Why Australia Cannot Move Forward
What Australia's Parliament Costs the Country
What is the Role of Government in Australia?
According to the Parliamentary Education Office, “The Australian Government is responsible for making decisions about how the country is run, including setting a policy agenda, proposing new laws and putting laws into action. The government plays an important role in shaping our society and making sure that Australians have the services and safeguards we need.”
Australia is an incredibly wealthy country that is rich in minerals, fossil fuels, and human capital. Its people have grown up in a relatively peaceful society, protected by a strong social security system that was once among the best in the Western world. Given these advantages, one would expect Australia to be far more developed and forward-thinking than it currently is. And isn’t that, fundamentally, the role of government - to help the country reach its full potential?
However, reality paints a different picture. Infrastructure development remains sluggish. Our transport system is still heavily reliant on cars, trucks, and planes rather than on high-speed rail or modern, efficient public transport. We lack a robust manufacturing base, and too many proposed projects are stifled by excessive red tape and bureaucratic hurdles. Australia is facing a housing crisis, while a bold infrastructure campaign could both resolve homelessness and provide economic stimulus, transforming lives virtually overnight.
The Problem of Government Overlap
Perhaps a fundamental problem lies in Australia's outdated governmental structure. The current system, a legacy of colonial federation, has created an inefficient overlap between state and federal authorities. Designed in the 19th century, this model makes meaningful reform extremely difficult. The high rate of failed referendums underscores how hard it is to enact constitutional change.
Moreover, our political structure too often serves corporate interests over the needs of everyday Australians. Profit drives policy more than the needs of the people, at both the federal and state levels.
State governments were originally formed from the six British colonies due to Australia's vast geography and sparse population. At federation, American political thinking influenced our structure significantly. Australia adopted a written constitution, a bicameral legislature (two houses) and a division of powers between federal and state governments - similar to the U.S. system. While we retained elements of the British parliamentary model, the influence of American federalism is especially clear in the Senate’s design and in the independent governance of states under a central government.
Whatever the rationale for this model in the past, it no longer serves us well today. It is bloated, inefficient, and extraordinarily expensive.
The Cost of Political Redundancy
In an article titled “Revealed: the true cost of democracy - October 30, 2004”, the Age newspaper claims, “Australians are paying almost $2 million a year to keep each of their elected representatives in Federal Parliament.” With 226 federal MPs, the total cost exceeds $400 million annually. And that’s just the federal level.
State governments are even harder to account for, but consider this: Western Australia alone employs 95 state parliamentarians, with a combined wage bill of $17 million. Extrapolate that across six states and two territories, and wages alone exceed $80 million. Add in support staff, office expenses, maintenance, vehicles, travel, and other day-to-day costs, and the total expense could conservatively reach $600–800 million annually across federal and state governments. This is only an estimate by my self, but we can also consider the generous packages they receive when leaving office. Parliamentarians are able to access $105,000 on retraining and improving their prospects for future employment after leaving office. All parliamentarians are able to access superannuation (paid at 15.5% by taxpayers) at 55, which is a much earlier age than you and I. Depending on when they entered parliament, they can also receive a pension upon leaving parliament for life. The ex-premier of WA Mark McGowan and Peter Dutton will receive a pension of $250,000 per year for the rest of their lives, and they are only the recent retirees. There are hundreds of retired politicians accessing huge pensions, not the same age pension you and I receive. The rules have changed and the pension payment no longer exists, but there are hundreds of ex-politicians receiving lifelong pensions at today's rates of politicians salaries. (The Daily Aus - politicians that will get paid for life)
A Simpler, Smarter Structure
It’s time to rethink our structure. States should be transformed into administrative hubs for implementing federal directives. The core governance structures can remain intact courts, education, health systems, - but the separate state governments themselves could be abolished. Local governments could be expanded to manage regional issues more effectively.
Some argue that state governments better represent local populations, or that without them, the federal government would focus too heavily on major eastern cities. But if we already recognise this imbalance, why add more bureaucracy to “fix” it instead of resolving the root issue directly? Is it democratic to acknowledge inefficiency and allow it to persist? Or should our government do what it is supposed to: solve problems in the best interest of all Australians?
However, let us briefly consider this argument also. Is the government actually representative of all Australians, and was it ever? The answer is no, and it is fundamental to understand this if we ever want to effect change of any meaningful kind. The governments we elect are representative of a small elite ruling class, elected to manage those interests in opposition to the needs of the people. A simple measure of that is the taxation system, those at the top and corporations pay less than that of ordinary people.
Simply changing the structure of government won’t fundamentally change anything, but it would reduce the amount of representatives the ruling class has to manipulate the economic and political life of Australia. With less opposition, some major projects can go ahead across this great, vast nation to improve the efficiency of transporting goods and services.
What does democracy for ordinary people look like?
It could look like a discussion in your workplace about production targets and a vote taken so everyone agrees. It could look like a discussion on politics of the day and a vote taken, entered on a computer, and directly linked to government. So, the government knows the people’s position and level of support on political events of the day. For example, the genocide war in Palestine, or a vote on AUKUS spending. That’s democracy.
One reason Australia is not moving forward is because its political structure anchors it to the past. The cost of maintaining redundant systems is enormous - both financially and socially. Bold reforms are needed, and we must start with the courage to challenge our outdated federation model. Australia deserves a government that works for its future, not one stuck in its colonial past.
We hope that this article has been helpful in providing references that will encourage you to begin your own journey of understanding. The discussion contained in our articles often reflects our own author conclusions, based on the many years of observation and research. However, we understand that many of you have your own piece of the puzzle to add to our collective understanding. So, we encourage you to participate in this discussion. Are our conclusions correct or incorrect? Should we provide more writing on some simplified references in this article? Please add your respectful and constructive comments below. Also, if you have any articles of your own to submit to The Great Southern Club, we welcome your perspective on issues facing Australia, Pacific Island nations, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia.
