I’m going to call it. The QLD election marks the death of democracy as we know it.
And I for one will be dancing all over its grave.
The Queensland election was a shock. No one saw it coming. No one even thought such a massive swing was possible. But swing it did.
And an unpopular premier is left swinging from a tree.
And arrogant politicians and pundits on all sides, guys like George Brandis, are left bemoaning the ‘unprecedented volatility’ that’s taken hold of the electorate.
Like there’s been some inexplicable surge of volatility, like some freak of nature, leaving hung parliaments and one-term governments in its wake.
And as if somehow the electorate is the problem here.
The way I see it, the electorate is waking up and is not willing to be treated like idiots anymore. It’s great.
But this, if you’re part of the governing class, is a problem. A massive problem.
And what Brandis and co. are really bemoaning is the loss of the first term window – a window where you got to push through whatever partisan and ideological rubbish you wanted to (and that nobody ever voted for), safe in the knowledge that a forgiving electorate would give you another chance.
Sticks in the first half, carrots in the second.
But now that that window’s gone, how are they going to be able to do the stuff that no one wants and no one voted for?
Like asset sales in Queensland. Or bumping up the threshold for anonymous political donations from $1,000 to $12,000. (What possible argument is there for decreasing transparency around political donations?)
And what these governments seem to keep (conveniently?) forgetting is that a vote ‘against’ is not a vote ‘for’.
Campbell Newman got in because Queensland was tired of Labor’s shenanigans. In the same way that this week’s result is about punishing the LNP, not about endorsing a bunch of Labor nobodies that no one has ever heard of.
But Newman took it as a license to do what he (and his financial backers) wanted.
And that’s the trust that was broken. We voted for you to get rid of the other guys, not so you could just come in and do what you want.
Same story with Abbott. We were willing to overlook the fact that he was a monarchist nut-job, so long as he could wipe the smirk off Rudd’s face for us.
So when he turns around and gives the Queen’s cuddle buddy the highest possible honour in Australia, we feel ripped off – betrayed. Hey! You didn’t have a mandate for that!
And this is the crux. We feel like our politicians aren’t representing us. They’re pushing their own ideological, partisan, corporate or union factional agendas – right over the top of their constituent’s interests.
We feel unrepresented, and this make us justifiably angry.
And then we take that anger to the ballot box and do the only thing we can. Vote against the people who’ve betrayed us.
Leaving a growing string of one-term governments in our wake.
But then we only end up voting in another bunch of useless clowns whose sole promise has been to be ‘not like the other mob’. But we soon find that they’re exactly like the other mob, and so back to the ballot box we go.
But Australia is getting tired of this.
And so this is not about Abbott or Newman or Rudd or whatever that new blokes name is.
This is about the great lie at the heart of our democracy.
Representativeness.
Our representative democracy isn’t very representative, and the Australian people are slowly waking up to it.
This first point is about local members. There’s about 100,000 voters in each Federal electorate.
How can one person possibly represent the views and interests of 100,000 people? It’s absurd. My local member doesn’t even know my name.
But the idea is that he or she goes in and represents my interests in federal parliament – in the house of representatives.
Rubbish.
But even if they could some how take stock of the diverse range of views held in a single electorate, what freedom would they have to act on it?
Almost none.
They’re totally bound by party lines.
Now I don’t have any influence over party policy, so if my “representative” is just a puppet for party policy, how much representation do I have then?
Less than none.
What’s more, I only get to let my unrepresentative know what I think every two or three years. And at that time, I’m voting on a whole suite of policies.
So what happens if I passionately agree with the government’s direction of tourism marketing, but passionately disagree with their allocation of sports funding?
What do I do then? I’ve only got one vote.
(Sod it. I’ll just vote for the one with the nicest hair.)
The idea that we live in a democracy is a joke.
We are all completely disenfranchised.
And that’s because the system was designed that way – a veneer of freedom slapped over rolling dictatorships. And for over 100 years it’s worked well (for them!)
