rudd labor may hit miners, page-82

"...but certainly most people today expect the government to look after most aspects of their lives."

I don't know that "Most people today expect" the government to interfere in most aspects of their lives.

I for one start to worry when I need a government to legislate when and how often I walk my dog, or which internet sites I should view or how many drinks I should buy/week and which drinks are OK.

These are the sort of legislative measures that are brought about by the loud minority not the silent majority.

I believe that one of the reasons that referendums fail is because they are a rare opportunity for the majority to have their say and indeed they often demonstrate the persistence of the minority who insist on revisiting failed referendum items over and over again.

It may be argued that elections provide the majority an opportunity to have their say but I would argue that they are a better opportunity for the active minority to flood the media with their narrow views.