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There has never been a year quite like this one. A psephologist’s democratic dream.

In 2024, up to four billion people worldwide will have the opportunity to vote. Of course, political choice is much freer in some countries than others.

There are pantomime democracies. Democracies under threat. And I hope there are new democracies to emerge in the years ahead.

Australian democracy

Of the many reasons to be proud of our country is our rich and stable democratic traditions. Australia has been a global champion for democracy.

In 1902, Australia became the first country in the world to grant most men and women both the right to vote, and the right to stand in elections. In 1924, 100 years ago, Australia made voting compulsory.

This rapid recognition of democratic rights and obligations was not without its flaws. The exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples fundamentally undermined our democracy for decades. But even in the depths of war, Australians have been deeply committed to democracy.

John Curtin

When John Curtin became leader of a Labor government in October 1941, democracies were in retreat across much of the world. Australian troops were fighting Nazi Germany in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Within two months Australia was also at war with a militaristic Japan, and the possibility of invasion loomed large.

Curtin was determined that the emergency would not compromise our democracy. He ensured the Opposition was represented on the Advisory War Council, and he kept Parliament appraised of developments in war. In the face of an existential threat, political differences were muted.

These were perilous times. Japan’s lightning advances through south-east Asia and the Pacific in 1942, including the fall of Singapore, brought Darwin within range of its bombers. Australia’s defences were stretched thin.

Basic goods were rationed, including clothes, tea and sugar, and later butter and meat. But even these hardships were not enough to stop the 1943 federal election. Despite the demand on the country’s limited resources, Curtin’s government made sure the poll went ahead.

This history comes to mind every time we hear the tired complaints about the cost of holding elections. As though hearing the people thorough their vote is some kind of luxury.

Australians living through the horror of World War Two knew better. They knew that democracy wasn’t some optional extra, saved for easier times. Holding an election in those circumstances was a bold assertion of the value Australians placed on their democracy, and an act of defiance against their foes.

Democracy today

Democracy worked then – spectacularly so. Not only did democracies – in alliance with the Soviet Union – win the war. They also won the peace, establishing the rules and institutions that fostered decades of global growth and prosperity that lifted millions out of poverty.

And democracy continues to work. Democracy helps us debate the issues that matter, and take decisive action to address them. To create the world ‘as it should be.’

It is our challenge to keep making this case. In this building, the power of democracy is everywhere. It is in the landmark legislation we have passed to tackle climate change, to enshrine our emissions reductions targets and climate action into law.

It is in the decisions we have made to drive the energy transition, and position our country to be a renewable energy superpower. Including through our investment in a Future Made in Australia. We see it in the protective steps we have taken, most recently with the establishment of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Anti-Corruption Commission. That Commission has jurisdiction to investigate the conduct of all federal public officials, including every single parliamentarian.

I share the Commissioner’s vision that the Commission must become a ‘respected part of the machinery of our democracy.’ Respect for democracy is also at the heart of our plans to enhance the integrity of our electoral system. By reducing the threshold for public disclosure of political donations. We are also proposing limits on donations and campaign spending, and truth in political advertising laws. Again – we take these steps because we know democracy works, and it is our job to protect and preserve it.

Conclusion

Australia today is vastly different from the country John Curtin led. We are not at war. We are far more diverse, and far more prosperous. But now, as then, we are a proud and vibrant democracy. That is the common thread weaving through our history, and uniting us today.