I think Jeffery Walls has missed the real issue about democracy, entirely.

Democracy is not just under threat in unimportant, fly speck countries in the Pacific, Jeffery, it is under threat by multiculturalism within the western free market democracies which spawned it, and until now have staunchly defended it.

There exists within western societies today, an ever increasing number of people from one particular class, the public service/academia class, who look upon democracy as a real inconvenience to the sort of world that their class envisions as the way forward into the future. One only has to remember the words of Climate Commissioner Tim Flannery who said that climate change was so important that the Australian government should "use the army" to quell dissent from a population that does not see what he sees as the most important national issue. Or that other female alarmist (I forgot her name) who praised the Chinese Communist party's ability to suppress dissent in order to attain a national goal.

It is clear to me that these elitists are the new aristocrats who think that they are better than everybody else in their own countries, and that they, and only they, know best as to how everything should be done. They want a government of the public service, by the public service, and for the public service.

So too, democracy is under threat in the world's greatest democratic nation, the USA. 75% of republican voters believe with great justification that the last US presidential election was stolen through widespread voter fraud. This was due to the easy ability of fraudulent voters to vote using the US postal vote system, which was used widely because of the Wuhan flu epidemic. The fact that Biden and his democrats are blocking the reform of voter identity self evidently display how the Democrats support voter fraud because it benefits the Democrats.

So, If I were you, Jeff old mate, I would be a lot more worried about the survival of democracy in the advanced nations, rather than the always dysfunctional third world sheetholes.

What can we do other than, put our people in harm's way and invade in force, dethrone the current ruler? Then set up an UN-sponsored, free and fair election? And would any thank us for protecting and ensuring their rights and freedom? Personally, I'd set them adrift and let China support them and their never ceaseless growing demands.

And given we did invade? Create a precedent that China and others could all but emulate, with gunboat diplomacy, to curry favour with the entrenched strongman/ruler?

And given China flexed its muscles this way? Create an excuse for the rest of the world to cease trading with her? And given we did just that? Ensure we rehabilitated and resuscitated manufacture here as opposed to exporting raw materials to China than buying back the manufactured goods from their factories!? We are far too dependant on her now!

And given hat was the pragmatic plan? Ensure we became a nuclear powered nuclear-armed nation! We cannot carry the cargo cult that has become the Pacific! Let China assume that role with SFA economic support from the rest of the free world and arm ourselves so as to ensure we did not become the next in line, conquest/economic possession!
Alan B.

Democracy appears to be on the way out in Australia. The shithole Pacific Islands will fall into the CCP’s hands, and will be no business of ours.

“... alert our leaders to the alarming state of parliamentary democracy”. Our leaders are comatose, and have handed over the reins to unelected ‘experts’ and bureaucrats, and police forces; and they don’t read OLO or Jeffrey Wall.

Even the latest Newspoll showing Labor 53 to the Coalition 47 will not steer Mussolini-jaw Morrison back to democracy. The apparent bungling of the WuFlu and the vaccine shortage (‘ it’s not a race’) chaos is not really bungling: it is part of his arrogant dictatorship. The fast-becoming worst PM ever is getting too fond of lying low, never commenting (even siding with) the awful, leftist state premiers, and hiding behind the absurd - probably unconstitutional - ‘national cabinet’. And, you would have thought a man posing as a Christian would have had something to say about McGowan’s banning of the ACL from hiring a public hall. He is also still paying NSW and Victoria to continue their idiotic lockdowns, killing off jobs and businesses.

Economist and commentator, Peter Smith, summed up Morrison as just another "delinquent" political leader, with "little learning and little merit".

Dear Lego

I think you have missed the real issue about democracy, entirely.

It is not the "...public service/academia class, who look upon democracy as a real inconvenience ..." but rather the politicians who behave in this manner.

After all, who was it that brought us sports rorts; car park rorts; water buy-back rorts; Robodebt - the list goes on. In fact, it was the public service who brought these activities to the notice of people like you and me.

No, no, and no again. While politicians continue to behave in this manner, democracy is definitely in danger right in our own back yards and in full view. If only we weren't so apathetic to look. It is up to us, the people to get our own democracy back. Only then we can start lecturing "...the always dysfunctional third world sheetholes..." as you so magnanimously describe them.

To Aries54.

The left wing loony caste is entirely composed of the university activist class who become public servants through partisan political selection, and who then go on a power trip. No right wing journalist will ever be hired by the ABC. The ABC will always champion the interests of the public service.

Local inner city Labor and Green party membership is almost universally from this malignant class, and the local parties are almost devoid of working class people. My own Labor party branch was once headed by Rod Cavalier, a rich kid who lived in a waterside mansion. One wag once attached his own sign to the "You are entering the ACT" sign on the road leading into Canberra from Goulburn. It read "Welcome to the Soviet Socialist Republic of ACT." What is Canberra full of, Aries54? Public servants.

Rather incredibly, even though left wing Socialism failed in the 54 countries stupid enough to embrace it, the left thinks that it can still work. Left wing Socialism is a government of the public service, by the public service, and for the public service. You can bring up the subject of political corruption, but the fact is that the Protestant, western free market democracies have the lowest incidence of political corruption in the world.

Democracy is under threat in the western world. The left supports multiculturalism as a way to divide and conquer the electorate. Labor abandoned it's own traditional voter base 40 years ago. Former Labor voters are now voting for Pauline. The left now supports every minority group in their quest for power. No matter how stupid the cause may be, from Muslim female swimming days, to Sikh kids carrying daggers to school, the left wing academic caste will support the minority over the basic principles of their own western democratic civilisation, every time.

Jeffrey is correct in his assessment that lefties really do think they have all the answers. The trouble is, they are so convinced they are right that they will ban opposing views and free speech, the foundation stones of democracy.