But it seems to me that we’re waking up to it. We realise that our governments don’t represent us, and our anger is creating increasingly volatile electorates.
And I wonder if this is all because we are getting a taste of what true democracy is like. If I can vote on the fortunes of some Justin Beiber wannabe on X-factor, why can’t I get that kind of say of government policy?
Not just who happens to be leader, but all government policy.
We’re approaching a tipping point. The people want to be heard and to be truly represented. The establishment is not willing to give up their right to govern (rule?) and do what they want.
It’s an inherent conflict.
This is the stuff that revolutions are made of.
Phil says
Would be great to have online voting / referendums wouldn’t it. This could be linked to your Government ID, which you now have to have for all of your Government interactions, so that only Australian citizens could vote. Not only that, we could do away with many of the useless politicians since we wouldn’t need as many ‘representatives’ to carry our voice. Sounds like good economics to me.
Andre says
With face recognition and your drivers licence it wouldn’t cost so much to have an election. And a helluva lot quicker than searching through a wad of paper for your details before you can vote.
Simon says
ideally with a small test of rotating questions to prove that you understand the issue before you have an opinion on it, like the nuclear power debate, q) the coal burning power plants in the latrobe valley emit how much uranium into the atmosphere? if you don’t know the answer is 2 tonnes, then your opinion isn’t properly informed,
Campbell Newmans bully tactics saying that electorates that voted against him wouldn’t get any money, it’s not his money, and those voting against him are paying his wages, he’s paid to represent them as well, now the ALP in Qland will prob employ another 60,000 public servants designing new red tape and ways to fine us.
imagine ancient greece, after the people decided they were too busy to stop work every time someone wanted to vote on something, and sent a representative to vote for them,
‘how did we go?’ ‘we lost’ ‘what? -who voted against us?’ ‘well I did for one’
he’d need to be a fast runner
ek says
NO Phil…. Electronic voting is a FRAUD, my friend!! Please do some search on US elections… We have to remove “preferential” voting system for a start.
PeterinBrisbane says
And I thought you were a sensible fellow. Queenslanders have voted for higher electricity charges, lower exports of profitable products, lower employment, continued borrowing without the capacity to repay, and if your local member doesn’t know your name that’s because you’ve been too lazy to introduce yourself.
Tom says
Nobody has made mention of the utter HIDING given to Clive Palmer in the Qld election. He poured a Titanic load of money into his advertising, which was probably very effective in unseating Newman’s mob, but the people have now seen through him. Jackie is lucky that she has disassociated herself from his sway and gone completely Independent – otherwise she would have gone down with the Titanic at the next Federal election. The Big Fella would be well advised to go back to mining, full time!!! Forget about Political life!!!
Nathan says
Democracy fails when the people come to realise they can vote themselves FREE STUFF.
People have to be cured of the idea that govt can solve all problems by new laws and taxes. Minimal govt, and honest courts are the only way to restore power to the people. We don’t have either.
On the side of the Occupy movement, I agree with the problems, just not the solution of more govt. Govt is always the problem. “Power corrupts and total power corrupts totally”. Only way to avoid that is to divest power to smaller & limited groups. Most powerful should be the family.
Communism and totalitarian govts have arisen and originally had the support of the people because of the oppression by the rich and powerful. Russia with it’s Czar, Germany with it’s banks, China with it’s dynasty emperors, many south american & african countries with their corrupt leaders.
We need a revolution but not a turn to yet another totalitarian state. We need freedom and liberty with justice.
Andre says
Perhaps the next logical step would actually be to extend the media polls to a wider population through electronic voting so that local government could get a better idea of what the people most want. That would form an idea “ranking” system and/or a YES/NO GO! system……politicians would have a clearer understanding and direction the constituents want them to take on local matters. I hate to say it but “Bring out that godawful LIKE button”……but give us an UNLIKE button as well.
