The Hollowing Out of Democracy: The Crisis of Representation

Why voters feel unheard: shrinking party loyalty, rising populism, and the gap between ballots and power.

Full Title - "The Hollowing Out of Democracy: Managerial Elites, Popular Disaffection, and the Crisis of Representation"

Democracy without control: a forum on collapsing party loyalty, rising challengers, and why voters feel overridden

Join us for a thought-provoking Round Table Forum examining the Australia's current political landscape.

Venue: Jubilee Room of NSW Parliament House, 6 Macquarie St, Sydney

Date: Tuesday, 26 May 2026

Time: 6:00 pm for 6:20 pm

Speakers:

Dr Luke Torrisi

Writer, Poet, Academic Researcher

TBD

.

TBD

.

Discussion

People aren’t disengaging from politics — they’re reacting to it.

Across Australia and other Westminster democracies, voters are abandoning major parties because the centre of decision‑making has moved beyond their reach. Elections still change governments and parliaments, yet core policies persist. Promises are made, then quietly constrained, deferred, or reversed.

This forum examines how representative democracy can remain formally intact while becoming substantively thinner. We will explore the erosion of party loyalty, the rise of challenger movements, and the displacement of parliamentary and constitutional authority by managerial governance, executive workaround, international policy regimes, and commissions exercising quasi‑judicial power beyond direct electoral control.

Taken seriously, this raises an uncomfortable question: whether even a party elected on a mandate for change would find itself unable to act once in office, not because of bad faith, but because the real levers of power no longer sit where voters are told they do.

That gap is now reshaping political behaviour across the spectrum, from Labor and the Liberal Party, through the Coalition, to the rise of One Nation.

This is not a conversation about media narratives or voter psychology. It is about political power, where it now resides, and what restoring meaningful representation would actually require.

Important Information

• Capacity: Due to limited seating, online booking is strongly encouraged. Walk-ins paying cash may not be admitted if the event is fully subscribed.
• Entry Fee: $20 (to cover increased venue hire and associated costs). We are a not-for-profit organisation.
• Dress Code: Smart Casual.
• Punctuality: Please arrive on time - latecomers disrupt proceedings. Allow extra time for security checks.
• Recording & Materials: Photography, video/audio recording, and placement of promotional material require prior approval and are at the discretion of the executive.