The latest leadership crisis besieging Australia's federal government must be resolved – and quickly. But however it ends, whether it be with Tony Abbott's survival or disposal, it should not be the end of the conversation.

Australian politics is broken, and serious questions need to be answered by the major parties if our system of government is to start working properly once more.

International observers looking in are understandably bemused by the goings on in Canberra. In global terms, the Australian economy is in reasonable shape. There are headwinds – growth is slowing and commodity prices have fallen – but the country is relatively well placed to tackle these challenges. The budget is in structural deficit and needs to be reoriented in the medium-term, but is not facing the short-term crisis that has been claimed.

The average Australian is healthy and wealthy, enjoys decent working conditions and an enviable lifestyle. There are significant problems – the fate of indigenous Australians remains a national disgrace – but there are the means to grapple with them.

What there is not at present is a political culture equipped to deal with these challenges and position Australia for the future. Stable government requires patience, resolve and long-term thinking by MPs. This is impossible in a culture that lurches from one leadership crisis to the next.

When politicians spend more time infighting than governing, when their focus is on achieving greater power, or keeping their jobs, and not on representing the interests of their electorates, the voters naturally lose faith in both them and the system – a malaise amplified by the rise of social media and the 24/7 news cycle.

Complaining about politicians' trustworthiness is not new, but rarely have voters been so frustrated and disengaged. The Labor years under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard descended into farce, in- fighting and vacillation. The Abbott government came to power on the promise of steadying the ship, but has done the opposite, rolling out surprise after unsettling surprise, including an unjustifiably harsh budget, a poorly conceived plan to reduce Medicare coverage, unpopular university reforms and the Prime Minister's gradual retreat on his much vaunted paid parental leave scheme.

Australians have been annoyed, to put it mildly, by the government's attempts to introduce policies they didn't vote for, but they have been equally frustrated by the way Tony Abbott and his senior ministers have justified the surprises – as necessary medicine from a leader who knows better than they do.

This has been especially galling given there is substantial evidence that he is out of touch with everyday Australians, evidenced by his ludicrous decision to award Prince Philip a knighthood. Mr Abbott has been aptly described as "a great wartime leader but not a great peacetime leader" – an alpha male confident in a crisis, but lacking the subtler communication skills necessary to build consensus and sell policies to the populace.

Meantime, Australians are losing faith in the major parties. It is increasingly difficult to articulate what either stands for, apart from a lust for power. It is no coincidence that the vote for minor parties is on the rise. Tellingly, independent Suzanna Sheed was able to take the seat of Shepparton at the November Victorian election, ending 47 years of National Party rule, with a simple strategy: "listening not talking".

Mr Abbott embodies some of the worst of Australian contemporary politics: out of touch, dictatorial and unable to fathom his inability to truly represent the people's wishes. But he is far from alone. If Mr Abbott is removed without a significant reappraisal, Canberra is doomed to repeat the exercise with his replacement.