Helen says
Love love love todays’ scribe Jon !! Thank you as always for the laughs. Yeh yeh lets start online voting for what we actually want – surely some computer whiz can make that happen!
peter says
This idea sounds great but how would it work? Not only would it slow the process of government down with just about every vote requiring a referendum but it would institute mob rule. Most of the population are poorly educated and think emotionally not logically. The majority have little understanding of economics, business, science and technology. All of these come into play for modern Government decisions. Government ministers (with an army of technical advisers), as we know, still get it wrong let alone a mob of Joe Blows sitting half-pissed in a bar watching a big TV screen and pressing ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to vote on their mobile phones. Anger not argument would drive decisions. Hanging parties would become common. eg Capital punishment would almost certainly get a ‘yes’ vote in Australia. Possibly Pauline Hanson would be elected PM at some point with Senator Lambie as her deputy. The mind boggles.
STEVE says
There was a film by Peter Cook & Dudley Moore (can,t remember the title) with this exact theme, it was impossible to run the country as the whole time was spent organising referendums with mountains of paperwork.But now we all have computers,maybe not such a bad idea.
peter says
No Steve it would still work out much the same. The actual voting would be electronic and immediate though electronic voting has already been found to be corruptible. But the pre-voting publicity and information to the public would still have to occur for each question. It could be just as funny though. People have limited tolerance for voting as it is let alone umpteen times per year. Each vote would have to have considerable and different TV entertainment value or voters would get bored and not bother. Perhaps a discount scheme could operate where you could allocate to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for the next six referendums in a row to save you the trouble of voting each time. But that may be getting back to what we have now.
Brett says
Having multiple referenda works in Switzerland. Has done for a long time, I see no plausible reason for it to not work here. If you think pollies are that bad put your hand up and have a go yourself at least join a party or start a party yourself. As it stands our voting system is a very good one. First past the post is simplistic and stupid when scrutinised.
The main problem with the present system is you get rewarded for being a good party member over being a good rep or m.p.
And as bad as you may think a Jaquie Lambie is their are many less competent and less honest in the press gallery and on the back benches.
On the ppls . It’s about the economy stupid. A professional couple have no children. Contribute 80 years work life to the economy. Another professional couple have 3 children. They contribute 60 year work life directly to the economy ( one takes 20 year out to raise the kids). And another 90 years of work life indirectly through their children. This is why we need to encourage our couples to have children, it’s about our present and future economy “stupids”. Maybe Abbotts ppls is not without flaws. But if we don’t want to end up like Japan, we will have to lift our birth rate.
peter says
Good points Brett. But on referenda, Switzerland took until 1971 to give women the vote! This in a well educated, prosperous western country that hasn’t been devastated by war or invading religious zealots for centuries. If referenda had been the go in Qld for the last century, they would probably be still debating whether to give aborigines and immigrants equal rights.
Ken says
Quite amusing. Very funny. What planet are you from. Australians have more respect than a lot of other countries do. Let’s keep the idiots that come here from other PLANETS to a minimum.
Sowrabh Behl says
I dont live in QLD, so not up with the news over there…
but heck – that’s one BIG call Jon.
Much bigger then your call of the interest rate drop i’d say. LOL
Graham Wright says
Always loved your ‘thoughts’. But this time it seems like you have particularly nailed it!! Thankyou. But to what effect???? G
Maddo says
Great article, I agree fully, stuff the politicians, they are only in it for themselves and their mates.
John from Perth says
I agree with the first part of this article but it is not practical to pick and choose what we like and don’t like. There are trade offs – eg. how much tax we want to pay and how much government spending we want. The parties need to present a package of policies that they believe is best for the country and has been properly researched and costed. The problem comes when parties buy votes with spending that can’t be afforded. It seems like both parties have fallen into that trap. Voters on a whole are not stupid they know handing out $1,000 cheques of tax payers money to back packers and for colour TVs is bad for the country. Abbots PPLS showed he was a nutter, The knights and dames thing was just icing on the cake. The best thing Liberals can do is get rid of Abbott and replace him with someone that presents the Australian people with well thought through policies based on liberal values of reward for effort and small efficient government.
