Australians are increasingly frustrated with how they're being treated by politicians, with MPs told to authentically engage with young people as trust in democracy erodes.

Holly Rankin, a singer-songwriter who performed under the name Jack River before starting cultural advocacy firm Sentiment, used an annual Speaker's lecture at Parliament House to decry politicians locking themselves in ivory towers.

About nine in 10 Australians had little or no trust in political parties and half didn't trust traditional media, which was dangerous for democracy, she said.

"The public hasn't lost trust in politicians because they can't nail a TikTok dance, they're losing trust in politics because they can't see it working for them," she said.

This included underpaid nurses paying more tax than some

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