"I for one welcome our insect overlords" - The Politics Thread

[pjennings]

As for popular leaders. Austalia has had very few. Curtin and Chifley have some claim but only Menzies and Hawke can really claim to be widely admired and respected.

 

[Insertnamehere]

Fightback was a lot more than a 15% gst. It was the abolition of bulk billing, the abolition of awards, tax cuts for the middle class and upper class. Cuts to welfare.

Standard neo capitalist manifesto. Americanise the country

 

[pjennings]

For those who think that the MSM is balanced what editor allowed this racist headline.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Murdoch press v female, lesbian left winger with Asian heritage .
Couldn't help themselves I expect

 

[Insertnamehere]

Fmd

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

Fmd

Oh my god, we deserve the climate apocalypse that is coming.

 

[Insertnamehere]

Oh my god, we deserve the climate apocalypse that is coming.

Its the slow americanisation of our country. a collapse socially, economically and environmentally.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

Its the slow americanisation of our country. a collapse socially, economically and environmentally.

The endless cheerleading of one side, this is my side who I am going to vote for no matter if it is in my actual interests to do or not. Does no one read actual policies? So many people I know talk about how they would like an alternative, there are alternatives out there in our system, you just have to sit down and go and investigate smaller parties' and their policies. People have died to protect our right to vote yet so many can't even be bothered to put in an hour or two of work to ensure that their vote is informed and what they actually agree with. People didn't have to vote for Bill Shorten, and except if you live in my bloody electorate you didn't even have the option to! The fact that so many people dumbed down the election to it being Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten was inane, you are voting first of all for your local member of parliament in the House of Representatives and then to elect senators to represent your state, at no point were you voting for Bill Shorten or Scott Morrison. If you don't like Bill Shorten elect someone else to hold him to account or tell your local Labor member of Parliament who you do elect, because you agree with their policies not Bill Shorten's personality, to not support him as leader. You could also vote for an indepedent as most electorates had at least one this election. And in the Senate you have a huge plethora of small centrist, right, left parties who desperately want your vote, it is never just Labor or Liberal and our system of preferential voting means that if you do vote for a smaller party your vote still counts to who you prefer between Labor or Liberal when it comes down to it.

 

[midfielder]

Some history and its a vid that goes for just under 3 minutes.

Its the then extreme right talking answering a question from a young student whose question is also asked today... the answer provided by the hard core right of the day would be considered extreme left positions today ...

 

[Insertnamehere]

The endless cheerleading of one side, this is my side who I am going to vote for no matter if it is in my actual interests to do or not. Does no one read actual policies? So many people I know talk about how they would like an alternative, there are alternatives out there in our system, you just have to sit down and go and investigate smaller parties' and their policies. People have died to protect our right to vote yet so many can't even be bothered to put in an hour or two of work to ensure that their vote is informed and what they actually agree with. People didn't have to vote for Bill Shorten, and except if you live in my bloody electorate you didn't even have the option to! The fact that so many people dumbed down the election to it being Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten was inane, you are voting first of all for your local member of parliament in the House of Representatives and then to elect senators to represent your state, at no point were you voting for Bill Shorten or Scott Morrison. If you don't like Bill Shorten elect someone else to hold him to account or tell your local Labor member of Parliament who you do elect, because you agree with their policies not Bill Shorten's personality, to not support him as leader. You could also vote for an indepedent as most electorates had at least one this election. And in the Senate you have a huge plethora of small centrist, right, left parties who desperately want your vote, it is never just Labor or Liberal and our system of preferential voting means that if you do vote for a smaller party your vote still counts to who you prefer between Labor or Liberal when it comes down to it.

It should be simpler for the plebs. Like a dot point facts sheet, that simple.
I’m a massive believer in compulsory voting but between lobby groups, false information smear campaigns, social media bypassing electoral rules and small target candidates, the adage that the biggest threat to democracy is voters is truth.

 

[MagpieMariner]

The endless cheerleading of one side, this is my side who I am going to vote for no matter if it is in my actual interests to do or not. Does no one read actual policies? So many people I know talk about how they would like an alternative, there are alternatives out there in our system, you just have to sit down and go and investigate smaller parties' and their policies. People have died to protect our right to vote yet so many can't even be bothered to put in an hour or two of work to ensure that their vote is informed and what they actually agree with. People didn't have to vote for Bill Shorten, and except if you live in my bloody electorate you didn't even have the option to! The fact that so many people dumbed down the election to it being Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten was inane, you are voting first of all for your local member of parliament in the House of Representatives and then to elect senators to represent your state, at no point were you voting for Bill Shorten or Scott Morrison. If you don't like Bill Shorten elect someone else to hold him to account or tell your local Labor member of Parliament who you do elect, because you agree with their policies not Bill Shorten's personality, to not support him as leader. You could also vote for an indepedent as most electorates had at least one this election. And in the Senate you have a huge plethora of small centrist, right, left parties who desperately want your vote, it is never just Labor or Liberal and our system of preferential voting means that if you do vote for a smaller party your vote still counts to who you prefer between Labor or Liberal when it comes down to it.