Eileen says
I am sick of this Liberal party row about the leader. I think changing the captain on the Titanic wouldn’t have changed anything. I’m not saying the ship’s going down, but you get my drift? If the government can’t get legislation passed, do you think a new face on the Liberal party leadership would change anything? I agree with the PPLS being dropped, I thought the award to HRH Phillip was ridiculous, (on Australia day too) although Labor gave him an award first…..nah nah nah nah nah nah! I’m sounding like a pollie now!
Qld were in quite a dilemma with the state election, put Campbell Newman in his place or vote Labor! God help NSW if we do the same thing to the Liberal party! The reserve bank took the unprecedented step of advising the government that if we don’t reign in debt now, we may never be in surplus again! Never, in the history of Australia…………………….That’s scary!
We are reaching the point where people on the gravy train of benefits are outweighing the tax payers who aren’t. We cannot allow this to continue. If I were in charge of benefits, I would do exactly what Scott Morrison is about to do. I just hope he goes far enough!
al says
You avoid the obvious we ARE individuals who ARE saying changing the captain of the Titanic is the obvious because – WE are the passengers who CAN see the iceberg/s and you are right the other award shows NONE of them are different – what’s changed is – ‘our no more nonsense’ capacity ‘putting up with it’. However these ‘gilding lilies’ issues arise politicians are quickly learning where they do not sincerely -‘support this country’… that is the resounding point.
Privatising our government managed ‘assets’ etc, etc and on it goes – selling the country down the drain to privatisation and it’s all ‘part’ of what creates – expands debt
and contributes to the ‘annoyance’ of the voters as soon as they have their
opportunity to have their say, it’s obvious.
Historic Australian companies closing is one measure against unfettered mismanaged
imports – etc, etc showing how hard it is for smaller companies to keep up with dirt cheap imports etc … loss of jobs etc .. beyond any/all of this – the tyrannical nonsense – is 1 hour of any person worth more than any other – the root of all stupidity (collective human equality) where disease thrives.
Fixing that one draconian platform will fix the entire global financial crisis for ever free all debt on a once only necessary basis – globally – ‘clear the decks’ and start again equal. No more new versions of any system that trades in inequitable levels of ‘money’- time worked is the measure.
No work – no credit given. It is not any more difficult to monitor this ‘concept’
– regulate than every current processes and (is even easier) if thought about ‘you’
will see why)) – all or every person will be both (when young accruing if still at home and/or if not) provided with credits as ‘earned in accord’ with participating in contributing to a collective continuance of global value.
I note that ‘way’ because we are now living – trading in that ‘collective’ manner and Politician’s, Judges – Corporate leaders etc- etc are not exempt – NO-ONE is – from acting in a manner that permits any ‘above and beyond’ entitlement i.e. If they really WANT the best for all people they ‘claim to serve’ – they must be equal to the people they serve – NO privileges above and beyond.
You should now understand – no faces have personal power – certainly no ‘ego’s in government.
The one current times aspect that affirms global financial systems must be reviewed is the basis that we all have inequitable dollar values across entire world – what crap – why is this accepted?
The evil bank owners are the truly totally rotten at the core banks and American gov’ts – collusion farce, as long as the ‘bank owners’ have their club
membership ranks supported by tiering pyramidal underlings supporting their ‘personal systems’ expanding ever more – nothing will change …?
Aren’t we a ‘lucky country’ (but can I forgot politicians never piss in those ‘personal’ pockets)?
Don’t forget you complained about ‘people being paid benefits’ for ‘not doing anything’- are you prepared to name any politicians’ being paid totally ‘gregarious
amounts’ as we all contribute too that effectively contribute and expand (‘pyramidal
private corporate government banks’- what is China?) (just another one?) wake up … there are (or were – ha ha ha ?) thousands ready to take Abbott’s cat cream bowl.
