The Future of Our Former Democracy

After the slaughter at Gallipoli, Australia began to see itself as more than an outpost of the British Empire, and it kicked off its greatest era of democratic experimentation. Ruth and Colin walk through the questions Australians asked and answered along the way, exploring reforms ranging from preferential voting and compulsory voting to proportional representation in the Senate. Then they get into the weeds of the Australian ballot itself, from the “tablecloth” ballots of 250 candidates to the 2016 reforms sparked by the surprise election of a Motoring Enthusiast Party senator, showing how even ballot design can reshape a democracy. Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode: Paul Daffy, Melbourne Tour Guide Professor David Smith, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney Dr. Jill Sheppard, Australian National University Mentioned Resources: Australian Ballot Image The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

Australia built its democracy on the idea of a "fair go," but who was it actually for? Ruth and Colin examine the White Australia policy, the Stolen Generations, and the dictation tests designed to keep non-white immigrants out, drawing stark parallels to Jim Crow literacy tests and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Ruth reckons with her own family's role in a massacre of Wiradjuri people, MED’s George Cheung walks through Melbourne's Chinatown, and the hosts explore the failed Voice referendum and how states like South Australia and Victoria are stepping in where the nation fell short. Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode: Professor Thalia Anthony, University of Technology Sydney Professor Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University Mark Wong, CEO, Museum of Chinese Australian History Simon Chen, Founder and Director, Art Atrium Gallery, and President, Chinese Australian Forum The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

How does a British penal colony become one of the world's most trusted democracies? Ruth and Colin head back to 1788 to trace how a society of convicts and guards pioneered the secret ballot, the living wage, and the eight-hour workday, blending Washington and Westminster into a democracy all its own, built on the ethos of the "fair go." But that story is inseparable from the dispossession and genocide of First Nations people, raising the question of who Australian democracy was actually built for. Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode: Dr. Mark Dunn, Historian and Author of The Convict Valley Professor Thalia Anthony, University of Technology Sydney Professor Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University Dr. Marija Taflaga, Centre for the Study of Australian Politics, Australian National University and co-host of Democracy Sausage podcast about Australian Politics Paul Daffy, Journalist and Tour Guide Mentioned Resources Link The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

Welcome to Season 3 of The Future of Our Former Democracy! Colin is joined by new co-host Ruth Greenwood, director of Harvard Law School's Election Law Clinic and proud Australian expat, as the show heads Down Under. In Australia, elections are "boring, boring, boring," and voters across the political spectrum trust the results in a way Americans rarely do. Colin and Ruth explore why. Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode: Dr. Marija Taflaga, Centre for the Study of Australian Politics, Australian National University and co-host of Democracy Sausage podcast about Australian Politics Professor David Smith, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney Professor Thalia Anthony, University of Technology Sydney For more information on our electoral systems work, visit democracynow.org. The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

Australia built its democracy on the American model, then kept revising it: the secret ballot, ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, and elections that Australians across the political spectrum actually trust. In our new season, we travel Down Under to explore how a country so similar to ours, including in its history of white supremacy and Indigenous genocide, ended up with a democracy that works so differently, and what the U.S. can learn from it.