The Democracy Agenda for the 48th Parliament identifies 13 major reforms that would improve parliamentary debate, government accountability and openness and the operation of integrity institutions.

Three of the reforms would improve the deliberations of the 48th Parliament of Australia and make other reforms more achievable. These reforms could be agreed to at the beginning of the 48th Parliament, perhaps during negotiations between the crossbench and the major parties in the event of a power-sharing parliament in which no one party wins a majority of seats.

These initial reforms are as follows:

1. Adopting Senate innovations in the House of Representatives

The Australian Senate is a more collaborative and representative legislature than the House of Representatives. Over the years, Senate procedure and practice have changed to accommodate voices from the crossbench and opposition. In particular, the House of Representatives could:

a. Schedule private members’ motions and bills for debate.
b. Remove the requirement for an absolute majority to suspend standing orders (replacing it with a simple majority).
c. Introduce pairing arrangements for crossbenchers, not just major party MPs.
d. Remove or moderate the “gag” motions that allow the majority to shut down debate and prevent issues going to a vote.
e. Reform Question Time to allow for supplementary (follow-up) questions.

2. Set parliamentarians’ staffing allowance independently

Currently, personal staff for crossbench and opposition parliamentarians are a gift of the Prime Minister, allowing them to be allocated – or withheld – for reasons other than parliamentary workload. More resources for parliamentarians would allow better scrutiny of legislation.

3. Fixed three-year terms

The prime minister committing to seeing the Parliament through to its full three-year term, rather than going to an early election, would provide certainty and allow inquiries and legislation to be paced better.

The remaining ten reforms could be part of negotiations at the start of the 48th Parliament, but they could also be pursued during the parliamentary term:

4. Parliamentary support and empowering and protecting the integrity branch of government

Integrity agencies are vulnerable to having their funding cut by the government of the day. A special appropriation would protect these agencies from retaliatory cuts. The agencies that support Parliament – including the Library, Budget Office and legislative drafters – could have their funding increased and responsibilities expanded, and a new Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology could advise parliamentarians about technical and complex areas like artificial intelligence and social media regulation.

5. Open government

Australians are largely in the dark about who is trying to influence politicians and other decision makers. Publishing ministerial diaries (as is done by some state governments) and cabinet documents (as is done in New Zealand) would improve the situation, as would stricter rules around lobbying.

6. Whistleblower protections

Whistleblower laws must be fixed if the National Anti-Corruption Commission is going to be effective – including creating a Whistleblower Protection Authority to advise and support whistleblowers. Otherwise, public officials will be reluctant to report potential corruption.

7. National Anti-Corruption Commission

While the NACC has most of the powers of a strong watchdog, it is not able to hold public hearings whenever they are in the public interest. In addition, its committee is dominated by government members. The scheduled statutory inquiry should be brought forward to address governance concerns with the NACC.

8. Truth in political advertising laws

South Australia has had truth in political advertising laws for 40 years, but at a federal level it remains perfectly legal to lie in a political ad. Legislation exists that would implement truth in political advertising laws in a fair and independent manner.

9. Increasing the number of parliamentarians

Two increases in the number of parliamentarians are overdue:
a. The ACT has almost as many residents as Tasmania, and the Northern Territory’s population is about half that of Tasmania’s. However, the territories currently receive only one sixth as many senators as Australia’s smallest state. An increase in the number of both territories’ senators would make elections more proportional.
b. Even as Australia’s population has increased dramatically, the number of politicians has not. This leaves MPs stretched over larger areas, means the talent pool for ministries and committee chairs is too shallow, and makes MPs less attentive to local concerns.

10. Political finance reform

The way in which political parties and candidates are funded is murky, with political funding laws only disclosing large donations (above about $17,000) and at a long delay (up to 18 months). Real-time donation disclosure, a mega-donor cap and a public funding system accessible to new entrants would help level the playing field.

Read the in-depth report below.