolation.

Ultimately, any reform to the operation of parliament will only be successful if it is endorsed and supported by a broad range of parliamentarians.

Parliamentarians have unique experience and expertise that only comes with being an elected representative, and they are best-placed to determine how the federal parliament should operate.

As such, SMF encourages parliamentarians to use available mechanisms to consider reform opportunities further and build a consensus about the highest priority reforms.