We’ve all heard a version of the famous Winston Churchill quote about democracy.

“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried.”

Most people focus on the second part of the quote, but consider the first sentence. Some Australian politicians do pretend democracy, or rather their preferred version of it, is perfect. A democracy where the major party duopoly is protected, no matter that more people voted for independents and minor parties than for the Coalition at the 2025 election.

That is exactly what the changes to the campaign finance laws that the major parties conspired to rush through parliament are designed to do: entrench the major parties and box out challengers.

These changes aren’t just unfair, they’re likely unconstitutional.

We have one of the best democracies in the world — compulsory and preferential voting and an electoral commission beyond reproach — yet it is neither perfect nor guaranteed. Democracy erodes quietly, through rule changes that seem technical, funding models that favour incumbents, and political manoeuvring that narrows who can be heard.

That is why former federal........

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