Voting in local, state and national elections is a privilege. Across the globe this is not the case – and the voices of women in particular are not heard. In Australia, to fully encapsulate the democratic process, we all must take our right seriously to understand our potential politicians.

As much as voting in this country is the right of the people, it is also our right to have information about candidates given freely and widely – so an individual can make the best choice for themselves and their families.

Candidates can hide behind their party’s policies but what actually makes a candidate tick is just as important as what party they belong to when the really big decisions about social issues are discussed.

Voters can feel ripped off when their elected official votes in a different way than they would have wished. This is only natural – no politician can make all voters happy all of the time.

But this feeling of deception deepens when a politician’s view was hidden from the public. 

It’s our duty as voters to ask as many questions of campaigning candidates as we can. And it’s the duty of candidates to answer as honestly and openly as they can. Only true transparency can ensure the right man or woman is representing the people.

Honesty about strongly held religious beliefs is one issue. If a politician shares with the population that they belong to a particular religion or faith group, what does that actually mean? It’s not nearly enough information to ascertain whether or not you would or wouldn’t support their views on difficult moral grounds.

Their right to an opinion is not questioned but I just want to know what that opinion will be before voting begins.

Religion is just one example of information that should be free flowing. Do the candidates smoke but hide it from cameras and never bring it up? Could this impact how they vote on the tobacco excise?

Have candidates experienced or perpetrated domestic violence in their lives or the lives of friends and family? Could this impact on their opinion or decisions in implementing recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Family Violence?

So how can we achieve transparency? We ask. We ask again and again at each and every election: How would you vote on this? How would you vote on that? And we listen and remember the answers and work out which candidate would best represent us holistically. We don’t allow ourselves to be fobbed off with nothing answers – we all know politicians are good at those. We want honest answers.

Some say that a politician’s deeply held personal beliefs have no relevance and place for discussion in politics. But if governments continue to be determined to legislate what is right and wrong in regards to relationships, women’s bodies and welfare then yes, it is imperative that this information is known. Deep scrutiny is part of the job description – it’s about time political candidates across all levels of government opened up and gave thorough answers about their belief systems.

The general public is tired of political spin and demands transparency to make informed decisions in the truest spirit of democracy.