Why the crossbench must get really cross

A path to meaningful reform of our politics

The way in which the government is responding to the fact that one woman is murdered in Australia every four days is a reminder of how constrained we are by a political system that, by design, is unresponsive to the needs of the broader community.

Many are rightly angry about the government’s piecemeal response, as independent MP Stali Steggall makes clear in this brief clip ⬇️. Her frustration is completely justified, and I want to attempt an answer to the question she bluntly asks: “For fuck’s sake, what is it going to take for the government to act to keep woman and children safe?”

I want to answer, not just in regard to the issue of domestic violence, but to all the other matters that makes us ask, day in and day out, what the fuck is it going to take?¹