Abbott is (and now was) a giant ego now on a mission of serious humble pie – his timing as a politician is just another perfect serious lesson for any next ‘bozo clown’… propping up perspectives – concepts that are antiquated and its time for a bully to get his pay back for being a ‘first class smart arse’ when in opposition and not seeing his own ego on television – just look at how he walks (or did?) its blatant – he is a ‘tough guy’ ego – a late night pub brawler in the view that he ‘is invincible’ – not likely – welcome to reality Tony … smartarse Anthony … and Joe and the rest of the henchmen twerps gang – Julie Bishop should leave them for her own credibilities sake. … that would serve her well permanently ..
Ken says
Al, good writing, but I personally think that a dictator is like a leopard. they can’t change their spots. Abbott the Rabbit and Newman(n) can’t even believe that they have done the Australian people an injustice. This is evident by the fact that they basically keep saying that the people want GOOD ideas, THEIR ideas. They are still not listening to the people. If the Labor Gov. (to be yet decided,) don’t learn from both their mistakes, They will get rolled too. I believe if you haven’t got a mandate to do something, have a referendum. That’s democracy, a bit annoying, but it may create stable Gov. Jon, a lot of people saw this coming, but not to this degree.
Tim Wilson says
I think we just have an electorate who can’t see the need to spend no more than we earn and want their government benefits preferred over any other legitimate call on government expenditure, I think if you did go and spend some time with our pollies you might change your negative view and realise that a good proportion of them are working very hard for their communities and the country. You could perhaps meet some of them in your local bushfire brigade or surf life saving club for instance.
Paul says
Always remember that government’s primary mission is to maintain its own viability, regardless of the impact the necessary actions have on the people who put them in place
Kerri Pitts says
There are some issues that are just too important to leave in the hands of politicians. many of the portfolios could be scrapped and replaced with truly independent expert bodies (yes, I mean real experts… you know the ones that are actually qualified, rather than opinionated amateurs). Through a peoples plebiscite an specific issues, such as the environment, telecommunications, immigration, infrastructure… we could vote after digesting the expert analysis. Once upon a time these issues were bipartisan, because they were too important to be politicised… this is no longer the case, and the average Aussie is being bombarded with BS from both sides of politics. This might sound utopian and naive to some, but what we have at the moment in chaos… and the voters are not the problem. I’m not a starry eyed youngster, I’m a woman in my sixties who actually wants to leave my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren with a healthy, robust, inclusive Australia.
Brian Geoffrey says
Thanks for your muses Jon; well said but what solutions other than revolution because that hasn’t gone so well in many places?
whatever says
um you’re all missing the point…these wankers just lie to get themselves elected and then break promises at will.even the beloved Peter Garrett turned out to be a massive hypocrite because he got smashed by” the way we do things around here”.the country is run by overgrown children who have nothing to offer but “i wouldn’t do it the way the opposition did” call me part of the problem but i refuse to vote for a dickhead or a turd sandwich,that way i don’t get disappointed,its just easier to make the most of what you get served up.the people that run this country are old and embarrassing and we just pay them more each year to decide our fate,and keep paying them when they retire.the whole system is a cruel scam.we just get charged more taxes to pay for their hookers and holidays and retirement funds.i just hope that parliament time isn’t broadcast overseas,so the rest of the world gets to witness these tossers in action.THIS GOVERNMENT NEEDS AN ENEMA!
STEVE says
STEVE•4 minutes ago
There was a film by Peter Cook & Dudley Moore (can,t remember the title) with this exact theme, it was impossible to run the country as the whole time was spent organising referendums with mountains of paperwork.But now that we all have computers,maybe not such a bad idea.
Darren Crawford says
One of your best Jon – spot on mate. Cheers, Darren.
