Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This parliament is the cauldron of Australia's democratic national conversation, and those of us privileged to be elected to sit here are its custodians. I'm proud to be a parliamentarian, and I'm proud to represent the people of Dunkley. But, like the people in my community, I am deeply concerned about the loss of trust in our democratic processes and governments. Less than half of all Australians are satisfied with the way democracy works. Trust in government has had a 20-year slide from 48 per cent to 26 per cent.

I was elected on a promise to be a parliamentarian that works to address this decline in trust, and I intend to keep that promise. We must have better behaviour and processes for accountability in the parliament, starting with reforming question time. We must have better integrity in the political system, starting with a federal ICAC and a return to upholding the principles of the Westminster system of responsibility. I also believe that all elected parliamentarians should have to undertake ethics training, sign up to a parliamentary code of conduct and engage in ongoing education and training.

We must strengthen our democracy. We need to start with an Indigenous voice to parliament, respecting the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Four-year terms is also an important reform. And, of course, we must look to becoming an Australian republic, where our citizens can look to an Australian as our head of state. These aren't the only things we need to do, but I'm putting them forward as practical examples of how we can bridge the divide. (Time expired)