The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercise this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage and mandatory voting. No legal impediments prevent women and indigenous people from holding public office. However, historical patterns of bias against women and the deleterious effects of poor educational achievement and a generally inferior socioeconomic status for indigenous people have contributed to their underrepresentation among political leaders. The percentage increased from 14 percent as a result of the 1996 election. There are no Aboriginals serving as M.P.'s.
Government officials are cooperative and responsive to their views.
The law prohibits discrimination based on the above listed factors, and the Government and an independent judiciary vigorously enforce the prohibition. Women Social analysts and commentators estimate that domestic violence may affect as many as one family in three or four. The Government recognizes that domestic violence and economic discrimination are serious problems, and the statutorily independent Sex Discrimination Commissioner actively addresses these problems and other areas of discrimination. Government statisticians state that, because of underreporting and the lack of an agreed method for collecting statistics, it is impossible to provide an accurate national profile of the number of women who are victims of domestic violence. Women have equal status under the law, and the law provides for pay equity.