This rubbish is not political analysis, just an Abbott supporter wish list!?

Having said that let me say this, there is a whiteanting whisper campaign designed to make the place an ungovernable shambles by serial (Benedict Arnold Quislings) leakers with a power hungry agenda!

And revealed by attacks on policy that troubled nobody, when it was first rolled out and fully funded, but now that the leadership and direction has changed, verily I say unto you, satan's manuscript!?

An election will if won, stamp the Leader's leadership authority on the parliamentary party, and indeed allow him to perhaps influence some critical future nominations, to weed out the damaging leakers?
Rhrosty.

A sensible article. Ton's pedictions will prove to be correct. Turnbull is a dud, and the Liberals will achieve victory only because Shorten is a bigger dud. We are stuck with the lesser of two evils. Worse, we now have no choice of political philosophy. The difference between Labor and a Turnbull-led Coaltion is virtually nil. The Coalition does not deserve government until someone leads it back to its true philosophy.

More of the incessant focus on parties, to the detriment of policies.

"No" is not a policy.

When will there be a swing back towards the situation which is envisioned in the Constitution, ie that each member of the House of REpresentatives is elected to govern? Not 51% to govern and 49% to oppose - there is and always was a need for our politicians to earn their pay by doing their best to govern the country.

This might appear wishful to some, but it certainly is a more fruitful view than that the losers at an election should do whatever they can to make the place ungovernable. Or, in Tony Abbott's current style, to make even his own party unmanageable - he is, in effect, a member of an internal faction whose primary objective is to oppose the current leadership/government of the Parliamentary Liberal Party.

One has to wonder what an MLA has to do to make himself ineligible as a repesentative of his party and, thus, of any government that it might be part of.

Donald Trump: America's version of Tony Abbott; loud, not truthful, negative, absurd and very light on real policies?

Dear John Bennets,

The "losers" you refer to should indeed do whatever they can to make the place ungovernable because they represent the real flesh-and-blood ordinary Australian voters who have asked them to do so as they are fed up with being governed.

Thank you for the article, John Tons.

HOW THE POLICY CYCLE WORKS NOW
The conventional approach to dealing with a public policy issue is to identify one, analyse it, select policy instruments, consult, coordinate, decide, implement and evaluate in a continuous loop. This rationalist way of addressing issues has been overturned by partisan conservative ideology to the following sequence:
1. Identify an issue whose resolution has electoral appeal (popular)
2. Frame the issue in such a way that most accept a conservative solution uncritically
3. Invite others to join the conversation but determine what matters are legitimate topics (rule in / rule out) and call this consultation
4. Set up a public inquiry to provide the illusion that alternative views are sought and call this engagement
5. Find someone who thinks just like us to head the inquiry and write the report
6. Ensure the report findings and recommendations comply with party policy preferences
7. Drip feed thought bubbles and step back while others argue over ends and means and equity
8. Promote the party’s preferred position and denigrate the folly of alternative views
This is how we now deal with national public policy issues from taxation reform to education funding.

@Awesomely Astute - only one minor point of disagreement I would amend your statement:

Frame the issue in such a way that most accept a conservative solution uncritically

to read

Frame the issue in such a way that most accept your preferred solution uncritically.

Both the left and right have decided that manipulation is to be preferred to a rational discussion of competing views.

Apart from that your analysis is spot on and we are all the poorer for it.