Congratulations on a very good post sypaladin. I could not agree with you more.
But, there are two things that really get under my skin.
The first is the way that the Senate has the ability to block the will of the people. By that I mean that the elections for the House of Reps and the Senate are currently misaligned, so that you get the situation that the dregs from past elections, are hanging about the Senate like smelling old prawns, and stifling the capacity of the newly elected government to make the changes they were elected to do.
The current situation is a classic example. I heard the failed Treasurer (and Immigration Minister) Bowen speaking yesterday. The way he was talking, you may get the impression that his mob, being the Labor/Greens coalition, have some sort of mandate to control legislation.
Well, he does not. His mob were flogged, whipped and beaten, and thrown out at the last election. He should be too embarrassed to show his face, given the litany of failures coming from his "government".
So, tying the full Senate election to the House of Reps election, would fix this problem, as the result would truly indicate the mood of the electorate at the time. Probably save taxpayers some dough as well.
Secondly, the Australian media, in general, is woeful. In fact, it is pathetic. The levels of bias and overall incompetence in journalistic ability, is beyond belief.
Yesterday is a prime example. The media managed to convert "a wink" from the PM during a radio interview, into some sort of irrefutable evidence that he is a sexist pig. How outrageous. Of course, people like SHY were given airplay to defame the PM, and the "media" lapped it up. Is this the best this media can do? Apparently, it is. It is no wonder so many of them are being sacked and their organisations are going broke. It's no wonder Hockey is suing Fairfax.
And then, you have the "journalists" who's ego is bigger than the moon. I won't name them, but these types are convinced that "they" are the news, and everyone else is merely a bit player.
Seriously, it is no wonder the political debate is off the rails and way away from the major issues. Either the "journalists" don't understand the major issues, which is what I suspect, or they just prefer to play the man (or woman) because that is easier for this lazy bunch.
