Broad public support to stop 'undue influence' in politics

One Nation's performance in the SA election is seen as a sign the major parties must do more to reach disaffected voters. (ABC News: Matt Roberts )

In short:

New research shows Australians do not believe the political system is keeping pace with the threat posed by misinformation, undue influence and political self-interest.

More than half of people say they do not feel represented or heard by their politicians.

What's next?

Advocates say truth in political advertising, lobbying and foreign interference restrictions can help restore trust in Australia's democracy.

A majority of Australians do not feel represented by politicians and want laws to enforce truth in political advertising and tackle "undue influence," a new study has found.

Civic and transparency groups are calling for sweeping reforms to restore falling trust in Australia's democracy, which experts have linked to a resurgence of populist "protest" voting at the expense of the major parties.

One Nation's performance in the South Australian state election on Saturday is being viewed as the latest sign that both Labor and the Coalition must do more to reach disaffected voters.

Tackling the threats posed to Australia's democracy by misinformation, foreign interference, outdated lobbying rules and unchecked political self-interest are key to restoring faith in the system, according to the Democracy Counts report released by the McKinnon Foundation today.

The research is based on a survey of more than 4,000 people and interviews with 139 participants to understand their views on Australia's political system.

Despite strong confidence in democratic foundations like compulsory and preferential voting, the independent Australian Electoral Commission and the public service, many people were concerned the system was not keeping pace with modern threats.

Most Australians want truth in political advertising

The researchers found a strong public appetite for reform, including 85 per cent support for more civics education, and 81 per cent backing for legislated truth in political advertising rules.

Popular proposals included requiring publicly funded parties and candidates to produce fully costed policy platforms and ending the use of taxpayer money for political attack ads.

Two-thirds of Australians backed imposing a five-year ban on ex-politicians becoming lobbyists to end the "revolving door" between the two roles.

Heading into the South Australian election, One Nation was backing its chances to pick up votes from across the political spectrum, and supporters say various factors informed their decisions.

A similar proportion of people supported the establishment of an independent agency with powers to track and remove disinformation and foreign interference.

The report identified social media as a major factor in disinformation campaigns run by foreign actors seeking to interfere in Australia's democratic processes.

Many major platforms have stripped back content moderation and fact-checking, leaving Australian voters exposed to deliberately misleading or incorrect information unchecked.

Australians think politicians do not represent them

Apathy toward elected officials was high, with three in four people saying they thought politicians focused on short-term gains and re-election rather than long-term challenges, and felt MPs "mostly" served themselves or vested interests.

About 51 per cent said they did not believe politicians understood or represented people like them.

The prime minister says the country must be "vigilant" against politicians seeking to return to a bygone era of Australia that was less accepting of migrants, following the South Australian election where One Nation overtook the Liberal Party on a platform opposing multiculturalism.

One of the research participants quoted anonymously in the report said they did not know whether "anyone in politics really fights for me specifically".

The McKinnon Foundation is an independent non-partisan group that promotes democracy, political leadership and increased public sector productivity.

Chief executive Mike Baird, formerly a Liberal NSW premier, said the research indicated Australia's leaders were not representing what Australians were feeling.

"That gets particularly acute when you start to go regionally," he said.

Major parties face 'mutual destruction' without change

Mr Baird said findings supported the growing trend of mistrust in the major parties, which was "undoubtedly" linked to the increase in protest votes across the country.

Disaffection with Labor and the Coalition has resulted in a resurgent One Nation and the rise of community independent MPs as alternatives.

"It's not long ago that it was very unusual for major parties to have primary votes less than 40 per cent.

"That's become the norm as they continue to tumble down."

Mr Baird said there was also community concern about the two major parties' attacks on each other.

"There's almost a path to mutual destruction that both major parties are facing because they spend a lot of time telling everyone that the other side has shortcomings everywhere you look," he said.

"Whereas often on key policies there's alignment, and for the good of state and country that's where you should be focusing."

Push for longer 'cooling off' period between politics and lobbying

Democracy Counts campaign director and former Labor staffer Tom Mooney said Australians were clearly concerned about how politics was operating.

He said there was a "hunger" among voters to change the way election campaigns were fought and reduce the "divisive" tone of public debate, address "undue influence pressuring decision-makers" and reform advertising laws.

Mr Mooney said Democracy Counts was bringing together organisations that supported improving the system in Australia.

Centre for Public Integrity executive director Catherine Williams said reforms to lobbying rules were particularly important, noting about 40 per cent of the registered third-party lobbyists in Australia had previously held political roles.

"Our current cooling-off rules are 18 months, narrowly enforced and almost never breached on paper because the code is written so loosely that breaches are barely possible," Dr Williams said.

"We need longer cooling-off periods, broader coverage and an independent regulator with real enforcement powers."