Corflutes are seen at a pre-polling centre in the seat of Farrer ahead of a by-election, Albury, Thursday, April 30, 2026.

‘Fed up, fired up, and finally heard’: inside the political earthquake brewing in Farrer

In Australia’s regional heartland, something unusual is happening, it’s no longer predictable, listening to voters might give some clues.
Unsurprisingly, Australian politicians are happier than their constituents with the way our democracy works. Shutterstock

Revealed: how Australian politicians would bridge the trust divide

New research shows parliamentarians believe the key to improving trust between them and their constituents is in improving links to the community and better educating the public about our democracy.
Cathy McGowan is a community-minded representative who seeks to build her electorate’s capacity to respond to rural challenges. AAP/Tracey Nearmy

The Indi Project: who do Indi voters trust to run the country?

Indi has a potentially large number of floating voters at the local scale, mirroring the situation nationally. What do the people of Indi think about issues of trust?
The Power of 1 exhibition explores differences in perceptions and forms of political participation across generations and how these are likely to affect the direction of our democracy. Museum of Australian Democracy

Generational divide when ‘doing politics’ vanishes on need to fix it

Australians divide along generational lines when it comes to participating in politics. Less predictably, they are almost united on the need to fix the political system and the best ways to do that.

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