Toowoomba’s water vote shows the potential risk in sending every issue to the people, write Peter Mares and Brian Costar.

Marian Sawer describes how the Democratic Audit of Australia has separated out the values of political equality, popular control of government, civil liberties/human rights and deliberative democracy in order to highlight the threat posed by populist majoritarianism. Attacks on the 'non-elected' intermediary institutions essential to accountability and rights protection in representative democracy undermine popular control...

The Coalition parties only received 45.09 per cent of the first preference vote in the Senate but won 21 of the 40 seats up for election, or 52.5 per cent of the seats. Scott Brenton analyses the relative lack of proportionality in the Senate, and some possible improvements.

Larissa Behrendt looks at the background to the abolition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. She argues that, in spite of some shortcomings, ATSIC made an important democratic contribution and its demise has left much of the Indigenous community lacking a voice in policy debates.

With the changeover of senators on 1 July 2005, Marian Sawer looks at democratic issues posed by government control of both houses of the Australian Parliament, particularly in relation to legislative review and executive scrutiny.