Why Australians citizens are ahead of the political class when it comes to electoral reform

A response to George Megalogenis's Quartlery Essay

George Megalogenis’s new Quarterly Essay is called Minority Report: The New Shape of Australian Politics and it is worth your time. What follows is not a formal review but a response to the issues he raises. We agree on a lot, but in the end, we see the matter from quite different perspectives and that provides an opportunity for a productive discussion.

Ostensibly, as the title suggests, GM’s essay is about the rise of independents within the Australian political system, or more broadly, the way in which Australia is moving towards a crossbench of independents and minor parties holding the balance of power after the 2025 election. He explains the shift in demographics that has underpinned that trend, and a considers whether what happened at the 2022 federal election was a one-off or the first major step in a permanent realignment.

A key part of the essay’s value, for me, lies in the insight it offers into the thinking of that part of the political class who aren’t comfortable with thes…