How Australia Can Stave Off Democratic Decay
The DiplomatIn July 1924, Australia’s Federal Parliament legislated a facet of Australian democracy that would prove remarkably prescient. It was the combination of these circumstances that led the Australian government to launch a Strengthening Democracy Taskforce in January 2023 with the mission to provide practical measures that build greater resilience within Australia’s democracy. These milestones include the invention of the secret ballot in the then-colony of South Australia in 1856; the country being at the forefront of both full male suffrage and women’s suffrage; the use of preferential voting from 1918; the aforementioned institution of compulsory voting; and on to the creation of an independent electoral commission in 1984 that maintains the electoral roll, conducts elections, educates the public on electoral processes, and most importantly sets electoral boundaries. The report recognizes that Estonia was first to incorporate 21st century initiatives into its democracy through the digital transformation of voting systems – although Australia is likely to remain with paper and pencils.
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Australians will soon get to prove the resilience of our democracy. The world shows us how precarious a privilege that is
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