In recent times, a lot of people have been saying they have lost faith in our democracy and our political processes. Our democracy is, in fact, alive and well, you just need to know what you are looking for, and you must be willing to participate.

Democracy works best if you take part and collaborate with our democratic institutions rather than sitting around griping about the government.

People also say there are “dictatorships” currently governing our state and our country, but this is just rhetoric and exaggeration.

Any government with enough of a majority to always win the vote in the house will push through its legislation, sometimes despite reasonable opposition, which can look dictatorial, but that is situation normal in a democracy. If that government is too incompetent, arrogant, or ignores the mood of the public, the voters can demonstrate their dissatisfaction in several ways.

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Write to a member

One example is to write to the local member, who will then pass on the correspondence to the relevant minister. The response will not always be what you want, but it will at least alert the minister to concerns among voters about a given topic.

If other voters share the concern more letters on the same subject will arrive, further alerting the minister to the concern or problem. Some people write directly to a minister, or send multiple emails to all members, but often the best method is a direct message to your own local member who can advocate on your behalf, talk to the minister, ask questions in parliament to hold them accountable, and even introduce bills to amend or repeal legislation.

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Petitions, protests, parties

Another form of participation is to organise a petition, or a protest, to show the number of people who share a given concern or opinion about government policy.

A petition, if it goes through the correct channels and garners enough signatures, can be debated in parliament. A protest often brings media attention.

Neither pulls an actual legal lever compelling the government to act or to force them to change policy, but it alerts the government to the fact that a significant number of voters share a particular concern or opinion about government policy. It is unwise for any government to completely ignore such a groundswell of public opinion.

If there are enough people to rally behind a particular point of view, a person, or group of like-minded people, can move from petitions and protests to forming an organisation such as a lobby group or protest group to advocate for change. A further step on from that is to form a political party.

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Campaign

Your group or party may choose to get behind a given candidate, or put up your own candidate, to stand for office at local, state or federal level (depending on the issue) to represent your group’s interests.

Sometimes it is enough for a candidate supported by an organisation, group or party, to stand and to show that they have a significant amount of public support to influence government policy.

However, if the person is elected it can help bring about real change. In a parliament where a government doesn’t have a clear majority, independents and minor party members can exert influence over government policy, more so than the opposition. It can help break the apparent sense of dictatorship.

In an actual dictatorship, people can be arrested for voicing opinions, they are barred from participate in voting, standing for election, campaigning, protesting or any form of showing opposition to the dictatorial regime. Dictators ban opposition parties; stifle, rig or ban any form of voting that might show the will of the people.

In a democracy it should always be possible for people to voice their opinion, protest or communicate with government ministers, which is still the case in this country.

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Vote

There are many forms of participation in democracy, the most obvious one is your vote. Make sure you are registered to vote and anyone you know is registered. Choose carefully at the ballot box, because even if your first choice doesn’t make it to the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council, a second choice with similar ideas can be enough to effect the change you are seeking.

There are also other forms of participation like making submissions to committee enquiries, or even just educating yourself on how our political system and its three-tiered government works and which tier has responsibility for what, so that you can direct concerns, issues, questions to the right level of government.

It is not enough to just be cynical, critical or abusive and to snipe at politicians on social media. It is better to offer constructive criticism and even possible solutions through the broad range of channels available. Democracy is about rule by the people for the people, but the people need to be willing to participate.

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Deputy Editor's Note: This opinion piece is from Roy Butler MP's regular newsletter mailed to followers and media outlets on October 12, 2026. It is reprinted here at my discretion, in the interests of current community discussion about wider civic participation and with the next state election taking place early next year.