Last week, the new government took their seats in Canberra with the most diverse parliament in Australia’s history. The 47th parliament has more women, First Nations, and non-European members than ever before and the largest crossbench since 2002. For the public to build trust, they need to see demonstrable efforts that show their needs are being considered and acted upon by our country’s leaders. Greater diversity in parliament is a step towards restoring this trust by demonstrating that more voices are being heard and represented in decision-making.
The vibrancy of parliament did not go unnoticed by many MPs in their first speeches to parliament. As new Labor MP Sally Sitou said, “As I look around our House of Representatives today, it feels like finally, it is starting to live up to its name. A house made up of people who truly represent and reflect their communities... representatives that embody all of the Australian story make our parliament better and our democracy stronger.” The first member of the opposition to give their first speech, Liberal MP Aaron Violi, also reflected, “It is an example of the extraordinary democracy we have in Australia that anyone, regardless of background, can become a member of parliament.”
Women now make up 38% of the Lower House and 57% of the Senate, and First Nations MPs make up 4.8% of parliament – with the Indigenous Australian population recorded as 3.2% in the last census. While there is greater representation of non-European backgrounds in the new parliament, these MPs make up 6.6% of the room despite the recent census showing that almost half (48.2%) of Australians have a parent born overseas and a quarter (27.6%) were born overseas themselves. Parliament is looking more vibrant, but there is still ground to be made toward diversity and inclusion. The public needs to know they can rely on the country’s leaders to represent all voices. As Independent MP Zoe Daniels said in her first speech, “Without trust in policy and leadership, without integrity and good governance, we cannot function as a society... It is our responsibility … to rebuild that trust.”
With four in five people saying politicians have the most say in Australia’s priorities (Navigator 2021), a diverse parliament is integral to creating a future that considers and acts upon the needs of all people. But our recent Recoded report shows that many emerging and established leaders see politics as lacking diversity compared with other sectors. Structures, processes, professionalisation, and other barriers to entry, such as resources, are said to have a detrimental effect and “increasingly, politicians are coming from a smaller pool” (Recoded 2021). Consequently, there is a disconnect between politicians and the people they serve.
Our research shows there is “an appetite for a different type of politics and a different type of conversation in Australia” (Recoded 2021). Leaders who are more in touch with the needs of the public can lay the foundation for restoring trust between government and the people – which is one of Next25’s levers for positive change. We know that working in this area can unlock progress on some of the nation’s biggest issues. Currently, we support parliamentarians to become better leaders and improve the political system more broadly through our Leadership course – and have two other initiatives in development to help rebuild trust between government and the people. But there is still work to be done.
We look forward to seeing how this new government progresses and continuing our work supporting MPs to build their leadership capability and improve politics at large.
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