give us back our DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS!
Gypsy,
You only need three names with phone nr & address and you have a petition according to the Constitution of Australia.
You address it to the Governor General & by constitutional Law of this Country it has to be brought before Parliament & read out & acted upon.
Forget the nonsensical 20,000 signatures, the pollies know they're not obliged by constitutional Law to act on just signatures. You need a proper petition to his/her Excellency the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Then & only then will it be taken seriously. Get one more person to sign & we're off.

@Neutral: the “Tea Party” introduction was done by the editor. The ‘tea party’ does not really carry the same significance here in Australia.

The only ideological slant is the ‘no confidence’ in a government that is seen to be pandering to a few individuals who don’t actually represent the majority of the people.

If either Labor or Liberal was in power under their own steam, close to half of the population would be satisfied, and the other half not so happy.

Under the current government, most people are left unhappy. Most traditional Labor voters would very likely be unhappy with the handling of the refugees, the apparent misuse of HSU members funds to purchase personal services and with the pandering to the Greens. Most Coalition voters would be unhappy with the live export debacle, the punitive mining tax, the regressive carbon tax and the level of debt.

The only happy people would be the rusted on Greens voters, who represent about 6% of the Australian population due to some recent research published elsewhere on this forum.

@jhay I was asked by someone I respect to write an article for this forum. I offered to write the article and delivered on a promise made.

@Yuyutsu – so the will of the people is just a cliché? The definition of cliché is ”an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. “

I am sorry to hear that democratic principles have lost their meaning to you.

In my experience, the will of the people is an important concept – in Body Corporate law, no major spending decisions can be made without getting the owner’s approval. The only power higher than the decision of the Committee is the decision of the Body Corporate (ie the owners).

This Convoy is a convoy made up of ordinary people from all walks of life who feel like they are simply not being listened to.

Ruth,

"The ‘tea party’ does not really carry the same significance here in Australia."

Not yet. However, with the rise of the Greens and their perceived lunatic 'fringeness', an equal and opposite tea party style lunatic 'fringeness' is arising as evidenced in this discussion. The difference being the Greens are a legitimate party with democratically elected representatives.

As the Liberals married the Nationals for their own political purpose, so Labor has defacto'd the Greens.

Attracting a grass roots fringe who are dissatisfied with the current mob without offering a viable alternative is designed to fail.

I turn off the cartoons on TV for my son and take him outside for a game of footy, or cricket, or tennis. I don't turn off the TV, say "that's enough" and leave him wondering what to do next.

The copy and paste list of grievances is a tedious partisan whinge. For what it's worth lists of 500 could be compiled for both the government and the opposition.

Some items are legimate, some are repititive, some are incorrect and some are lame.

If this is the 'official list' to convoy to Canberra, it will be laughed at.

However as a point scoring list to excite the right wing and it's expanding outer fringes it will no doubt be be a big hit.

You say most people are unhappy under the current government and you are not aligned with any single party, then why not form a new party and present your platform, policies and vision?

I don't think I'd be alone in encouraging any Australian to present a comprehensive and coherent vision for Australia backed up with outstanding leadership.

Wouldn't that cure the election cycle myopia of the political professionals?

Dear Ruth,

"This Convoy is a convoy made up of ordinary people from all walks of life who feel like they are simply not being listened to."

Then the simple solution would be to have them sit down in pairs and take turns talking and listening to each other. Another thing which I sometimes do when I want to be listened to, is to write on OLO.

My ultimate political wish, however, is not to be heard by politicians, but to be left alone to live my own life as I see fit.

"I am sorry to hear that democratic principles have lost their meaning to you."

The democratic principles are wrong, because they imply "cratia", ruling over others. In this particular system, the ruler is neither a king, an aristocracy, a church or a tribe, the ruler is the majority of citizens, but still there is a ruler, which is absurd: why should any person(s) have a right to rule over others? If you find yourself at the receiving end, then what comfort can you draw from the fact that your oppressor is not a king but a majority of people most of whom you don't even know?

"In my experience, the will of the people is an important concept"

A bad concept - different people want different things.

"in Body Corporate law, no major spending decisions can be made without getting the owner’s approval. The only power higher than the decision of the Committee is the decision of the Body Corporate (ie the owners)."

Body corporates are voluntary bodies, the state is not. A shareholder can simply sell her shares and walk out at any time, a citizen may at best (if lucky and healthy) migrate into the jaws of another state (which then usually requires leaving behind one's home, projects, friends and family).

I see nothing wrong about the politicians doing what they want, and not even listening to me or to anyone - so long as they to so with their own lives, not with mine!

"The democratic principles are wrong, because they imply "cratia", ruling over others. ..... why should any person(s) have a right to rule over others? If you find yourself at the receiving end, then what comfort can you draw from the fact that your oppressor is not a king but a majority of people most of whom you don't even know?"

Because like it or not, unless you live in a remote mountain with only un-maintained dirt-tracks for roads made by yourself, and live entirely off your rainwater tanks, home-grown food and solar panels- and never make use of any infrastructure network- you would be drawing resources from a public body and will be situated in a place where your actions affect others (as much as you want to believe otherwise)- and as such, warrant to be subject of whatever the determined best system of managing these resources and mediating behaviour towards other people is- and who better to ask than a census of every other person using these resources and on the recieving end of your acts, also?

Dear King Hazza,

Firstly, there are ways other than living on a remote mountain to minimize your impact on society. You could for example be part of a group (or groups) whose members live independently and interact exclusively between themselves.

Secondly, the government as it stands will not let you off the hook even if you were to live on a remote mountain. They are simply control-freaks and cannot swallow the idea of someone living freely on the land and not bound to them. Of course they would cite such arguments as you brought up - resources and action affecting others, but I wouldn't believe for a second about their integrity and purity of motives.

Yes, such issues as resources and affecting each other do emerge from time to time, but this crazy solution of ruling over others (even with the fig-leaf of equal-voting) is sick and disproportionately cruel.

Instead, the gradient of common-sense solutions include:

1. Ignore and forgive. Most issues are too trivial to fuss over.
2. Communicate. Let them know that what they do hurts you.
3. Call for cooperation.
4. Negotiate.
5. Threaten.
6. Self-defense. Use whatever force is needed to solve the issue, but no more.

Taking the severest approach as the first step and on a permanent basis, assuming the worst and bypassing the inherent goodness of our hearts, is plainly sadistic. Any form of rule, including democracy, encourages sadistic bullies to float to the top.

We have our lives, or what's left of it. Some believe that we live only once, others that we get more chances, but everyone agrees that our sojourn as humans is rare and precious. Why then waste it - and force everyone else around to waste it, on being part of a society of which one does not want to be a part?