You gotta hand it to Matt Page, there is no doubt whatsoever as to what Matt is for and agin'.

Matt is AGAINST Tony Abbott, democracy, ordinary "xenophobic" Australians, the free press, Gina Rhinehardt, mining, and global warming,

Matt is FOR Julia Gillard, and he is FOR the idea that Australia should end world poverty by allowing the entire third world to immediately set sail for Australia and let the Aussie taxpayer finance their upkeep.

Now, one might assume that Matt's fringe group ideas are not what most Australians want, and that is soon to be reflected in Australia hurling out his beloved Labor government in the next election. So Matt has the answer to that. Hang democracy, let's have government by riot.

If the electorate is just a bunch of xenophobic conservatives who will never accept Matt's peculiar worldview, then "Australians" (presumably, the non xenophobic kind) should just man the barricades and force the elected government to do what Matt wants Australia to do.

Cuckoo. Cuckoo.

Lastly comes from Matt the usual chant of the loony left about how "ashamed" they are to be Australians. Look Matt, if you are ashamed to be an Australian, then wherever you are in the world (I'll bet it is the Anglosphere) please renounce your citizenship and stay there. We don't want you back. And please invite Lexi, Marilyn Sheppard and David S to stay with you permanently.

Could I say something here, Matt? It is this ill disguised contempt for your own people which is the primary reason why the attitudes of people like yourself are so on the nose to the electorate. The more that people like yourself claim to be the font of all human virtue, and the more you sneer at your own people, the more inclined we are to give you, and people that think like you, two fingers full of righteous indignation in return.

Matthew, what a wonderful, insightful article. Well done.
You have written down exactly how most intelligent Australians feel.

Don't be discouraged by the sarcastic comments of Lego and his ilk, because they wouldn't know a reasonable, balanced view on the current political situation in Australia if it jumped up and bit them on the gluteus maximus!

Many people I know have abandoned the two main political parties of this country for the exact reasons you have outlined.

They are sick of the petty boat people paranoia amongst the racists in our society, they are sick of the petty infighting, and they are sick of not being able to read about the real issues and policies that should be dominating politics.

Suseonline, "the real issues and policies that should be dominating politics"

That would be the six years of political scandals (and protecting the offenders!), high taxes and wastage of taxpayers' money.

Rudd does his travelling spectacle while the union heavies who frustrate democratic processes and hijack policy are untouched and free to do the same again. What about the thousands of low wage earners who are obliged to pay union subscriptions they can ill afford, only to find the money lost to corruption at the top?

The elephant in the room is the corruption that Labor would prefer the public to forget and by doing so, ensure its continuance should they continue in government.

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1st To quote you "the total number of asylum seekers that have arrived on our shores since 1975 is just over 31,000."

Here are the real figures.
Asylum seekers arriving by boat, 1 July 1975 to to 31.12.2012.
48,856 That is a difference of 17,856 so you blatantly underestimated the real figure by more than 50%.

You can add around 12,000 (estimate only 2 to 3 thousand per month) or so from January 2013 to now.

http://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/parliamentary_departments/parliamentary_library/pubs/bn/2012-2013/boatarrivals

2nd The ones who overstay there visa do not cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars, because they are working and are not eligible for welfare legal aid etc.

3rd To quote you "over the past four years, over 95% of "boat people" were found to be legitimate refugees and granted temporary protection visas" YOU forget the important part ONLY around 10% were checked properly.

Matt, a thoughtful open letter that raises a number of important issues. Part of the problem you face in creating an intelligent debate is having the usual froth at the mouth ignoramuses being first off the rank with their invariably ill informed comments.

There are a number of things that could be done to strengthen Australian democracy, although the difficulty one faces is the entrenched belief of those who think that the present system is as good as it gets. You know from living In Europe, as I did for many years, that better systems are available. The present voting system here allows huge swings in the numbers of seats held by any given party that are not an accurate reflection of their voting support. It allows for example, a fringe group like the Nationals to hold seats in the House while the Greens, with three times their voter support have only just achieve their first seat.

Other areas of potential reform include having a Bill or Charter of Rights. Australia is the only major democratic nation that does not have that fundamental protection. Are we so exempt from bad government that we don't need one? The experience of the past 40 years would suggest not.

The huge concentration of media ownership is another area ripe for reform. There are many others. I hope that your letter sparks an intelligent discussion although on past form it would be unwise to hold one's breath.

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