How Effective is Australian Democracy? A History Essay Analysis

This essay assesses the effectiveness of Australian democracy, examining the declining public trust and satisfaction levels. It highlights the cultural shifts affecting societal views, with a significant drop in voter satisfaction observed over time. The essay analyzes the lack of trust in politicians, who are perceived as prioritizing self-interest over the needs of the people, and the impact of broken promises. It explores the public's desire for political reform and the challenges posed by 'wicked problems' such as terrorism, climate change, and political elite recruitment. The essay references studies by the Museum of Australian Democracy and the Institute for Governance at the University of Canberra, which indicate a worrying trend of declining trust, and discusses the potential for ineffective governance and reduced social and economic well-being if current trends continue. The essay concludes by summarizing the factors that contribute to the perception that Australian democracy is not functioning optimally, emphasizing the public's distrust of the political framework.

History Essay

History Essay
How would we know if Australian democracy is not working well?
It has been observed that the people of Australia no longer trust their democracy. The satisfaction
of the public in relation to democracy has crashed and there is also the fear that the future
governments would perceived as the unlawful by the voters. The cultural shift has taken place in
Australia which affected the satisfaction level of the society. IN 2007, there are 86% of the
voters who were not satisfied with the Australian society and also they have dropped to 72% by
2010 (The guardian, 2019). The social trust among the individuals has also fallen below 50% and
the politicians also lacked the real experience and emphasized on putting their own interest for
their parties in relation to short term policy stances (The conversation, 2019).
It is investigated that the satisfaction with the government in Australia has been crashed in a
decade from 86% to 41%. The new survey has attained the dark mood in relation to the
Australian electorate. It is examined that the politicians has not fulfilled the promise of the voters
and due to this the disliked the political framework. There are many Australian who said that
they disliked the conflict driven politics in context to the federal parliament and also they want a
different system (The guardian, 2019).
According to the research done by Museum of Australian democracy and institute for
governance at the University of Canberra have stated that “Trust and democracy in Australia
showcased that there is worrying cultural shift in Australia”. The national survey that was done
of more than 1000 individuals was taken before the liberal party’s leadership spill stated that the
overall satisfaction in relation to democracy works that was present in Australia has reduced over
the last decade. The Museum of Australian democracy states that if nothing is done according to
the present market scenario then 10% of the Australian will only trust their politicians and the
institution of the political framework by 2025. It can also result in the ineffective and illegitimate
government which can reduce the social and economic wellbeing. There are different reforms
that focused on improving the practice of the overall politics of the representative and it was
followed by the reforms that aim at offering citizen a greater say (The guardian, 2019).
2

History Essay
(Source: The conversation, 2019).
There are various grievances that individuals have with the politicians. One of the issues is
related with the action that is not considered by the politician on the real matters and also the
large business has more power. The continued decline of the political trust has also affected the
public confidence as the politicians are not accountable for the broken promises (The guardian,
2019).
There is also the great level of support in relation to the reforms that focused on creating a strong
community and also emphasized on making the right decision. If comparison is made with the
advanced industrial democracies then it is seen that the citizens will still appear to emphasize on
the maintaining the stability of the political system. It will also lack in the political trust that
means that there will be no confidence in relation to the capability to deliver the challenging
policy problems. The majority of the citizens living in Australia states that they do not focus on
liking the character of the politics related with contemporary politics as it is displayed in the
federal government and democratic renewal that it is important to consider the pressure of the
democracy that is threatening the overall values in relation to the core values of the democracy
(The conversation, 2019).
It has been stated by the Museum of the democracy that they will be launching a new initiative,
democracy 2025 to build trust and to re- engage the Australian in democracy. There are few
3

History Essay
citizens of the Australia who are not able to trust the overall framework of the government. The
generation X is not satisfied with the overall democracy of the Australia. It is examined that
when #MeToo movement was started the women are less satisfied the women were not satisfied
with the overall democracy as at that time there was more distrusting politicians. In general
terms, the level of trust in government and Australian politicians are at low level. The current
iteration in relation to democratic system states the striking incapacity to consider the set of main
problems (The conversation, 2019). Rittel and Weber stated the issue that was incomplete and
contradictory. It has been seen that complexity of the wicked issues is major challenge in context
to the linear taking and professional education. The wicked issues have “no stopping rule” and
the present wicked issues are terrorism, policy abyss and climate change paralysis. There are also
many problems that affected the society. The wicked problems consist of terrorism and security
issues, climate change paralysis and also the recruitment of the political elites (The conversation,
2019). These are the factors through which it could be easy to understand that the Australian
democracy is not working well. So, it can be concluded that the Australian society does not trust
their political framework. There is no proper framework in relation to the political framework
and it has affected the satisfaction ratio of the society.
4

History Essay
References
The conversation, 2019. A challenged democracy: wicked problems and political failures
[Online] Available at: https://theconversation.com/a-challenged-democracy-wicked-problems-
and-political-failures-39040 [Accessed 21 March 2019].
The conversation, 2019. Australians’ trust in politicians and democracy hits an all-time low:
new research.[Online] Available at: https://theconversation.com/australians-trust-in-politicians-
and-democracy-hits-an-all-time-low-new-research-108161 [Accessed 21 March 2019].
The guardian, 2019. Australians no longer trust their democracy, survey finds [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/05/australians-no-longer-
trust-their-democracy-survey-finds [Accessed 21 March 2019].
5