You hit the nail right on the head Mr Man. The voters of Australia don't even have the logic to vote in their own self interest. I have little sympathy for those Liberal voters now having their pay and conditions slashed by AWA's and other individual contracts. Maybe they will learn a lesson.

The author does, however, have an obvious point in his depicting of the high concentration and self-serving nature of our media. It hardly creates an environment of critical thought does it?

Maybe the voters of Australia simply have life too good. Put them in a 3rd world country, in a nation crippled by civil war or by US economic sanctions or both - and see how passive they are then. People need to stop having their votes dictated by selfish fear and realise that they have the power to make it better. Until then, the problems will only precipitate.

People,

Don't listen to these Labor party 'forum-stackers'.
These people would stack themselves to the bloody Moon if we didn't correct them. Who needs NASA! But one thing is certain, we don't need NSW Labor and its perverse political practices based heavily on immigrational gerrymandering.

Australians don't have an effective vote. For all practical purposes we are a dictatorship. States are always Labor and the Feds are always Liberal. This has developed into a status qu over the last 10 years. Big business KNOWS this and this is why we are seeing a significant surge in their blatant disregard for public concerns. Immigrational gerrymandering ensures that no matter how YOU vote this undemocratic perversion will continue. IE YOU don't have a vote.

Only a constitutional-law approach to reversing UNFAIR immigration PLACEMENT strategies like over 70$ of Australia's 140,000 annual migrant intake being shoehorned into strategic seats in Sydney which has less than .0001% of the land area of this great nation.

We the people of Australia have a constitutional right to have our electoral processes free from gerrymanders of ALL types, no matter how subtle they may be or how innocuous they may SEEM.

KAEP, I'm a little puzzled. Why on earth should governing the internal processes of political parties have anything to do with immigration policy? Do you think that stopping immigration would have any effect on branch stacking by ALP/Liberal aparatchiks?

Branch stacking is about the factions using any group (unionists, ethnic or religious etc) that can muster in large numbers for winning preselection. Of course they have to pay them off somehow, which in local govt generally means approving dodgy DAs for "community leaders" (ie dodgy developers who can deliver bums on seats at the appropriate time). So it all comes down to sleazy deals for low-rent scum. Just look at what happened in Strathfield. http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/index.cfm?objectID=A22F6240-FC79-9A7C-CAB65F8C16F92C37

Having been involved in supporting independent councillors in Sydney's inner west I have seen the same game played over and over again.

If you people are serious about fixing Australian political culture DON'T VOTE FOR THE ALP OR THE LIBS in local government, THEY ARE SCUM!!

Its that simple.

Hi y'all
I'm a bit with the Athenians on democracy as the obligation of the citizen - an ideal never fully practiced I know, but still worthy. For me, compulsory voting means that whether we like it or not the incumbent government represents about 50% of the voting poulation, unlike voluntary voting countries where it can be as low as 50% of 25% of the population. In the latter, disenfranchisement is a choice but there is always someone else to blame - note Timothy McVeigh. The compulsory franchise means that we all own the result even if we don't like the outcome.

JohnJ, there are some members of political parties who are honest, committed, hard-working, and decent people. If people have one of these as a local member, and they buck the party on issues important to their constitutents, keep voting for them. If not, vote for someone who best represents you and your electorates' needs and stop voting for them when they stop representing those needs.

Democrats, Greens, Family First, independents, and all pollies are our servants hired by our votes, and fired by our votes. That my representative doesn't take my calls, return my emails, or represent my views is a reason to vote for someone whom I think might, not an excuse to whinge about "politicians" in general.

Enough of a rant.
odsoc

Athenian democracy, odsoc? Now you're talking my language!

Bring back the Assembly! Remove the middle-men, our elected representatives, and give back the power to the people!

Bear in mind that together with the ability to directly enact legislation, the people of Athens also bore the responsibility for the outcome. If you proposed a law (you were obliged to put your name on it) that was overturned within a year, you were fined a literally ruinous amount. That's accountability.

If you were an elected official responsible for money, your accounts were regularly scrutinised. If a discrepancy was found, you were excecuted. That's accountability.

Our representative democracy has so many holes in it through which accountability seems to just seep away - the minister blames his staff, the staff blame a) the system and b) insufficient resources. No-one is prepared to take one iota of responsibility for their actions.

But please, odsoc, don't compare the willing participation of the citizen in an Athenian democracy with the apathy shown by our society for a representative democracy. We are offered the choice of stale bread or rancid cheese and told to choose one or the other, in the name of democracy.

So if you are serious about bringing back Athenian democracy, just remember my name, 'cos I'm yer man.

It's good to see compulsory voting & gerrymandering getting a mention .

The relative predictability of voting trends by area provide government of the day the ability to almost engineer election outcomes by adjusting electoral boundrys .

One of Mark Lathams opinions I read went something along the line of ; Australian politics is just showbiz for ugly people .

Funny opinion but it feels very true .

The removal of compulsory sufferance is the only way that we will get members of parliment that whilst considering bills, they will take into account fully the potential effects of their decisions on minority sectors while trying to please the fickle mob .

Unfortunatly the idea that those in power would give up some of that power is only a dream ..