Until this election, I have believed strongly in compulsory voting. I'm now rethinking my position. Maybe the fear, smear, lies & bullshit wouldn't be so effective if the ones who don't want to vote didn't have to. Those who do want to vote, in fact those who insist on voting, are the ones who will make sure they are informed and won't fall for the BS. Another thing, all pollies should have it drummed into them that under our current system it's not the most popular, but the least disliked who gets elected.

 

[pjennings]

Until this election, I have believed strongly in compulsory voting. I'm now rethinking my position. Maybe the fear, smear, lies & bullshit wouldn't be so effective if the ones who don't want to vote didn't have to. Those who do want to vote, in fact those who insist on voting, are the ones who will make sure they are informed and won't fall for the BS. Another thing, all pollies should have it drummed into them that under our current system it's not the most popular, but the least disliked who gets elected.

I still believe in compulsory voting but maybe not our preferential system. I definitely do not agree with first past the post but the Hare-Clark system would have given us a completely different result and force parties to work together. At the moment the fringe parties only disrupt the system and are not parties of government. Clive and Pauline can say whatever they want with impunity as they will never have to form a government. The same at the other end of the spectrum with the Greens.

When proportional representation is mandated it forces parties to work together and stops excesses from both sides.

As my final comment on the election result another quote from Gough.

The punters know that the horse named Morality rarely gets past the post, whereas the nag named Self-interest always runs a good race.

 

[MagpieMariner]

What about the NZ system? My understanding of it is a certain number of seats are voted in directly and the balance is proportional. Very simplified I guess if I've got it right.
A benefit of the Hare-Clark system is doing away with bye-elections. A vacancy is filled by the next in the list regardless of party. At least, that's the way it works in Tassie.

 

[pjennings]

Have far have we sunk?

 

[MagpieMariner]

Have far have we sunk?

And only one of the six always had the interests of Australia first & foremost. And make no mistake I'm not talking about Scummo.

 

[SuperHans]

Until this election, I have believed strongly in compulsory voting. I'm now rethinking my position. Maybe the fear, smear, lies & bullshit wouldn't be so effective if the ones who don't want to vote didn't have to. Those who do want to vote, in fact those who insist on voting, are the ones who will make sure they are informed and won't fall for the BS. Another thing, all pollies should have it drummed into them that under our current system it's not the most popular, but the least disliked who gets elected.

I think compulsory voting is important. Voluntary voting would skew the voting population in favour of the more politically educated and more passionate members of society. I dont like the idea that a small elite will determine the future for all. Very uninterested voters can always vote informally, but compulsory voting makes everyone else give at least some consideration to candidates and policies. I DO however think other reforms are necessary. Politicians (especially conservative ones) rant about industries needing reform yet don't look into the mirror and demand changes to their own workplace. I mean our Parliament is over 100 years old for Gods sake, when was it last 'restructured?. When will they have an independent organisation come and do a time and motion study on them? What are their KPIs? What fat can be trimmed from their remuneration and conditions/benefits? Its a huge No No to mislead Parliament by lying to other politicians there (the representatives of the people) but its OK for them to lie directly to the people. Biizarre. How about rigging them all up to lie detectors when speaking in Parliament? I think all pollies must agree to use only public services. Once they have to wait for months or years for elective surgery, miss a vote in Parliament because their bus was late or have their children perform poorly in the local public school will they focus on fixing these everyday issues. They live and work in an artificial ACT environment and that needsto change. We all have views on polices; why do we need a political representative to act (or not) on our behalf? Current tech allows us to answer online surveys, surely political representatives have (or will soon) become redundant? I'd like to see any election promise binding as a verbal contract with the electorate, otherwise it should result in a prosecution for fraud (I think the current definition for which is "obtaining a benefit by deception" which seems to fit nicely).

 

[pjennings]

With another couple of mass shootings in the US now is the time for the US Supreme Court to uphold the 2nd amendment. It should be read as it was written. At the time it was written the right to bear arms literally meant the right to bear muskets. All Americans should have the right to bear muskets - that should slow them down a bit.

 

[pjennings]

The banking royal commissioner, Kenneth Hayne, has delivered a withering criticism of the state of Australian politics, saying trust in governmental and private institutions has been “damaged or destroyed”.

Hayne argued that public debates proceeded by “reference only to slogans coined by partisan participants”.

Scomo's response when asked about his comments "but I did stop the boats and if you have a go you'll get a go"

 

[FFC Mariner]

So he isnt happy with destroying Aussie small business ? Stupid senile old git needs to be put out to pasture permanently. He has done more damage to ordinary Australians with his meddling than any politician.

 

[pjennings]