An excellent article Dr Woldring.

I would add to the list of reforms:

1. Scrapping the Westminster system in its present form; or at least incorporating Citizen Initiated Referenda.
2. Changing our adversarial legal system to something which benefits someone other than just the legal fraternity.
3. Enacting a Bill of Rights, with real power, as part of a determined shift in constitutional reform.

I fear, however, that the general public is all to happy with their McJobs which allows them to buy cheap Chinese consumables for their McMansions to concern themselves with any of this stuff.

Dr. Woldring, that is by far the best article I've read on OLO in a very long time. I feel quite refreshed for having read it through. We've had a tired and stale old political system in place in this beautiful country for far too long. A system that is crying out for change. Whether or not Kevin Rudd takes on board any of the changes you propose remains to be seen, but many Australians are begining to stir and look for political leadership that will provide solutions to future problems and maximise opportunity for their children and grandchildren.
The trouble is, and I hate to put a negative spin on my post, FU2 is unfortunately most likely correct. The economy looks good on the surface, but at the cost of enormous personal debt. Because the economy gives the impression of 'sailing along nicely' people are generally happy with their lot in life not realising, or afraid to admit, that the present economy of the Western World is, as somebody put it, "like a deck of cards." At present they have a wide choice of employment opportunities thanks to Australia's current prosperity, mostly due to mining exports, but at the same time, I sense an undercurrent of fear. Anyone with an once of intelligence must realise that we can't keep going on the way we are in a country run by an old man with outdated ideas tied to his hero Prime Minister of a bygone era. This country needs vision and leadership, especially as we move towards a future of climate change and less (probably forced) reliance on fossil fuels. It doesn't matter who is in power, but they must hasten to stop the downward spiral of inventivness that once saw Australia as a World leader in science, technology and education.

O please, the politicians as the bastions of reaction exclaiming "the revolution we have to have." It was not that long ago that they called for "the war we had to have" which we are still paying for. Mr.Rudd is expressing rhetoric to dress up further inroads into privatising the public schools with new spin. Both Labor and Liberal have gone to great lengths to carry out a wrecking operation in the public school system and to turn education into a big money maker for their cronies. This grasping layer with their politics of 'me first' or 'you voted for us and we are going to make you pay'for it views parliament as a 'help themselves candy store' where everything is for sale including national treasures and resources. And they all have their snouts in the trough.
What still counts is not what people say but what they do - particularly what is their historical record? For instance, you can imagine what is in store for the majority of the population if the governments are putting the boot into the disabled, the pensioners, hospital patients, university students, medicare and childcare. O childcare doesn't exist it is in the hands of the profiteers. And who has forgotten both Liberal and Labor carrying out massive job destruction called privatisation and then at the dole office the same government rogues saying "why haven't you got a job?"

I really like this article - between this, and the recent article on income equality:

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5424

We begin to see the realistic alternatives for the Australian economy.
For too long, the Left has been languishing in Western society - Nick Cohen recently wrote a good piece in the Guardian lamenting the fact that the left had been left without a compass, due to the success of capitalism.

He's right. Capitalism has more than proved it's superiority over other market systems, though this has meant that the modern economic intellectuals have swooned. We haven't seen such devotion to a market system since Adam Smith first penned the basic overview of the free market economy.

Few seem to acknowledge that perhaps the best way is to embrace the capitalist system, but perhaps not take it to extremes - there is a third way.

I think these two articles point the way, with the changes suggested here to be followed by a economic model mirroring that of Scandinavia as the best outcome for the maximum number of Australians.

Klaas, you failed to mention whether Rudd can get us out of the net or political doctrine that Bob Hawke got us into. The classical term is economic rationalism which the Libs are now at full bore, paying homage to American industrial racketeering creating a marketing and political system which robs the poor to pay for the follies of the rich.

Even though it is a fact that economic rationalism does in fact mean economic common sense, similar to liberty and freedom, these terms have been abused so much in modern marketing lingo, that our public has been deliberately dumbed down regarding their true identity.

As Adam Smith might say, it is all to do with management. The need for a very discreet government with the understanding that though a free market does mean letting go the human shackles that hold back needed competition, the government must be conscious that to its detriment, competition is based on the greed to beat others, or the urge to win a medallion that might prove useless in the end.

Could believe that the populous right now, with the failures in Iraq of modern military means against more primitive means, might prefer for us to return for a time to the grass roots.

We thus might add that the global consensus at present might be better to be one of a search for better understanding

Reckon Kevin Rudd might have that in mind also. Let's hope so

Dr Woldring. Interesting read. You didn't seem to appear to include your explanation on Education.

Poor education, as well as not providing us with the skills to evolve and move forward, produces some real social and financial problems.

Education is a, if not the, key area to be focused on. Without education people wont have the understanding and skill to identify and solve all the other problems.

Integrity, transparancy and excellence in education should form the foundations on which to build on.