The adoption of a charter or bill of rights would represent the final triumph of elitism in Australian politics: the notion that typical citizens, elected by ordinary Australians, cannot be trusted to resolve great issues of public policy, and that the really important decisions should be taken out of their hands and given to judges who, after all, have a superior capacity to determine these matters.

The three great guarantees of Australian democracy are a robust parliamentary system, an independent and incorruptible judiciary and a free and sceptical press.

Our parliamentary system has many flaws but ultimately it sets the tone of national debate and ought to be the ultimate decision maker. It is the identifiable and collective representation of public opinion.

For as long as I was in Parliament, and I am sure it will continue, there was a periodic concern about a perceived decline in the public's respect for the institution of Parliament.

The explanations were many and varied. Politicians were only interested in themselves; they misbehaved at question time; they were too partisan; there were too many professional politicians with a diminishing number having had real-life experience in business, genuine community service, a profession or a trade.