Politics for the Twenty-first Century
by Jay Somasundaram [0]
A couple of thoughts have been mulling around in my head. I’ve put them in point form, since some are synergistic, but others perhaps mutually contradictory.
Individual votes are almost valueless. If an electorate has ten thousand voters, that is 1/10,000. A drop in the ocean. C’mon who are we kidding that voting is that important? In any event, what do we expect from an investment of half an hour every three years or so? If we were really serious about achieving good outcomes, we would be actively participating all year round.
The Liberals and Labor are taking the Greens and the Nationals for a ride. Neither of the two smaller parties is getting the power that they deserve. If I were in these parties, I’d force their partner to start the ball rolling for a proportional representation system on the lower house as a mandatory condition for their support.
The Greens and the Nationals actually have a lot in common. They both want similar outcomes, but come at it from opposite directions. If they could work together, their joint plans are likely to get the balance just right
The twenty first century is about collaboration. Unfortunately, our system actually works against collaboration. We demand differences in policies. We demand an entertaining circus, with each party at each other’s throats.
• We actually don’t need a parliament to pass laws any more. With modern technology, every individual could vote on every Bill. Or use statistical sampling.
• Rather than just before an election, we should demand that every party choose their candidate at the beginning of the previous term. Then each candidate will have three years to prove themselves to the electorate. If I were the Greens (or an independent), I’d be building the infrastructure for the next elections now. I’d be head-hunting captains of industry who have opted for a sea/tree change, and offering them either electorates or senior party positions.
• Perhaps the party system has outlived its usefulness. Perhaps we should vote for the local person we trust the most. Have everybody run as independents. Once elected, they can get together and chose the best among them as leader. The way it works now, we have handed over power to the Big Business bosses or the Big Union Bosses. Now, if someone wants to stand for parliament with any chance of winning, they have to sell their soul, their only choice is deciding which of the two majors is the lesser of two evils. See how the big parties sell the party system – “a vote for an independent is a vote wasted.
This is the twenty first century. Why are we still driving a model-T Ford?