Re your post which included; "... Our current quality of politicians on both sides of government leaves a lot to be desired. I'm not a fan of political parties, but obviously political parties are the only way a country can be governed effectively. ..." "... Maybe we need another political party that is more balanced to reflect a realistic view of Australia's future. ..."
Labor's origins stem from workers' movement in the late 19th Century. It endures as the ALP & still claims to be the party of workers & small business.
Bob Menzies is credited with the rebirth of the 'conservative' side of poltics as the Liberal Party. Prior to that it was the UAP & before that the Nationalist Party. Today's National Party used to be the National Country Party & before that the Country Party.
Then there's the DLP, The Democrats, One Nation, the Communist Party of Australia, Families First, the KAP & The Greens.
The point of all this is that under our fraudulent colonial era Constitution political parties come & go; they get rebadged from time to time & along the way experience huge variation in public support.
My biggest concern is not parties per se; it's their short term political survival focus that has mitigated against longer term thinking & planning. Our system is an adversarial one that is poor at delivering generally agreed outcomes - on display at its disgusting worst this week!
Nor is our choice of government a guarantee of our political leaders - the PM & the GG for example - & suddenly the real interests of mainstream Australians have been blurred. Then add in the ability of the High Court to overturn government without reference to anyone & without us having elected them & things look decidely sick.
The separation of powers between the States & National Govt. are also blurred & the place of local govt. decidely dodgy. In 1975 the GG sacked our PM & his government; re-asserting that power of the English monarchy over Australia should the occasion arise again.
That's our Constitution circa 2012!
IMO we need a visionary leader to initiate a process that will deliver us a new constitution, one that: . Properly documents who we are as a people, our origins, our history & in particular which embraces Aborigines as the indigenous occupants of Australia before European 'settlement'. . Provides for fixed term, 4 year parliaments that can only be removed by a majority of 60% of all national pollies - similarly with the position of the PM, GG & senior judiciary. . Provides for the direct election of key leaders & of senior members of the judiciary. . Clearly delineates between the powers of regional & national government - we must remove duplication / overlap / uncertainty. . Makes our senior judiciary accountable to the people. . Ensures whoever becomes leader that they have the authority to govern effectively - guarantee the PM bonus MPs [those closest to being elected?]. . If we persist with a bicameral parliament, that both houses meet & vote as one in the event of any deadlock. . And and and and ....
