Did the Howard Government Undermine Australian Democracy?

Lewis comments on an article by Rae Wear, in which she argued that the Howard government (1996-2007) promoted a dangerous form of "top-down populism" that undermined Australian democracy. Wear also argued that this populism is illustrated by the Howard government's willingness to take up aspects of One Nation's policy platform, the use of wedge politics to secure the government's position and minimize dissent from the Labor Opposition, a neglect of minority rights and the diversion of resources to appease rural and regional voters.