The 2025 Australian Election Study produced by ANU and Griffith University is out. For the first time, it provides new evidence on what citizens think about proposals to strengthen Australia’s democracy.
Amongst all the juicy data was this gem — when given a choice of democratic reform ideas, respondents rated Citizens’ Assemblies as the most-favoured reform option.
The survey posed questions on four potential democratic reforms for Australia: four-year parliaments; term limits for politicians; more/less referendums; and a Citizens’ Assembly.
“The reform proposal which attracted the greatest support of all, at 48 percent, was to have a Citizens’ Assembly, described to respondents as ‘a body made up of randomly selected citizens who consider important policy issues and advise the government’. This follows from democratic innovations in citizen assemblies around the world, for example the Irish Citizens’ Assembly.”
“Significant proportions of Australians are open to ideas to change and improve the way democracy works in Australia.” (p.23)
