We have a distrustful and disillusioned electorate; a professionalised political system that frequently alienates the sort of people we should be attracting into parliament; a public service that has been found wanting; an excessively secretive approach to information and accountability; media that are too often driven by clicks and ratings; and social media that debase political discourse more often than elevate it.

All this invites the questions: is our democracy failing us, and how can it do better?