It began almost imperceptibly. But the warning signs are now clear: Australia’s egalitarian heritage is slipping away.

We still think of ourselves as the land of the fair go – where our conduct towards each other is governed by a deep-seated belief in social equality.

But there is a growing tension between that self-image and the legal reality that is unfolding all around us. Equal treatment is under threat.

Those who are designing policies that erode the egalitarian nature of society would be wise to keep in mind that this belief system is entirely home-grown.

It is not the product of some revolutionary movement in Europe or North America, nor does it derive its power from some charter bestowed by politicians.

It is, in the words of historian John Hirst, a “democracy of manners” – an intense belief that we need to treat each other as equals.

This belief system emerged due to the nature of colonial society and flourished after federation and World War I.

As Hirst explains, “Australians achieved that outside politics, and their egalitarianism is more deep-seated and genuine because it is not a political doctrine.”

This democracy of manners owes nothing to politics but it has implications for politics. If Hirst is right about the strength of this belief system, those who ignore it when designing public policy are playing with fire.

Yet that is exactly what is happening.

This principle of equal treatment is one of the main ideas that are known collectively as the rule of law.

It has at least three facets: the first is the requirement that we are all subject to the normal law that is administered in the ordinary courts, not some special law reserved for a special category of people.

There should not be one law for the rich and one for the poor, or one law for the general community and another for people of a particular race or religion.

If the law is to treat people differently, it must be due to objective differences.

It is perfectly acceptable, for example, for laws to treat children differently to adults because children lack the maturity of adults.

But different laws for people of different races or religions do not satisfy that test. This explains why Victoria’s plan to have an Indigenous organisation make laws that apply only to Indigenous people is problematic.

Our own history provides ample warning about the dangers of race-based laws.

The second facet of the principle of equality is that we are all entitled to equal protection of the law regardless of race, religion or national origin.

Yet in October, this country was put on notice about the impact of two years of intimidation and violence against Jews.

The annual rule of law index published by the World Justice Project shows that while Australia’s overall ranking remains unchanged at 11th position globally, there has been a sharp decline when it comes to freedom of religion.

The third facet of equality concerns equality of citizenship – an idea that means all Australians should have exactly the same civic rights.

After the outcome of the Voice referendum in 2023, it was prematurely assumed that equality of citizenship had been restored as the guiding principle of Indigenous affairs.

But Victoria’s plan to establish separate legal infrastructure for Indigenous people makes it clear that civic equality remains at risk.

This is consistent with the findings from the first national poll by the Rule of Law Education Centre which found just 47 per cent of people believe the legal system provides equal treatment for everyone regardless of background.

The poll identified just two states – NSW and Western Australia – where a majority of respondents believe the legal system treats individuals equally regardless of background. And those majorities are wafer thin, just 50 per cent and 51 per cent respectively.

After NSW and WA, the state with the best performance on equal treatment by the legal system was Tasmania (49 per cent – but based on a relatively small sample size), followed by South Australia (48 per cent), Queensland (47 per cent) and, in last place, Victoria (40 per cent).

That poll, which was made public in June, is based on the views of 1000 people and was conducted for the Rule of Law Education Centre by polling agency Insightfully.

When its findings are considered alongside the findings from the World Justice Project in October the message is clear: as a nation we are on notice that the moral foundation for our legal system – the doctrine of equality – is slipping away.

Fewer than half of us – just 47 per cent – now believe the legal system is providing equal treatment for everyone regardless of background. Just as troubling is the poll’s finding that 64 per cent of us believe certain groups are receiving favoured treatment.

What we are witnessing are warning signs. These polls are telling us there is growing unease in the community with the way our institutions are working.

Public policy is increasingly out of touch with ideas that are deeply rooted in Australian society and which should be at the heart of public administration.

Equality and the rule of law reflect Australia’s home-grown democracy of manners. They provide a bulwark against arbitrary rule, they protect vulnerable minorities and establish a framework for even-handed governance that builds trust in our institutional framework.

These ideas are above politics. They are the benchmarks for a system of governance that reflects the true nature of Australian society.