About this season
This 3-part docuseries tells the remarkable story of Australia's democratic system. Annabel Crabb unearths the individuals and stories behind the features that combine to make Australian democracy globally unique.
Episodes (3)
1. Fairness
Aired 10 November 2025 • 49 min
We begin with one of the enduring oddities of the Australian electoral system - preferential voting. Vaunted by mathematicians and theorists as a fairer way of voting. Adopted, uniquely, by Australia in 1918.
2. Disruption
Aired 17 November 2025 • 49 min
In the early days, Parliament House hosted an all-male conclave of politicians and newspapermen, sharing a cramped environment and a complex code of conventions and mutual dependency. But the age of disruption has arrived.
3. People Power
Aired 24 November 2025 • 52 min
Democracies operate according to rules, but they also change. Sometimes at the hands of visionary or power-hungry leaders, sometimes in response to external forces, and sometimes as a result of people power.