Ivote says
OMG your comment ….”Same story with Abbott. We were willing to overlook the fact that he was a monarchist nut-job, so long as he could wipe the smirk off Rudd’s face for us”. If this has become the reason we Australians vote people in, then God help us and believe me he won’t because that attitude is just stupid. As far as everyone wanting to be represented for what he wants, you must be living in coocoo land with the Greens. Really, people, grow up, we are heading for a financial hiding and just pretending (Like Labor) that it is nothing to worry about is just grossly irresponsible.
Ken says
I think and hope Jon was speaking for Abbott, about wiping the smirk off Rudd’s face.
Lets be fair says
Don’t forget Bob Hawke in 1988 gave Prince Philip the Order of Australia. So none of this one rule for Labour & another for Liberals
Ken says
I think The Order Of Australia is a huge difference to a knight. Some people will come at any excuse. I think one is for accomplishment, the other is for bowing and sucking. The latter is something the real Labor people are against.
Peter O'Hare-Hunter says
ExcelIent writing Jon. I could not have said it better. Democracy can work a lot better. Take your time and Google it up. To long to explain here. But in Switzerland, they have real democracy. Every canton is represented with their own districts. THAT’S DEMOCRACY! The western democracies don’t want to know about the Swiss democratie; the bobo politicians here know that they can’t push things trough our throats that we did not voted for.
Merlin says
I have no time for the present crop of so called politicians either feds or state, and that goes for the local council too. All they want to do is rip us off for their own satisfaction. It is time to scrap the compulsory voting system. Under this system pollies do not have to work that hard because they know that everyone must vote. All they have to do is convince you not to vote for the other idiot. But it will be a real fight to scrap it because the pollies know this. If it was scrapped then they would really have to get out and work to know all of the “voters” in their electorates just to convince you to vote. But I don’t think it will happen in my life time.
Possi says
Compulsory voting cannot be called democratic in any guise. Also, let’s vote for no more State governments ……………………….Federal and Local government would be more than enough and would save us millions as well.
Bridgette says
I agree whole heartedly with you John.
Governments are paid by us, the tax payers ie they are our employees, and not our kings.
What puzzles me the most, is that no qualifications are required to be a politician – yet these are our leaders. In no other profession would this be tolerated. How does a politician become Minister of Health with no Health qualifications – and then in a cabinet reshuffle, become the Minister of Finance?
And then of course the lies – with video evidence as to what was promised, and the opposite happening. This should be a fireable offence.
With the internet as the most amazing tool available in most people’s homes, we should be able to vote online on each policy before any decision can be made – I think they do that in Switzerland.
Oldstew says
I think at the end of the day whoever gets the most primary votes should govern regardless and if they fall short of the numbers required then they have a limited time to get other parties to join there side otherwise hand it over to the 2nd party with the most primary votes – it is absolute B.S. that one party receives the majority of primary votes in any electorate only to get knocked of the podium because preferences went to another party to increase there numbers
MikeAtOz says
Of course if we had a first past the post system that would lead to some issues
With 3 parties to vote for, we could get a split like 30%, 30%, 40%. 40% would win.
Sounds OK.
But what if the first two parties were slightly left and middle of the road and the 40% was extreme right? So now we have a very right wing Government which 60% of the people voted against.
I believe this happened in the UK not so long ago…
No, I think the Australian system is a lot better.
Here we can say, If I don’t get my left wing government can I at least have my middle of the road government but definitely not the right wing one.
Problem is, any system can be manipulated, some worse than others
Oldstew says
Notably taken but the way things are now we just ain’t moving forward, although we may or may not like the Right or Left Wing etc. but it may just get us moving in the forward direction. Take Federal at the moment you just can’t have one or two men hold the balance of Parliament, people from the PUP making comments like “No matter what gets put forward I’ll always says no” What hope is in that of moving forward?
