A WORD
Has the leopard changed its spots? Has Australia slammed the door on negative, time-wasting, self-interested, two-party politics? Australia is one of the few developed countries that still believe a two-party system is the natural order of democracy. Does Australia really believe that our democracy is better modelled on the political dumpster fire that is the United States’ entrenched two-party system? Or should we be looking to Europe, where multipolar coalition governments are the norm? Framing democracy as a two-horse race has the effect of reducing differentiation between parties and thereby reducing the appetite for big ideas. This results in a focus on character rather than agendas and reduces accountability because both sides have their fingers in the same pie. Yet we have seen a tremendous swing to teal and Green candidates and a…