Australia’s democracy is being stretched thin, with each federal parliamentarian MP now representing almost four times as many people as at Federation. That leaves MPs stretched and voters disengaged.

This lack of representation affects political engagement. This paper proposes that more MPs would increase the talent pool for ministries, reverse the growth in physical size of rural and regional electorates, and make MPs more responsive to local communities and local issues.

The paper posits that an expanded parliament does not need to be expensive. Most costs associated with MPs are to meet electorate needs. These resources can be redistributed to new MPs. A simple way to improve representation while keeping costs and headcount under control would be to expand Parliament by 50%, but go back to three electorate staff per parliamentarian.

Key findings

• Whereas at Federation there were 51,000 Australians per House of Representatives MP, there are now 184,000 Australians per MP.
• The last substantial increase in parliamentary numbers was over forty years ago, in 1984. Australia’s population has grown by 11 million since then.
• A 50% increase in the number of MPs would be needed to bring back the level of representation Australians enjoyed in the early 2000s.
• Few Australians have spoken with their local MP (8%) or would feel comfortable doing so (21%).
• These metrics have worsened in the nine years since the Australia Institute first polled Australians about their relationship with their local member.