My grand kids will be paying for this mess, and they're not even born yet.
rehctub,
I think you're actually under-estimating here. The damage done by that lot is too great to ever recover from.

Yes Indi, I agree, but I just didn't feel like necking myself during the festive season.

Boy are we going to pay for that lot.

The major parties are reinforced, and alternatives disadvantaged, by the single-member districts in the Reps and the tiny number of Senators elected per state.

The majors act as "umbrella" groups, trying to please numerous perspectives and therefore inevitably fail to please all.

A proportional system would encourage the majors' factions to split into distinct parties, making the choice for voters more precise.

Problem is, many people see the existence of minor parties as a "flaw" or "problem" rather than a blessing and opportunity.

I believe we should only have a single level of government, the national.
There is no need for local or state government.
Regional agendas could be represented by distinct parties in the national parliament (the Riverina Party, the New England Party, etc).

All government functions are computerised these days.
What difference does it make whether the guy punching the computer keys is located in Canberra or three blocks away?

The truth is that at some point in time, I would suggest sooner rather than later, we will have to find a strong leader who leads with a strong hand.

Unfortunately this is not possible as people mostly vote for what's best for them, rather than whats best fir the nation.

If anyone out there thinks we can continue along the same path we have been on they are quite simply kidding themselves as the only way back from where we are is goimg to be painful.

Alternatively, those who think we are in wonderful shape can just continue to bury their heads in the sand.

I mean, most of them think Holdens demise is the governments faut and this just goes to show how nieieve they really are.

I've lived in three different countries that have multi-party proportional representation (MPR) electoral systems - long enough to know that it is far superior to the two-party heavy system that burdens Australia.

In fact, Australia, the US and UK are about the only countries left in the world that continue to use the archaic Westminster style electoral system, which simply hands almost total dominance to one of two parties every 3-4 years. By contrast, the MPR system creates electoral outcomes that are more reflective of the political tastes and values of the entire population and thus forces politicians to operate within a culture of co-operation and compromise.

What a wonderful idea. Just like Italy, & France at some periods, we could have a new government every few months.

Surely the example of Tasmania, or the stupidity of the last 3 years in Canberra should be enough for anyone to want to avoid such ideas, but apparently not.

God help us if such foolishness should come to pass.