00:02Australia is going through a major political shake-up.
00:06We're seeing a level of abuse in political debate, which is really unfortunate.
00:13The issue was thrust into the spotlight last month when Indi MP Helen Haynes was allegedly attacked by a man
00:20in a four-wheel drive.
00:21While the incident and motive are still being investigated, it sparked a discussion about attitudes towards politicians.
00:29There's enormous ownership of Helen and a worry that what actually happened to her is an attack on our democracy.
00:36The latest McKinnon Index, which tracks Australians' experience with democracy,
00:41shows a 9 percentage point jump among young men on whether extreme measures such as violence can sometimes be justified.
00:50We need to do more to ensure that all of our community, but young men here in particular,
00:56understand that their voice is important and can be heard.
00:59The index shows nationally our dissatisfaction with democracy has jumped more than six points in the past year.
01:06But in inner-regional Australia, it's jumped even more, to 38.9%.
01:12It's alright being in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, but you've got to look after regions.
01:18I just don't think enough is done to make themselves available for us.
01:22It doesn't matter what we say, nobody's going to listen to us.
01:25Cathy McGowan says while governments have a role to play in finding solutions,
01:30all Australians can help improve the political landscape.
01:34But there's also a role for community to be much more active in holding each other to account
01:39and creating the environment that they want to protect the democracy that they value.
01:44A time for reflection.
