I believe any objective review of our Representative form of Democracy, would have to admit it has been eroded over time. As a direct result, many people have lost faith in their ability to influence the direction of their lives.
Successive federal and state governments have introduced laws that restrict the ability of the ordinary Australian to participate. Very few people have the money or resources to stand for any level of government. Unless backed by a political party, church organisation or business group.
There are a number of ways we could endeavour to restore faith in our political system. Some of these are as follows; cap the money spent by or on behalf of any candidate, do away with blanket voting for the Senate by removing the LINE on the ballot paper. The voter would then have to mark every box. Scrap compulsory voting and introduce fixed terms, thus removing opportunistic snap elections. Giving the electorate the time to truly assess a government's performance. Most importantly, insist on equal electronic media coverage and limit lead times prior to an election.
Better still, we could move to a Direct Democracy system. With a population of little more than 20 million, it would be easy to introduce a system similar to California or Switzerland. We could hold referendums quarterly, with the added ability for citizen initiated referendums, if 10% of the population so desired.
There are probably many other options, which would enable the people to have a greater say in how our country is run. But I believe something must be done, no one could deny the increasing loss of the citizens rights and privileges over the last 20 or 30 years. Those we choose to elect no longer listen to us, they now tell us what is good for us! Sad to say they often have gotten it wrong.
John A Neve
email address supplied
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