STRANGE that it takes a Victorian senator from the bush, representing the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, to engage appropriately about the state of our democracy.

In contrast to the moans and “woe-is-me” wails of the major parties, Senator Ricky Muir has hit the nail on the head in his “first speech” on  March 5. Our democracy is vital, thriving and working for the people. The Abbott government is not simply going to be a three-year dictatorship.

“As a voter, I never agreed to be restricted to a two-party system,” he told the Senate.

“I was unsatisfied that our elected representatives were bound by preconceived party positions, which in turn goes against the very definition of representative democracy, as the voices of the people that they were supposed to represent seem to somewhat fall on deaf ears”.

He was an ordinary person who, dissatisfied with the way he saw the two-party system operating, put his hand up to play a part. He explained the frustration of the Abbott government with cross-benches in the Senate blocking some of the government initiatives in a way that clearly pointed the finger at the problem.

The problem is not the Senate cross-benches. The problem is the government.

In Muir’s words: “‘There will be no changes to education, health or the renewable energy sector,’ and then, before you know it, bam, we are all faced with the biggest changes to our university sector since 1989, when HECS was introduced; reform that will completely change our Medicare system and could damage primary health care, potentially leading to negative health outcomes; not to mention the complete uncertainty in the renewable sector, which is affecting investment and stopping projects from beginning – projects which will create employment”.

In a word, the Senate is doing its job; it is holding government accountable. As a community we should be offering thanks to cross-bench senators who are at least containing the ultra-conservative Abbott government.

In the ACT, voters can also learn some lessons about keeping government accountable. Since self-government there has only been one Assembly that had a majority government and the system has worked very effectively, despite coming under similar criticism in its first few years.

The election in NSW at the end of this month has the potential to illustrate that the problem is about policies and practices of the major parties rather than about the minor parties.

The demolition of the Campbell Newman government in Queensland illustrates the frustration of ordinary people with hard, right-wing conservative governments. The NSW Liberal government is much more moderate and will not suffer the same sort of swing against it.

In a similar way, if the ACT government leans too far to the left, the consequences will be felt at the election in October next year.

Our democracy is not at risk. It is not perfect. There are certainly improvements that can be made. However, we should be celebrating the vibrancy and effectiveness of our democratic systems.

There is a great deal that can be learnt about how Australian democracy works.

No-one should miss the irony in having this explained by Ricky Muir: “I do not have a long political past to speak about. I cannot speak about a time where I was a staffer for another senator or member or speak of time spent in university whilst completing a bachelor of political science. I do not have a long-seated history with a traditional party with deep-seated policy positions and rehearsed catchphrases to sell. And I do not mind”.

Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health.

Senator Muir’s speech is at

http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F0e04f51c-90a0-44db-b9b2-2bbc9d548cae%2F0145%22