This report presents potential solutions for protecting Australia’s democracy, including common-sense actions to renew trust in politics. It finds that Australians say the most important factors influencing who they vote for are which party or candidate has a plan to address Australia’s long-term issues, and the integrity and accountability of parties or candidates.

Too often, government consultation is treated as a box-ticking exercise – yet it sits at the heart of legitimacy, accountability and public trust. This paper shows how public consultation integrity can deliver better decisions and reduce the disproportionate influence of vested interests, but only when consultation is genuine, accessible and done early – before outcomes...

A well-functioning democracy depends on informed, transparent and accountable law-making. Using recent case studies, this paper shows how limited consultation and attempts to short-circuit committee scrutiny can undermine legislative quality and democratic legitimacy. The paper calls for four law-making integrity safeguards to be embedded as standard practice as a practical standard for the Australian Parliament.

Australia’s consolidated government accounts bring together federal, state and local governments spending and revenue statistics. This gives the most complete picture of the nation’s fiscal position. The spending trends outlined in this report highlight that Australia’s fiscal system is inconsistent and inflexible. The analysis points to six potential issues in current policy setting processes.

Government spending decisions are biased towards the short term, contributing to rising government debt levels. This report recommends the adoption of Treasurers' Fiscal Statements to enable governments to engage better with citizens on medium-term pressures and trade-offs in government spending.