Certainly shows the Canberra ex-Public Servant tradition of opposing the Coalition is alive and well.

On transparency I dimly remember the Leader of the Opposition was internally elected. What has he done and said since? Notable by his absence?

His 'small target' strategy suggests that he, Tony, has much to hide.

We, the voters, will find you out, Tony! Your every weakness will be revealed as more and more voters realize just how cunningly you conned them with three-ward slogans.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall!

So many people seem to very short memories. What about the previous six years of government by thought bubble, the internal ructions of the governing party, the lies, the rediculous posturing? I doubt Mr Abbott and his team will be making rushed or hasty decisions.

Also I note the author didn't offer his solution to the problem of boat arrivals.

I despair that we have any party capable of governing. After the disastrous ALP government of recent memory we are now heading, I fear, into the pit of right-wing fanaticism where the present mob's rich mates will be looked after and the rest of us, including the environment, can get stuffed. What have we done to be punished by the LNP in Queensland and in Canberra?

On the bright side, with Labor on the nose for many years to come and the Coalition following some obscure instruction manual on how to alienate the electorate, perhaps more people will go for the 'Indi Option' and search out local candidates who will represent their community. Something has to be done to burst the bubble of self-serving complacency inhabited by the major party politicians.

Candide,

Spot on!

Andrew Farran, is a former diplomat (Australian) and academic
Come on people what are you on about ? Doesn't the introduction of the author tell you all ?

A liberal voter at Monash University!

Pull the other one Andrew, it yodels.

How about addressing the content of the article properly, people?

Well done, Andrew, a fine article.

Shall we sell off Graincorp? Is it in our long-term interest, as a nation? I certainly think not.
The more tightly our productive enterprise and infrastructure is controlled by foreign interests, the less control we will have over our own destiny - particularly as relates to the economic, fiscal and human well-being shocks and strains that are certain to become increasingly a matter of normality in global affairs in years to come (and not so far down the track as some - eternal optimists - would assume).

We have a fine and enviable social culture and enterprise/economic structure, whereas, almost everywhere we look outside there are major social and/or economic stresses, the like of which we need to strenuously avoid in our own interest.
FTA's? I agree with Anthony, that these seem increasingly in the other party's interest rather than ours.
Shall we become the 51st U.S. State? Or the guinea pig of U.S. (and/or EU) and Chinese competition in the world-domination end-game?
Aspirations as a major player in Asian (or African) development? Give me a break!

Sure, we have some (fairly minor) problems to overcome in our flagging industrial sector, but surely we have the initiative and intellectual capabilities to turn this around - we have the resources and the manpower - whereas what we don't need is to sell off the farm because it's just 'all too hard'.
Get up, Australia, and stop resting on fast fading laurels; a new era, a new paradigm, is in the ascendant, and the boat is leaving.
Other nations can see 'the writing on the wall', why are we so slow getting on board?

Atlantis? Not yet, but if we don't stand up, we'll surely get smothered - by false 'love' for our best interests (or rather, for our potentials).

Shall we become the 51st U.S. State?
Saltpetre,
how about just going back to being plain old, practical, sensible Australia ? There are now far too many hangers-on & that's what's causing all those problems which the hangers-on try to hide by using artificially complex over-the-top academic rhetoric. It really is a very simple problem with a very simple solution. National service & flat tax would solve the bulk of the dilemma.