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Democracy

How it works, why it matters and the power of your role in it.

Democracy 101

A voter puts a ballot paper in a cardboard ballot box while an AEC official dressed in a purple AEC vest looks on. They are in King's Hall in Old Parliament House.

WHAT IS THE SECRET BALLOT?

Along with the invention of the democracy sausage, Australia pioneered the modern secret ballot, or the Australian ballot as it is known.

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'WE'VE BEEN SACKED': THE 1975 WHITLAM GOVERNMENT DISMISSAL

For the first time in Australian history, the governor-general dismissed a prime minister and government. How did this constitutional crisis happen?

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Gough Whitlam on the steps of Old Parliament House surrounded by the press who are holding microphones and video cameras on 11 November 1975.

Milestones in Australian democracy