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The Forum > Article Comments > Voters punish those who tell the whole truth > Comments

Voters punish those who tell the whole truth : Comments

By Graham Young, published 27/5/2014

Like the last, this parliament looks as though it will be obsessed by who lied, and didn't, and just what constitutes a lie.

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Great article . Voters always get the politicians they wanted and deserve and then they complain about it. Lets improve the quality and standards by which we elect our representatives and we will get better outcomes. Elections are a great way to continuously improve democratic models and narratives.
Posted by Macedonian advocacy, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 10:17:50 AM
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…Welcome to Australia…The “Disney” world of Hotchpotch politics. In this world the lobbyist, with two percent representation, controls the outcome for the remaining 98 percent: And this situation is projected by an elite class of tightly controlled Political representatives, as Democratic; nobody in their right mind would accept this reality as reasonable!
Posted by diver dan, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 11:29:47 AM
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Don't have to worry on that point Graham?
Nobody is guilty as charged on that score!
I mean, their lips are moving aren't they?
Perhaps we need go all the way back to the Knights of the round table, to find truth and "Right Honorable" men?
[Like he, the legendary wick dipper, who used his Lance-a-lot, for Queen Genevieve?]
Who said what they meant, and meant what they said; as an actual element in "democratic politics"?
Unfortunately, that was also yet another work of fiction!
Perhaps it was written by a "politician", well versed in in the art of the oxymoron?
Perhaps the voters could read it and develop a well found habit of punishing those who lie?
Perhaps they already have!
Labor's stocks seem to be sinking faster than the titanic?
And like the band that played the same old tunes, even as the icy waves were closing over them, had no other solution, than to swap the deck chairs around!
All while playing that perennial favorite.
Be kind to your fine feathered friends, for a duck maybe somebody's mother?
Accompanied by the big base drum that went, B yarda boom, b yarda boom, b yarda boom, boom!
Now there's a nice quickstep, with lots of pirouettes?
Don't laugh, this is really really serious stuff here!
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 11:38:13 AM
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And.. To reinforce the above view; a wealthy tycoon steps up to the front door of Parliament in his Rolls Royce to expound the corruption and dislocation of the system, on behalf of the 98 percent unrepresented by the blatant corruption Australian Politics has descended into! (I did notice, on this mornings TV news)!
Posted by diver dan, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 11:39:22 AM
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Macedonian Advocacy is correct in writing:

<<Voters always get the politicians they wanted and deserve and then they complain about it.>>

Yes, we all, over the long run, get what we deserve.

<<Lets improve the quality and standards by which we elect our representatives and we will get better outcomes. Elections are a great way to continuously improve democratic models and narratives.>>

Thinking we can fix things using elections or similar superficial tactics is delusional. Nothing can change this fundamental law of nature that we reap what we sow and only that.

We are beset and preyed upon by the political class. They are there to suck our blood, they are there to cheat us round every corner.

- But they wouldn't be there unless we deserved them.

The only remedy is for each of us to ask ourselves: "What have I done that is similar and how can I refrain from doing the same in the future". "Have I tried to control others?", "Have I been lying to others?" - "If so, how can I stop this habit?".
Posted by Yuyutsu, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 12:16:08 PM
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Graham,

Your argument only holds if both major parties are free to lie. In that case, the party that refuses to do so may well be at a disadvantage. The way to fix this is to extend the laws against false and misleading advertising that already apply to the consumer goods and services that we buy to election promises, with severe consequences for breaches. These would apply to the winners of the election, the Opposition, and minor parties and independents.

The courts could decide whether a particular election promise is false or misleading. If a promise is broken straight after the election, that is good evidence of a lie, and the courts can deal with it. If a promise is broken later on and it can be argued that keeping the promise is no longer in the public interest, then a citizens' jury could be called and the situation properly explained to them. If they agreed that the promise needs to be broken, then this could be done without repercussions.

As it is, people generally assume that anything the politicians tell us is a lie and probably in the interests of the lobbyists who fund their election campaigns. Most of us regard them with the respect they deserve.
Posted by Divergence, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 12:26:48 PM
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