MikeAtOz says
I absolutely agree. The worst government is a hung parliament because at best only half an agenda can be implemented and the political point scoring just amounts to sabotage. Power for power’s sake is very damaging.
Also, I do believe that nearly all politicians first enter the field with a strong desire to do good for the country, but the political system itself can lead to too much compromise.
Thanks for the comments.
By the way, Jon, Interesting article as always.
Phil B - Melbourne says
John,
Brilliantly well said. Clear and concise.
If I had my way, people living on government handouts and not contributing to the society that we live in should NOT get the vote. Bludgers and parasites vote for handouts NOT for responsible government.
On the other side of the coin the coalition is nothing more than a joke, due to Liberal dominance the ‘so called’ Country Party no longer gives a shit about rural dwellers.
Does antibody have an opinion about the coalition sponsored ‘Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)’, the secret deal that Tony Rabbit is part of brokering which will sell our nations sovereignty to multi nationals organisations, giving them the right to do what ever they feel like with impunity and sue us if we don’t like the crap their laying on us.
If Australia signs onto the TPP, it will give multinational corporations the power to sue the Australian Government for decisions they claim may impact their investments in Australia.
Like, due to the Australian-Hong Kong treaty the US global cigarette and tobacco company, Phillip Morris is suing the Australian Government over the introduction of plain-packaging laws.
Forces all around the world are banding together to stop the TPP from going ahead, to ensure their governments can’t be sued for making decisions that are in the public interest. But will they carry the day when the deals and negations are done in secret and without the consent of the people.
ek says
Thank you, Phil. You seems to be an “aware” person. Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) must explained to people to show how insidious that agreement is about. I have written our local MP J Macklin in July 2014 and she has not replied my letter. These bloody politicans do not represent us nore care about us. PERIOD.
Those who are interested in TPP, please read this report:
https://wikileaks.org/ tpp2/ static/ pdf/ tpp-treaty-environment-chapter.pdf
and more information on GM free Australia;
http://www.geneethics.org/
We must wake up to the fact that they are running a CORPORATE Australia….
Jon, this is a good article. Thank you. We have to use and/or remove our CONSENTS correctly. Everytime we vote, we are using our consent. In order to take our power back, we do need EVOLUTION (nor revolution!). By removing our consent, we take our power back. Please do google search on Bradley Loves who has been writing articles on consent issue. I highly recommend people to read Bradley Loves articles. They are pure gem.
Andrew says
Agree, try reading – The End of Politics and the Birth of iDemocracy by Douglas Carswell, simliar sentiments from other UK & Europe
andrew blanchard says
they are not for us they are puppets on strings working the agenda of the the people who own and control most of the world
Ian in Adelaide says
Interesting perspective. Winston Churchill said of democracy “democracy doesn’t work but it’s the best we’ve got”. So what could replace it? Or can we just make it better? I am troubled by the fact that junior executives in very large multinational companies earn more than the Prime Minister of Australia which has a greater GDP than many multinational companies. Ever heard the saying “throw peanuts and you get monkeys”. Put up the big salary and get quality applicants. Another problem we have in this country is the focus on the “me” and the “sense of entitlement”. Remember Kennedy’s famous line “ask not what the country can do for you but ask what can you do for your country”. Asian people look at our attitude to our country with frustration for the Asian view is “the community is more important than the individual”. We all want our pet mission in life to be paid for by someone else – an example – I was prevented from developing a block of 500acres of bushland by the pressure of the “environmentalists”. I have been a mere wage earner all my life so that ruined me financially. It has taken me 14 years to get funding to fence the property to protect this land deemed by others as “precious to the community” but wanting me to put my money where their mouth was. Incidentally the funding did not come from any of the noisey, self interested pressure groups or the government. The best thing we can do to keep democracy working for us is to get on our elected members radar and make that person continually aware of our issue together with suggestions for resolution. Grizzles alone don’t work as well as well thought out suggestions. Regards to all.
