The usual chorus is back again, complaining about a fractured parliament, an obstructive Senate, endless compromises, and governments that supposedly “can’t get anything done.” The targets change, the outrage doesn’t.
The familiar defence quickly follows:
“You can’t blame voters. People are desperate for better government.”
True. We are desperate for better government.
But yes, I do blame voters for some of the mess. And I think we’ve been letting ourselves off the hook for far too long.
The phrase “you reap what you sow” has never been more apt.
You may not agree with what follows, but it’s a view formed through years of watching politics up close, not just yelling at it from the outside.
Outsourcing Democracy Has Consequences
We will not change how major parties operate unless people engage where it matters. Yet political party membership is now perilously low and still falling. Participation hasn’t just declined—it has been replaced.
In its place, we have outrage, petitions, protest votes, social media pile-ons, and the expectation that the ballot box alone will somehow fix everything.
It won’t.
Using elections purely to punish parties, without engaging in how candidates are selected or policies are shaped, has delivered exactly what you would expect: instability, fragmentation and a permanent cross-bench culture skilled at vetoing but not governing.
That is not accountability. It is abdication.
Broad Churches Are Meant to Be Uncomfortable
I believe in the values of the Liberal–National Coalition. I also accept its flaws. It is a genuine broad church, liberals, conservatives, pragmatists and idealists under one roof. That tension is real and sometimes ugly.
But pluralism is not a defect of democracy; it is its price.
The problem is that too many people now expect ideological purity and instant gratification. Anything short of complete victory is branded a sell-out. That mindset makes governing in a complex parliament almost impossible.
Governments should be criticised for poor decisions. But the lazy claim that they “do nothing” is usually wrong. What is really happening is that governing in a splintered parliament requires compromise, sequencing, and trade-offs, things that don’t translate well into slogans or social media posts.
Too many people now confuse volume with evidence and virality with truth.
Democracy Is Not a Spoon-Feeding Exercise
Another uncomfortable reality is the growing expectation that voters should have policy and information spoon-fed to them, simplified, personalised and delivered in a format requiring minimal effort.
Politics has adapted accordingly. Complex reforms are reduced to three-word slogans. Policy details are replaced with talking points. Substantive documents are ignored because they require time, concentration, and reading beyond a headline.
Yet when voters complain policies are unclear or under-explained, much of what they claim doesn’t exist is publicly available in budget papers, policy platforms, committee reports, costings, and parliamentary debates are all there for anyone prepared to look.
Expecting politicians, journalists, or social media influencers to do all the thinking is not civic engagement. It is outsourcing responsibility.
Democracy was never meant to function like a drive-through. If we demand politics that is easy to consume and effortless to understand, we should not be surprised when what we get is shallow and transactional.
Comment Sections Aren’t Civic Participation
I know I shouldn’t read comment sections. Yet I do. And every time, I leave more pessimistic about our civic culture.
Criticising politicians’ performance is one thing, but ripping into politicians online achieves very little. If it worked, things would be improving. They aren’t.
Nor will endless complaining on social media fix anything.
Democracy doesn’t improve through heckling alone. It improves when people show up before election day—when candidates are being selected, policies debated, and priorities set.
Voting Alone Is Not Enough
We live in a democracy, imperfect, frustrating and often inefficient—but still better than any alternative I’ve seen.
Democracy means rule by the people. That implies responsibility, not just entitlement.
Politics touches almost every aspect of our lives: jobs, wages, cost of living, health care, education, security, infrastructure, and the environment. Yet for many people, voting—often done with minimal research, is the sole act of participation.
There are many ways to influence outcomes:
Voting matters. But voting alone, especially when driven by gut feeling or protest, cannot carry the entire democratic load.
We Put These People There
Politicians do not just “turn up.” They are selected, endorsed, preferenced and elected.
I am continually struck by how many people vote for candidates they know almost nothing about, then act shocked when those candidates behave exactly as their history suggested they would.
We can rage about senators grandstanding, independents holding legislation hostage, or minor parties chasing pet causes, but we empowered them.
A small amount of homework before an election often gives a very clear picture of what to expect.
And how many of the loudest critics are prepared to stand themselves? Very few.
The Fantasy of the Perfect Outsider
Every election cycle produces the same wish list: no career politicians, no party discipline, no unions, no compromise, instant honesty, and perfect outcomes.
It sounds satisfying. It is also unserious.
Politics is not a purity contest. It is a system for making collective decisions in a complex society. Anyone promising otherwise is selling theatre, not governance.
Some reform ideas are sensible. Others are emotional venting dressed up as principles. None of them work without citizens prepared to engage beyond slogans.
Responsibility Cuts Both Ways
Yes, politicians must be competent, honest, and accountable.
But citizens also have obligations:
If people disengage, refuse to do the work, and blame “them” instead, nothing improves.
We will simply continue cycling through career politicians, staffers, factional operatives and activist independents—while insisting the system is broken and refusing to touch it.
No Saviours. No Shortcuts.
I participate through membership, advocacy, discussion and writing. I could do more—and so could many others.
There is no messiah coming to fix this for us.
If we want better politics, we must invest more than cynicism and a protest vote. At the risk of clichรฉ:
No pain. No gain.
Democracy only improves when citizens put some skin in the game.