g says
Jon, this is your best one – and like a lot of them just good common sense. Its also nothing new. Many people in my circle have been having similar thoughts/discussions for many years. We must take back our real power, which rightly belongs with us and not them..who-ever the them is on the day. You have 101% nailed it. The big problem is the “how do fix it”. you mention revolution, no problem – that could fix it, but who is going “to get out of bed” to do it. If you recall there was a call to boycott just one of the big 4 fuel companies for just one day..to send a message. Great idea, and it would actually work very well, but “but’ it fizzed out due to lack of interest. So they (the fuel companies) happily continue to screw us over, why…because they can. No other reason. This is only one of many small examples of that I could point to. We all agree – the “system” as we know it is broken and passed its use by date. There are various good solutions. The issue is the ‘how” How do we actually get the “mass-mob” engaged to say no we don’t want to play this game anymore, here are the new rules that the ‘mass-mob” has agreed to. Lump it, like or get out. We must change our entire approach but they will never want that to happen as all they care about is protecting the system that currently protects them. Lets work on the “how solution” – we all know the problem. How can we make it happen so that the people rightly have their power back in their hands where it belongs. Good luck as a lot of people are really ready to bring down the current “system” and replace it with strategies that give us genuine voice and accountability as to how this great Country is run. Cheers G
Jack says
umm, re the boycott BP for a day that comes around every few years, just looks to me like a bit of viral marketing instigated by shell/caltex that most punters fall for, and probably has the instigators rolling in the aisles
Glenn Jackson says
Current Abbott liberal party squabble over leadership, sounds like a group of soccer mums arguing about a training time for their children with the local coach. Absolutely embarrassing for the nation. Instead wasting your time over who you think will or won’t get you another term in government, how about running the country & making smart common sense decisions that move this great country of ours forward. That could get you re-elected.
Ian says
Well said Jon.
But there is one thing you are missing. The lobbyists! I have been informed that there are 300 lobbyists from the coal industry alone in Canberra at any one time making their rounds. Some of their postulating has to stick somewhere, and us voters don’t get a chance to talk the same.
It was reported that the coal and oil industry representatives wrote the Howard government’s environment policy. Fat chance for looking after the environment.
I was told by one Greens MP that when he privately went to introduce himself to the members of the newly elected Liberal government in NSW it was like Yes Minister. The new members didn’t have a clue, and were gullible to anything said to them. No wonder the lobbyists have such an easy time.
We need MPs to honestly represent the electorate, and not be hijacked by the lobbyists.
Alex says
Man, I love the way you get to the crux of the matter. 1 No politician works for their electors. 2 We do not have a say or any influence on our elected representatives. 3 Our so called democracy is mob rule. In the true meaning of democracy you would need as close as possible to 100% agreement before implementing. In our systems case you only need 50.0001% to rule over the other 49.9999%. But then the system could not be easily manipulated. And that goes against the grain of our owners.
Tash says
This is the trouble with compulsory voting when the population doesn’t understand that a ‘donkey-vote’ or voting for the Marijuana Smoker’s party does not translate to exercising their democratic right. It is a wasted vote or a vote for, in most cases, a Labor/Liberal front. This is what needs to change, because God knows, the nature of politicians never will. In the process of dumbing us all down I don’t think the politicians even anticipated it would extend to people’s voting behaviours!!
Darryl says
Party politics has never been representative of their employers, us. This fallacy of two party preferred polling is a joke when very many people don’t prefer either party but don’t have much choice where their vote ends up with the preferential votes system.
Meg says
Labor and Liberal are like Punch and Judy… While the masses are distracted by their fighting the same guy is pulling both their strings. Labor hands out lollies and treats, running up the deficit. Then Liberal comes in and sells off the family cows to pay for Labor’s folly. Around and around it goes. The one direction it takes us is further into debt and poorer and poorer in assets. Makes me suspect the ol’ puppet master is the banks.